A MAN who had all his limbs amputated and lost his nose after a dog licked him has stayed LOYAL to his pet pooch.
Greg Manteufel, 49, contracted a rare blood infection which meant he had to have his legs and arms removed, as well as losing part of his face.
Despite causing him life-changing injuries, the man is sticking by his pit bull, Ellie.
Manteufel, a painter from Wisconsin, US, was rushed to hospital complaining about feeling ill and having a fever.
Medics soon found that he had a rare blood infection, which was caused by bacteria found in the mouths of dogs and cats.
Although the deadly bacteria, called capnocytophaga canimorsus, likely came from his pet Ellie, the family decided to not get the canine tested.
Manteufel had over 20 surgeries, including amputations of his left and right forearms and of his legs through the middle of his knees.
DEADLY LICK
Plastic surgeons are planning for surgery to perfect his nose – which he also lost in the ordeal.
Even though his dog Ellie may carry the deadly bacteria in her salvia, the family have vowed to stay loyal to their pet.
He said: "We weren’t going to get rid of her if it was her that caused it anyway.
"We just love her to death."
The 49-year-old even admitted that his dog has licked him since he had his four limbs amputated and has felt fine.
Manteufel had been at a party two days before he became ill – where he came into contact with numerous dogs – making it difficult to track down the pup that caused his illness.
He told PEOPLE last year: "I touched all the dogs that were there, I pet ’em all, I love dogs.
"What might have happened was I touched one of the dogs or they licked my hand and then I rubbed my eye or my mouth or something because I didn’t have any scratches or bites on me, open sores or nothing like that."
Doctors told the man that his ordeal was extremely unlucky – and that he was more likely to win the lottery five times in a day than contracted the rare disease from a dog.
Researchers now believe that the infection had to do with a genetic variant carried by the 49-year-old, meaning he was more suspectable to contracting the disease.
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