A woman returned from work and found her large dog, a Doberman, lying on the floor gasping for air. Concerned over the animal’s welfare, she immediately loaded the pet into her car and drove him to a veterinarian.

The vet examined the dog but finding no reason for his breathing difficulties, announced that he’d have to perform a tracheotomy and insert tubes down the animal’s throat so he could breathe. He explained that it wasn’t anything she’d want to watch and urged the woman to go home and leave the Doberman there overnight.

When the woman returned home, the phone was ringing off the hook. She answered it, and was surprised to discover it was the vet. Even more surprising was his message — “Get out of the house immediately! Go to the neighbor’s and call the police!”

It seems that when the vet performed the operation, he found a very grisly reason for the dog’s breathing difficulty — three human fingers were lodged in its throat. Concerned that the person belonging to the dismembered fingers might still be in the house, he phoned to warn the woman.

According to the story, police arrived at her house and found an unconscious intruder, sans fingers, lying in a closet.