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Maradona Has Surgery After Getting Bitten in the Face by His Own Dog

Mar 31, 2010, 2:00 PM UTC

Diego Maradona has had some health issues in his life, some necessitating a visit or two to the infirmary, but nothing piques the interest as much as reading that Maradona was bitten by his own dog. And much to my surprise, that’s not a euphemism for another drug overdose.â†µâ†µIt turns out that Maradona was actually bitten in the face by one of his dogs, and was taken to the Buenos Aires Los Arcos clinic where he received 10 stitches. Per BBC Sport:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Argentina coach Diego Maradona required 10 stitches in his lip after he was bitten in the face by one of his dogs. The 49-year-old Maradona’s upper lip was repaired by plastic surgeons at the Buenos Aires Los Arcos clinic after the incident with his Chinese Shar-Pei.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“He’s already at home and he’s in good spirits,” said his press officer.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µMaradona, who famously came close to dying from cocaine-induced heart problems in 2000, was hospitalized in the same clinic for this dog bite as he was just three years ago when he needed treatment for drinking-induced toxic hepatitis. So again, you can see how when one hears “bitten by his dog,” the mind takes one to a very different place.â†µâ†µOff the Post has a bit more info on the dog, offering that Bela, Maradona’s favorite Shar-Pei, was sick, and the former footballer and current coach of Argentina’s National Team was trying to kiss the dog when she “clamped her teeth into Deigo’s lips.”â†µ

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â†µThe site also has video of a news report, in Spanish. From the moving pictures I can surmise that the video is from outside the Buenos Aires Los Arcos clinic and someone at the TV station did a wonderful photoshop of Maradona looking frightened at a wrinkly, old Shar-Pei. I also could glean that the anchor interviews a veterinarian – at least I'm assuming that's what veterinario means in Spanish – and they discuss if this type of behavior is typical for Shar-Peis. As for the answer to that, my rudimentary knowledge of the language precludes me from knowing if this is an isolated incident by a sick dog, or if Shar-Peis are, indeed, killing machines under that cute wrinkly exterior. So, if you own Shar-Peis, you may want to be careful before you go kissing a sick one in the face. Here's the video, and for good meausure, a second video of two Shar-Peis sitting on a bathroom sink.â†µ

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