A man in Wisconsin, USA, has lost both of his legs and his nose after he caught sepsis following a friendly lick from his pet dog.
Avid biker Greg Manteufel was forced to have the bottom of his legs amputated below the knee after capnocytophaga - a horrible bacteria - caused him to lose all blood circulation there through sepsis.
Initially, like many sufferers from sepsis, he thought that he had the flu, but it then became obvious that there was something drastically worse affecting him.
Dawn, his wife, told Fox 6: "It hit him with a vengeance. Just bruising all over him.
"Looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat. It took a week and they were taking his legs.
"We can't wrap our heads around it that all of the sudden, he's 48 years old and been around dogs all of his life... and this happens.
"That's all he kept saying to the doctors - 'Take what you need but keep me alive.' And they did it. Surprisingly enough, they did do it."
The infection is thought to have been passed onto him back in late June by his pet pit bull terrier. His case is particularly unlucky because for the infection to be passed on the dog usually has to bite you. In Greg's case it was only a lick from his pet that saw the bacteria enter his system.
This was explained by one of the doctors that treated him in the hospital in West Bend, WI. Dr Sylvia Munoz-Price said: "This type of bacteria comes from the saliva of dogs. This infection in his blood triggered a very severe response on his body."
The infection caused Greg's blood pressure to massively drop, which meant that the circulation was cut off and eventually led to the loss of his legs.
Dr Munoz-Price continued: "Sometimes it [blood pressure] decreases so much that the arms and legs just die. More than 99 percent of the people that have dogs will never have this issue. It's just chance."
This type of bacteria is found in the mouths of 60 percent of dogs and about 17 percent of cats, however, it is a normal bacteria and this sort of case very rarely happens.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by a family friend to raise funds for prosthetic legs and plastic surgery on Greg's nose.
Jason Marchand, the page's creator, said: "Greg has held his head high and is taking all the news like a beast. He is so thankful to be alive today and is taking one day at a time."
Featured Image Credit: Fox 6 / GoFundMe