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A grieving woman has told how a 'big softie' dog killed her brother and left her husband needing his legs amputated by just 'nipping them' with his bacteria-infested teeth.
Pauline Day, 62, revealed how the Japanese Akita called Ted tore her family's life apart after her brother bought him as a pet for £1,500.
The family had no idea that Ted - who resembled a 'giant teddy bear' - was a silent killer with deadly bacteria crawling inside his mouth.
But in July, Pauline's brother Barry Harris, 46, died at his home three days after Ted snapped at his arm, causing an infection and sending him into cardiac arrest.
Just a month later, Ted bit Pauline's husband Mark, 61, as he walked the dog on the day of Barry's funeral.
Barry Harris died after contracting a fatal infection when he was bitten on the arm by dog Ted
Ted, a Japanese Akita, has since been put down after he also passed a deadly infection to Barry's brother-in-law Mark who is now facing a double leg amputation in a bid to fight sepsis
Mark, who's been hospitalised since late August, has had all his left-hand fingers amputated and will lose both legs by next week due to sepsis caused by Ted's toxic mouth.
Pauline, from Colchester, Essex, said: 'They weren't even attacked. Ted literally just broke the skin on my husband and my brother.
'It was the softest dog but it had food issues. Whenever it was near food it was so aggressive. We think it was mistreated as a puppy.'
Barry, a groundworker, bought Ted from a private Facebook seller in a London flat in May this year for some 'good company' after going through a break-up.
The seller told Barry that Ted, who was 15-months-old, was well trained but when he got home he found that