A retired builder has attributed his survival to his seven-month-old bulldog after the pup chewed his big toe “to the bone,” leaving the nail barely attached while he slept.
You might imagine that most people wouldn’t respond so kindly to their dog making a snack out of part of their body.
Typically, such behavior would lead to the dog being in big trouble, but not in the case of little Harley.
Harley joined David Lindsay’s family after he lost his two large Neapolitan Mastiff dogs in 2022, prompting him to seek a new canine companion.
One day, after Harley settled into David’s household, he took a nap on the couch and was awakened by his wife’s screams.
He recalled, “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.”
You might wonder why such a painful ordeal, complete with a dangling toenail, didn’t rouse David, and here is where the life-saving element comes into play.
The father of five explained, “Because of all this, I discovered that my foot is completely numb, I can’t feel anything.”
David’s wife quickly wrapped his injured toe and took him to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridgeshire, where he received intravenous antibiotics to prevent an infection from the dog bite from spreading to his bone.
While treating David, who is also a grandfather to 11 grandchildren, doctors performed CT scans and discovered the reason for David’s lack of sensation was two blocked arteries.
These blockages could endanger David’s entire leg, potentially requiring amputation, unless the blood flow was restored.
Harley’s antics led to David being evaluated for stents, which could reopen the arteries and restore blood circulation to his leg.
“You’ve got to laugh about it. He’s done me a favor by chewing my toe,” David commented about the pup, confirming he had no plans to part with Harley.
“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!” he joked.