A UK woman, a pet parent herself, lost all her limbs after contracting sepsis because of what doctors believed to be a dog lick.
Manjit Sangha, 52, was found “slumped on the sofa, her lips blue, and her hands and feet ice cold” by her husband, Kamaljit, in July 2025, according to a GoFundMe page.
However, fighting against the odds, Manjit survived – after spending 32 weeks in hospital, with several cardiac arrests and four-limb amputations.
A dog lick that turned deadly
Manjit may have developed sepsis from something innocuous, potentially a lick from her dog on a small cut, doctors said.
Her GoFundMe page said she was diagnosed with septic shock, complicated by DIC (Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation)—a rare and life-threatening condition causing abnormal blood clotting throughout the body.
She was placed in an induced coma, on life support, and on dialysis.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis occurs when the immune system overreacts to an infection and starts attacking the body’s own tissues and organs.
It is a serious medical condition which claims around 50,000 deaths in the UK each year, the UK Sepsis Trust said.
‘Can happen to anybody,’ Manjit warns
Manjit, who was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, February 18, told the BBC that she was still coming to terms with her quadruple amputation.
“It’s difficult to explain the experience. Losing your limbs and your hands in a short time period is a very big thing,” she said.
Manjit warned that cases such as hers “could happen to anybody” and urged that people take it seriously. “It’s very serious and not to be taken lightly.”
She said she was determined to walk again and to return to work. “I’ve sat down in my chair and my bed enough. It’s time to walk now.”
‘One minute she’s playing with the dog, the next she’s in a coma’
Kamaljit, who also goes by Kam Sangha, said Manjit’s health declined at an alarming rate.
“One minute on a Saturday she’s playing with the dog, Sunday she’s gone to work, Monday night she’s in a coma,” he told BBC.
She returned home feeling unwell on a Sunday afternoon in July last year.
Manjit’s heart stopped six times while in intensive care. As her condition spread, surgeons had to amputate both of her legs below the knee, as well as both of her hands, and remove her spleen, as she also battled pneumonia and gallstones.
“She’s so strong,” the 60-year-old said, adding, “She proved us wrong every single day with what she’s been through.”
The couple have raised more than £30,842 through a GoFundMe webpage for advanced prosthetics and raising awareness of the dangers of sepsis.
Manjit isn’t the only one
Majit’s case comes after an 83-year-old woman died last year after suffering an infection caused by a dog licking a wound on her leg.
June Baxter, a retired legal secretary, had been alone at home when she fell and cut her leg. Her granddaughter arrived at the property in Alleborough, Norfolk, with her dog.
Norfolk Coroner’s Court was told that the dog licked Baxter’s wound before paramedics arrived, and she started to feel unwell the following day, according to The Telegraph.
The court was informed that her tests showed the presence of pasteurella multocida, a bacterium commonly found in the mouths of animals.
June died from septic shock on July 7. Secondary causes of her death included kidney, liver and heart conditions.
