Man wakes up in horror to discover pet puppy chewed his big toe off - but in bizarre twist it saved his life

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The retired builder was startled by his wife’s screams as he woke up to discover his pet puppy had chewed his big toe ‘to the bone’ - but in a bizarre turn of events, the grisly act saved his life.

A retired builder has shared how he woke up in horror to find that his pet dog had chewed his big toe “to the bone” - but he now says he loves the pup more than ever. David Lindsay was startled by his wife’s screams as he lay asleep on a sofa at their home only to find his right big toe was a bloody stump.

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The 64-year-old’s bone in his toe had been fractured by his seven month old bulldog puppy Harley as he slept and his toe nail was left hanging off. But in a bizarre twist, the gruesome incident turned out to be a potential life-saver as medics later discovered he had lost the feeling in his feet due to two blocked arteries in his legs.

David, a grandad from Cambridge who suffers from diabetes, has no plans on getting rid of the naughty pup after it inadvertently saved his life. He said: "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. But because of all this, I discovered that my foot is completely numb, I can’t feel anything."

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His wife wrapped up his toe and rushed David to Addenbrooke’s Hospital where he’s been for over a week. Dave has been put on intravenous antibiotics to stop the infection, caused by the dog bite, from spreading to his bone.

But only because of the severe mauling his toe endured, Dave discovered he couldn’t feel his foot. During CT scans for the fractured toe, the doctors discovered not one, but two blocked arteries.

Ain’t nothing but a hound, Doc: David Lindsay with his British Bulldog puppy, Harley. Ain’t nothing but a hound, Doc: David Lindsay with his British Bulldog puppy, Harley.
Ain’t nothing but a hound, Doc: David Lindsay with his British Bulldog puppy, Harley. | David Lindsay / SWNS

The blockages could put his whole leg in danger of needing amputation if the blood supply wasn’t returned. Thanks to the pup, Dave is now being assessed for stents which would open up the arteries and allow the blood flow to return to his leg.

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He said he has no plans to get rid of the life-saving bulldog, having lost his two large Neapolitan Mastiff dogs last year. Dave, who hadn’t owned a bulldog before now, said: "You’ve got to laugh about it. He’s done me a favour by chewing my toe.

David Lindsay’s foot in a medical boot after his puppy mauled him as he slept.David Lindsay’s foot in a medical boot after his puppy mauled him as he slept.
David Lindsay’s foot in a medical boot after his puppy mauled him as he slept. | David Lindsay / SWNS

"So I’m waiting to find out if they can put stents in. 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.”

David hopes to go home to his wife and cheeky bulldog by the end of the week.

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