Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Debbie Luxon & Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Dog 'saved owner's life' after chewing his big toe 'to the bone' while he slept

A retired builder could have had his life saved by his hungry puppy who had chewed his big toe 'to the bone.'

David Lindsay, 64, was woken in horror one more by his wife's scream as he lay asleep on a sofa at their home only to find his right big toe was a bloody stump.

The bone in his toe had been fractured by his seven month old bulldog puppy Harley as he slept and his toe nail left hanging off.

However the horror 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 father to five daughters and grandfather to 11 children, has no plans on getting rid of the naughty pup after it inadvertently saved his life.

The pup tucked into his toe as he slept - much to his wife's horror (David Lindsay / SWNS)
His big toe "chewed to the bone" by the British Bulldog (David Lindsay / SWNS)

David, from Cambridge, who suffers from diabetes, 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."

His wife wrapped up his toe and rushed him to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambs, where he's been for nine days.

The retired builder got emergency help - and found out some important news (David Lindsay / SWNS)
The bone had cracked underneath the puppy's jaws (David Lindsay / SWNS)

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.

The blockages could put his whole leg in danger of needing amputation if the blood supply wasn't returned.

Thanks to the mixed-colour pup, Dave is now being assessed for stents which would open up the arteries and allow the blood flow to return to his leg.

He was left sofa-bound after the operation (David Lindsay / SWNS)
But thankfully they're still best friends (David Lindsay / SWNS)

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.

"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.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.