CARRIE ANTLFINGER
Associated Press
WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) — It's hard to regard Ellie as a menace.
When Greg Manteufel is frustrated or feeling down, she sits by him. At night, she sleeps under his covers. At dinner, she's there next to him, knowing he'll throw something her way. She belies the stereotype of the vicious pit bull.
"We love her like she's our daughter," he said of the dog.
And yet, Ellie may be the reason Manteufel, 49, nearly died.
Gravely ill, he lost parts of his arms and legs, as well as the skin of his nose and part of his upper lip. The cause was capnocytophaga (cap-noh-seye-TOE'-fah-gah), a germ from Ellie's mouth or from another dog he encountered.
Capnocytophaga is commonly found in the saliva of cats and dogs and almost never leads to people getting sick, u
