A retired builder from UK woke to discover that his dog had chewed his big toe to the bones, only to find later that his dog’s action might have saved his life.
David Lindsay, 64, woke suddenly from sleep when he heard his wife emit a bloodcurdling scream as he lay on the sofa.
He then found that his bulldog Harley had chewed his big toe to the bones.
‘He’s done me a favor by chewing my toe,’ David told SWNS.
The Cambridge native who has diabetes said: ‘I was asleep on the couch when my wife walked in and shouted, “Dave, the puppy’s chewing your toe!’”
He said that he woke up to see a bloody stump where his big toe had been fractured.
As it turned out, his 7-month-year-old puppy gnawed his toe so badly that he’d fractured it, and left a nail hanging off like a human chew toy.
Lindsay’s wife quickly bandaged the toe, before transporting her husband to the hospital, where he learned that he had an infection due to the bite.
He was forced to remain in hospital for nine days while doctors administered intravenous antibiotics to stop it from spreading to his bone.
Despite the grueling ordeal, the bite turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it led to a shocking diagnosis.
‘Because of all this, I discovered that my foot is completely numb, I can’t feel anything,’ said the patient, who suffers from diabetes.
Subsequent CT scans revealed that the Brit had suffered two blocked arteries, putting him in danger of requiring a leg amputation due to the lack of blood flow to the region.
Thanks to the dog, Lindsay is currently being assessed for stents, which would open up the arteries and restore circulation to his limbs.
In other words, losing a toe paradoxically might have prevented him from losing a leg.
Lindsay has since learned to see the funny side of the situation.
‘You’ve got to laugh about it,’ Lindsay, who has no plans to give away the dog, said.
‘I’m waiting to find out if they can put stents in,’ Lindsay said. ‘I’ll be keeping the dog.’ He added, ‘I’ll try to keep my toe, too, but if not, I told the doctor to cut it off, and I can take it home for him!’
It’s unlikely that Harley actually sensed his owner was in peril, however, canines have displayed an uncanny potential to detect disease.
