Jake Massey
*WARNING: CONTAINS PHOTO OF DOG S**T ON A WOMAN'S FACE*
A woman was hospitalised for three days after her beloved pet pooch did a s***e on her face while she slept.
Amanda Gommo, from Bristol, was enjoying one of those proper good afternoon naps - you know, the ones where you're out for the count and your mouth is wide open - and her chihuahua, Belle, decided to join her.
But as the 51-year-old was snoozing, little Belle came down with the squits and a violent burst of diarrhoea stirred Amanda from her slumber - in the worst possible way.
Advert
"I was having my afternoon nap with Belle, like I always do, when I suddenly felt something squirt in my mouth," the mum-of-three recalled.
"I rushed to the bathroom and my son was in the shower, so before I washed it out I had time to take a quick snap.
"It was disgusting, and I was hurling violently for hours after - I just couldn't get the taste out of my mouth."
Damn that sounds grim - though at least she had time to capture that all-important dog-s**t-on-face selfie.
Advert
Amanda's daughter took Belle to the vet, and the pup was diagnosed with a nasty stomach bug and put on antibiotics.
However, this was not the end of the grim ordeal for Amanda - in fact, it was far from it.
Later that day, she started displaying the same symptoms as Belle, so she called 111 and an ambulance was sent to her home. Paramedics prescribed her painkillers for her stomach cramps and instructed her to drink lots of water to flush out any potential infection.
But after their visit, her symptoms became progressively worse, and 48 hours later, Amanda's cramps had spread all over her body.
Advert
Amanda's mum then rang 999 who dispatched another ambulance, and this time she was transported to Bristol Royal Infirmary and immediately hooked up to a drip.
There, doctors diagnosed Amanda with a gastrointestinal infection that had been passed through Belle's faeces into her mouth days earlier.
She was kept under observation for three days while they rehydrated her with the electrolytes and glucose.
Amanda, who has Crohn's disease, said: "From the moment I got ill to when I was put on the drip, I couldn't eat a thing.
"The cramps got worse and worse until I could feel them all over my body - even in my legs.
Advert
"They sent an ambulance the second time, and I was so dehydrated from being sick and having diarrhoea that my kidneys had shrivelled to half their size.
"I was kept in hospital for three days until they'd flushed the infection out through a drip."
Unsurprisingly, her case was a first for the docs at the hospital.
"My discharge note said that I'd suffered a gastrointestinal infection caused by a dog defecating in my mouth - something doctors had never witnessed before," she said.
Advert
"I've been drinking two Lucozades a day, plenty of tea and loads of water since it happened, and I'm happy to say both me and Belle are on the mend."
Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose... but it's most definitely the end of top and tailing for the pair.
Amanda said: "I've forgiven Belle for her little accident and I still love her with all my heart, but I will definitely be more mindful of what position we sleep in in the future."