A man choked his own rescue dog to death as it mauled him in a savage attack lasting 45 minutes. Matt Porter, 34, from the US state of Illinois, feared he would die as Staffy, Karma, leapt at him and locked her jaws onto his arms.
He was bitten more than 70 times on both limbs, losing the use of his hands in the shocking attack. Mr Porter managed to save himself by using his forearms to choke the hound to death. He passed out from blood loss moments after calling his mum for help.
He said: “There was blood spraying everywhere. It was terrifying. I don’t know what was wrong with her. She didn’t stop and she was chewing on my arm for 45 minutes. I was in agonising pain.”
Mr Porter said he needed reconstructive surgery on both his arms after the attack in February and spent a week in hospital recovering.
As a result of losing the use of his right hand, he has been forced to quit his job as a tree surgeon. He said: “The dog ate so much muscle that you could see the bone and tendons. Surgeons had to put my muscle put back in.
“I won’t be able to go back to work. I’m still in pain and my arms look disgusting. Everything is a struggle. My fingers don’t work so I can’t do my shoes up. I can’t write or make food and it’s very frustrating.
“I sleep one hour a night and I have vivid nightmares.”
Mr Porter explained how he found Karma malnourished behind a shop and took her in, nursing her back to health.
He added that his fiancé had left him a few months earlier and his mum thought it would be a good idea for him to get a pet to help get over the break up.
Mr Porter said: “Karma was so thin that you could see her ribs so I fed her up until she was four stone.
“She was so sweet and caring. She was there for me and never left my side but there were signs of aggression.
“I noticed a few times that if I tried to grab her by the collar to take her outside, she would try and bite me.I just thought she didn’t like it and I didn’t think that much of it.”
Despite the attack and his injuries, Mr Porter had Karma cremated and keeps her ashes at home.
He said: “I love her and I just feel like she had a bad day. I don’t hold it against her.”