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17th October 2024
12:22pm BST

Dogs show affection when they lick humans, and have been known to lick human wounds in an attempt to care for them.
However, many people are uncomfortable with the idea of being licked by dogs, certainly in more sensitive places, with one woman's story becoming the ultimate nightmare outcome of what could happen.
Marie Trainer lost all four limbs after a dog had licked her when she returned from holiday.
The mum from Ohio had been on a holiday in Spring 2019, returning from a tropical vacation to her German Shepherd puppy who welcomed her home with excited kisses, as reported by Inside Edition.
Normally such a thing would be considered harmless, however, Marie had a small cut on her hand that she received from a hotel key card and the dog had licked this exact spot.
However, things soon took a turn for the worse.
Marie said to Fox 8: "Four days later, I wasn’t feeling well and just got sicker and sicker."
Suspecting it was the flu, her husband, Matt Trainer, took her to hospital, however while there something much scarier was uncovered.
Marie had contracted a rare and deadly bacteria found in dog and cat saliva known as capnocytophaga canimorsus.
This bacteria triggered her immune system to go into overdrive subsequently causing massive blood clots that cut off circulation to her limbs.
Dr Ajay Seth, the orthopedic surgeon who performed a life-saving operation on Marie said: "It was just rapidly progressing where her hands and feet were turning black."
He also described the chance of contracting the same illness Marie did as "over one in a million."
The mum was placed into a 10-day coma from which she would wake up from with her limbs amputated.
Originally doctors had wanted to amputate all of Marie's limbs to the torso, however Dr Seth fought to keep as much of the limbs as possible, to give her the best possible future quality of life, being able to be fitted with prosthetics and he spent seven hours removing over 40 blood clots.
Five years later and Marie has come out of a tough recovery process, now having prosthetic arms and legs to help her live as much as a normal life as possible.
She said: "It’s been challenging.
"Learning how to walk was the hardest thing, but I’m good, I’m doing good."

Marie can now walk and do everyday activities such as gardening and riding her tricycle.
Her husband, Matt, said: "When I see her walk, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing.'"
Speaking about her husband, Marie said: “I love him more and more every day.
"I don’t know what I would do without him.”
Marie has a GoFundMe page to help pay for her medical bills.
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