Dog saves Michigan man’s life by eating his infected big toe

MELBOURNE - A dog saved his owner’s life by chewing off his infected big toe after the Rockford, Michigan had passed out following a day of drinking.

The dog is being hailed as a lifesaver, according to The Grand Rapids Press.

Kiko, a Jack Russell terrier, could sense there was an infection maturing in his owner Jerry Douthett’s right big toe.

“Jerry had had all these margaritas, so I just let him sleep,” Douthett’s wife, Rosee, a registered nurse, said.

“But then I heard these screams coming from the bedroom, and he was yelling, ‘My toe’s gone, my toe’s gone’,” she added.

It was learned that 48-year-old Jerry had been suffering from Type 2 diabetes and Kiko had sniffed out the problem literally, as dogs have up to 220 million olfactory receptors, compared to 50 million or so in humans.

When admitted to hospital, Jerry had a dangerous blood-sugar level of 560, significantly higher than the recommended 80 to 120.

Jerry admitted that he had been hiding his infected foot from people, including his wife.

“It smelled, and I look back now and realise every time we’d visit someone with a dog, their dog would be sniffing all over my foot,” he said.

Jerry was planning to see the doctor after he downed four or five beers and two giant margaritas and passed out on his bed. He found the year-old dog beside him on the bed and a pool of blood near his foot when he woke up.

“The toe was gone. He ate it. I mean, he must have eaten it, because we couldn’t find it anywhere else in the house. I look down, there’s blood all over, and my toe is gone,” News.com.au quoted Jerry as saying.

“If it hadn’t been for that dog, I could have ended up dead,” he added. (ANI)