ALTON, MO. -- A dog chewed off an Alton womans big toe while she napped earlier this week.

Linda Floyd, 56, is recovering at St. Anthonys Hospital in Alton. She is a diabetic who suffers from neuropathy and has no feeling in her feet.

Floyd said she was given the year-old dog when he was about eight weeks old. She said Roscoe weighed about eight pounds and was said to be a miniature dachshund, although she was not sure of his pedigree. In any case, she said, he had been a good pet and she was very fond of him.

Floyd took a nap Monday afternoon and awoke to find Roscoe licking her right foot. But she soon realized that her toe was gone. She said her reaction was "total shock."

The dog chewed off the toe and part of the toe joint and also severed an artery. Floyd said there had been an adhesive bandage on the toe because she had a hangnail.

An ambulance took Floyd to the hospital and Madison County Animal Control personnel picked up Roscoe.

Floyd said she later authorized his euthanization out of concern he might hurt someone else. She said the alternatives were adoption to another home or returning him to her home. Floyd shares her home with two daughters, a son-in-law and an infant grandson.