It’s a familiar scenario for dog owners, especially those with puppies, to return home to discover chewed furniture, gnawed shoes, and seemingly raided cupboards. In fact, such occurrences are quite commonplace.
Seasoned dog owners understand that a momentary lapse in attention can lead to rather calamitous outcomes. After all, puppies, much like human toddlers, require guidance to distinguish right from wrong, and they’ll persistently test boundaries until they grasp the rules.
However, nibbling on a rug or sneaking into the kitchen for a snack pales in comparison to the experience that one bulldog, named Harley, subjected his owner, David Lindsay, to.
According to reports, David Lindsay experienced a startling incident when he nodded off on his sofa and awoke to the gruesome discovery that his bulldog, Harley, had chewed his toe down to the bone. While this might sound incredibly horrifying, the story takes an unexpected turn, so read on…
David Lindsay is the proud owner of an adorable bulldog named Harley, complete with floppy ears. Like most puppy owners, David probably anticipated a few teething issues as the young dog acclimated to his new home surroundings. However, David had no inkling that a simple nap on his couch would lead to such a grisly outcome.
As per accounts, David had dozed off on his sofa, only to be jolted awake by the piercing screams of his wife.
David explained: “I was asleep on the couch when my wife walked in and shouted, ‘Dave, the puppy’s chewing your toe!’
“My puppy had near enough chewed my big toe off! It chewed down to the bone and cracked it.”
Undoubtedly, having your dog turn your toe into a snack is far from anyone’s idea of a good time. However, what was even more alarming for David was the realization that he had slept through this harrowing ordeal.
“Because of all this, I discovered that my foot is completely numb, I can’t feel anything,” David explained.
David, a father of five hailing from Cambridge, UK, promptly sought medical attention at the hospital. There, he was promptly placed on intravenous antibiotics to prevent any potential infection from taking root in his wound.
Following this incident, medical professionals conducted CT scans on David’s foot, and the findings from the scans revealed that he had a potentially more significant issue to address: he was living with two blocked arteries.
This meant that David’s entire leg faced a grave risk of amputation if the blood supply wasn’t restored. In a truly unusual turn of events, Harley’s decision to nibble on his owner’s toe may have inadvertently saved his life.
Fortunately, medical professionals were able to step in by evaluating David for the possibility of using stents to reopen the blocked arteries, thereby restoring normal blood flow to his leg.
“I’m waiting to find out if they can put stents in,” David remarked during that period. “I’ll be keeping the dog. 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!”
According to reports, David spent a week in the hospital but was eventually discharged, allowing him to return home to his partner and, of course, his loyal companion, Harley.
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