A Texas dog-lover had her legs and fingers amputated on Tuesday after a family dog bit her on Christmas Day and infected her with a rare blood infection.
Mother-of-four Robin Sullins, 48, of Austin, who owns a chihuahua, a terrier and a boxer lab, was breaking up a fight between one of her dogs and her daughter Hannah's pet on Christmas Day.
She was bitten by her daughter's dog on the arm but only suffered a minor cut. However, within two days she became violently ill, according to ABCNews. Doctors say she was infected with Capnocytophaga Canimorsus, a bacteria commonly found in the mouths of healthy cats and dogs and not normally dangerous.
However, an unusual reaction in Sullins' has left her having to have both her legs amputated below the knees and all her fingers removed apart from her thumb.
'What's clearly happened here is that the bacteria has gotten into the bloodstream,' Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center told ABC News.
'Once into the blood stream it has created sepsis, a serious infection which has an effect on all the bodies regulatory and inflammatory mechanisms.'
