A man woke up to find his big toe had been chewed 'to the bone' by his bulldog puppy.
Retired builder, David Lindsay, fell asleep on a sofa at their home when he was woken by the horrifying screams of his wife who discovered the 'bloody stump'.
The 64 year-old fractured his toe and lost his toe nail after their seven month-old bulldog chewed on him while he slept.
In a turn of events, the frightening incident turned out to be a potential life-saver, after doctors later discovered that David was suffering from two blocked arteries in his legs, causing him to lose the feeling in both his feet.
David, from Cambridge, who suffers from diabetes, said: "You've got to laugh about it. He's done me a favour by chewing my toe.
"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."
The father of five and grandfather to 11 children, has no plans to get rid of the hungry pup after it accidentally saved his life.
David has spent nine days in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambs, and has been put on intravenous antibiotics to stop the infection, caused by the dog bite, from spreading to his bone.
He underwent CT scans for the fractured toe, when medics 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.
David joked: "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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