Dogs Bite Off Three of Owner's Toes

In journalism, there's a saying that the more interesting story is "man bites dog" instead of "dog bites man." After reading this story, you might disagree.

A man was taken to the hospital Thursday after police say his two dogs gnawed off three of his left toes:

KSWB reports:

Police received an emergency call just before 5:30 a.m. from the man's caretaker. The caller said he found the victim lying in bed amid blood-soaked sheets at their home in the 200 block of West California Street in Mission Hills. The caretaker then discovered that his roommate was missing three left toes and that one of the men's two small dogs had blood on its snout, SDPD spokeswoman Andra Brown said.

"Pulled off the sheets and looked at his foot, and I dialed 911," said caretaker George Chilson.

Paramedics took the man, who seemed confused about how he had suffered the injuries, to a hospital. The victim -- whose right leg and one of the toes on his left foot had been previously amputated -- suffers from neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that has left him with no feeling in his remaining foot, the roommate told police.

The dogs were not euthanized and are back home with their owner. The man's caretaker believes the animals were trying to clean a wound on the man's foot but got carried away.

"Occasionally he can get a knick on his foot, and I think what happened is they found a scab on his toe and began licking and chewing," he said.