A pet owner has shared an unusual story of falling ill with a stomach bug after her daughter's dog pooped in her mouth.
UK-based Amanda Gommo was taking an afternoon nap when Chihuahua Bella became ill and suffered sudden diarrhea. For reasons that are unclear, the pup made her way over to Gommo, who was asleep with her mouth open, and defecated on her.
“I was having my afternoon nap with Belle, like I always do, when I suddenly felt something squirt in my mouth,” Gommo told South West News Service (opens in new tab). “It was disgusting, and I was hurling violently for hours after. I just couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth.”
While Belle was taken to the vet by Gommo’s daughter and diagnosed with a stomach bug, Gommo herself started displaying the same symptoms as the little Chihuahua a few hours later and sought medical attention from paramedics.
Although she was prescribed painkillers for the stomach cramps she was experiencing and told to drink lots of water, Gommo’s symptoms became progressively worse over the next two days and she was rushed to hospital.
“The cramps got worse and worse until I could feel them all over my body — even in my legs,” Gommo declared. “I was so dehydrated from being sick and having diarrhea that my kidneys had shriveled to half their size.”
Doctors diagnosed Gommo with a gastrointestinal infection that had been passed to her via Belle’s feces. She spent three days being monitored in the hospital and was given electrolytes and glucose to help rehydrate her.
“I was kept in hospital for three days until they’d flushed the infection out through a drip,” Gommo, who suffers from Crohn's disease, stated.
“My discharge note said that I’d suffered a gastrointestinal infection caused by a dog defecating in my mouth — something doctors had never witnessed before.”
While Belle and Gommo are both now on the mend, the ordeal has definitely given the 51-year-old something to think about.
“I’ve forgiven Belle for her little accident and I still love her with all my heart,” Gommo stated. “But I will definitely be more mindful of what position we sleep in in the future!”
