We know that dogs are man’s best friend.
Those who have dogs at home will attest to how much fun it is to cuddle with them and to get their kisses.
The love and kindness of a canine companion know no bounds, and many lick their owners and families as a way of showing affection.
Unfortunately, while it seems like a harmless act, these licks and kisses may have potentially fatal consequences on unsuspecting dog owners.
This is due to an extremely rare condition that, in over 99% of households with dogs, will never happen – but in those very rare freak cases, it can lead to terrible ramifications.
Greg Manteufel, who is from West Bend in Wisconsin and is 48 years of age, has been around dogs for virtually all of his life.
He’d always been quite healthy and, for most of his 48 years, he had a great medical history.
Naturally, having a dog, he regularly received kisses and licks from them – and he had no way of knowing that one such kiss would result in him losing all four limbs.
In June, Greg was hurried into the emergency room by his wife, Dawn Manteufel, after he started exhibiting worrying flu-like symptoms.
He had started developing little bruise-like marks all over his body, and it almost looked like he’d been brutally beat up, according to Dawn, who spoke to Fox 6 Now about the issue.
Doctors ran blood tests on Greg and found that he had become infected with capnocytophaga.
This disease is contracted from dog saliva, which contains the bacteria naturally.
Symptoms from an infection with this bacteria begin to appear between three and five days after it is first contracted.
These symptoms may include fever, stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain, swelling, redness, blisters, and headaches.
If left untreated for too long, these symptoms can escalate into sepsis, which is potentially deadly.
In Greg’s case, the infection caused blood circulation to drop in his limbs, coupling with low blood pressure, and this slowly led to these limbs turning black from lack of blood flow.
The response his body developed was incredibly severe, and it’s a stroke of bad luck for Greg, as a majority of pet owners will never develop this condition.
In that week alone, Greg’s life completely changed.
He had to have both legs amputated, and doctors worked hard to treat him but soon discovered that they would have to remove some parts of his hands.
This went further and they eventually needed to remove half of both of his forearms.
Doctors worked tirelessly but also discovered that his nose would need to undergo surgical reconstruction.
Naturally, this was an incredibly difficult process for Greg, but he bravely took in all the news and simply told doctors to do anything they could to save him.
The father took continued to persevere, and Dawn speaks highly of her husband, who she adds is simply happy to have survived the ordeal.
Unfortunately, the family now has to face added difficulties in the form of Greg’s medical bills. Greg himself has a long road to recovery ahead of him, and many trials lay ahead.
If you would like to donate to the Manteufel family to help them cover Greg’s bills and aid his recovery process, click here to go to his GoFundMe page.