California man's dogs chew off three of his toes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 72-year-old San Diego area man who suffers from medical problems was taken to a local hospital on Thursday after his dogs chewed off three of his toes, police said.

The man, who has had a leg amputated and lost feeling in the other foot due to neuropathy, called 911 after waking up to find that his two King Charles Spaniels had been gnawing on his toes, San Diego Police Lt. Andra Brown said.

"He woke up this morning and noticed blood on their faces, Brown said. "At first he was concerned there was something wrong with the dogs, and then he realized there was a lot of blood in the bed and that three of his toes had been chewed off."

"The fact that he had one toe that was on its way to being amputated indicated necrotic tissue, which is probably what attracted the dogs, because I guess dogs are attracted to decaying tissue," Brown said.

Authorities said the man was treated at a local hospital and asked that the dogs not be taken away. Brown said there was no indication that the animals had been mistreated.

(Writing and reporting by Dan Whitcomb)