A woman has died after a dog licked her wound, a court has heard.
June Baxter, 83, cut her leg after falling from her commode on June 29.
The retired legal secretary, who was alone when she fell, pressed her community call bell to alert her granddaughter Caitlan Allin, who acts as her main carer.
Ms Allin arrived at the house in Attleborough with her dog, which licked the wound, Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard.
Mrs Baxter told her granddaughter she felt unwell the following day and was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital on July 1.
Tests revealed the presence of pasteurella multocida - a bacterium commonly found in the mouths of animals.
Mrs Baxter’s condition deteriorated despite treatment and she died from septic shock on July 7. Secondary causes of death included kidney, liver and heart conditions.
On Tuesday, Coroner Johanna Thompson recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
In a statement to court, Mrs Baxter’s daughter, Clare Wootten, said her “independent and determined” mother has previously suffered from sepsis.
Mrs Wootten said she had not personally seen a dog lick Mrs Baxter’s leg, but said there was a “possibility” it could have happened and “agreed with the cause of death”.
Mrs Baxter’s family were not in court, but the coroner said they had seen the evidence and were content with the inquest to be conducted in their absence.
Ms Thompson said: “Mrs Baxter was in frail health. On June 29 she was found to have injured her leg at her home.
“On the following day she reported feeling unwell. She was
taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital where she was diagnosed with an infection which was subsequently identified to be arising from a domestic dog lick.”
