In 2010, Jerry Douthett’s dog bit off his toe when he was deep asleep. When he went to the hospital, it turned out that the toe had an infection that would have spread out and caused irreparable damage if left unnoticed. The dog thus saved his owner’s life.
Good job Dogtor!
I would have woken up the second something touched my toe.
I would kill to sleep as deeply as this guy
The rest of the story:
https://people.com/human-interest/michigan-man-and-beloved-dog-who-once-saved-his-life-die-4-months-apart/
He had unknown diabetes, and was possibly* going into DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) which can absolutely be fatal if untreated. It is by all accounts a terrible and painful way to die.
*Edited: I added “possibly” as another commenter pointed out, quite correctly, that there was no mention specifically of DKA in the article.
He looks like he wants a shot at the other four.
I’m guessing this man has neuropathy in his feet from some condition, and that’s how he managed to not notice a life-threatening infection in his toe. It’s pretty amazing that the dog knew his person would likely have died if that toe didn’t come off. Lil guy made an executive decision.
This reminds me of [the dog that saved a child from drowning in the Seine](https://gwern.net/doc/history/1908-newyorktimes-dogafakehero.pdf), so they pampered it and gave it a steak. Then it realized it could get more rewards if it just pushed kids into the river before “rescuing”.
And now that dog is eyeing his other toes…
I remember reading from somewhere that dogs can smell cancer
What kind of infection is both dangerous enough to be life threatening if it spreads but also innocuous enough that it can go unnoticed?
the dog knew
Dogs love dead flesh. They can’t resist it! For some reason, we were given some of my son’s umbilical cord after he was born. It was inside two ziplock bags. The dog could still smell it and nearly went insane. That gave me a great excuse to get it the fuck out of my house without my wife having a meltdown about it.
Just saw this on Zack D. Films!
This title is a misrepresentation of the story. In reality, Douthett had diabetes that was diagnosed because he needed to go to the emergency room for treatment of the dog biting off the toe. There is not evidence that the “infection would have spread and cause irreparable damage”. Dogs mouths have their own bacteria, and would just have likely caused a completely new infection.
https://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/man-and-dog-who-saved-his-life-by-biting-off-toe-die-months-apart/
Every day he thanks God he didn’t have chlamydia.
Thanks?
But did he eat it?
Evil dog: yesssss, good. I was saving you.
I have diabetic neuropathy in my big toes. And sometimes they get numb with cold. So i can understand why that guy felt nothing. It probably felt like payback to the puppy though. We eat waaay too many hotdogs
I was just lack toes intolerant..
This is not the first time I’ve heard of dogs doing something like that. I had a female boxer dog who like many boxer dogs developed some weirdo cancerous growths. I basically was ready for the worst when on a family outing, an uncle brought his female doberman and both dogs started playing and messing around. I then went to man the grill and left both dogs laying next to each other.
As we were eating dinner, my uncle told his dog started nibbling on the cancerous growths and got all of them. My dog had lain there and let the other dog do this. I checked my dog and yes, there were some superficial wounds where the growths had been! I sprayed some cetrigen on the wounds…my dog never had issue with cancerous growths ever again.
When i get gout our dog licks the affected area.
Of course it’s a terrier! Lolz.
Wasn’t he in a drunken stupor?
Dr. Good Boy
This is why people with diabetes should always wear shoes! They should also check their feet every day for cuts or sores and treat them immediately if one occurs.
I missed “dog” in the title while scrolling and clicked this thinking that the guy bit off his own toe in his sleep.
Talk about a luck shot
Lol. Just watched a Zack D films video regarding this incident the day before.
The dog’s name is Chewy.
It could have written a prescription for antibiotics. I think the leap to surgery may have been hasty.
No, I’m good thank you.
Just wow.
People say cats suck cuz they will eat you if you die but a dog eats your big toe while you’re alive and asleep and he’s a hero. Double standards smh /jk
what a good boy! that dog deserves all the treats and belly rubs in the world
He is a good boy
[The dog]
)