GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- A Michigan man says most of his right big toe was chewed off by the family dog after he passed out from too much drinking -- and he says that saved his life.
Jerry Douthett's terrier Kiko apparently sensed infection festering in his owner's toe, and chewed at it when Douthett passed out after an evening drinking margaritas, the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reported Tuesday.
When Douthett went to the hospital because of his wound, doctors diagnosed him with high blood sugar and Type 2 diabetes.
"He saved my life," Douthett said of Kiko. "I would have never gone to the doctor unless this would have happened."
"Jerry had had all these Margaritas, so I just let him sleep," his 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!'"
Although he credits Kiko with saving his life, Douthett says he's not taking any chances of the toe incident happening again.
"I don't think Kiko would do it again," he says, "but I wear shoes to bed now."
