Man bites dog. No, seriously.

In journalism, "man bites dog" is a litmus test for what constitutes news—a quotidian, non-newsworthy event (“dog bites man”) that becomes a subject of fascination when events reverse those terms.

Last week, the Des Moines Register reported that Laine Henry, of Madrid, Iowa, bit a 50-lb. Lab-retriever mix named Buddy on the snout after the animal clamped onto his wife Caren’s face, tearing off her nose. The man-on-dog action proved the only way to persuade Buddy to let go of her.

Doctors hope to replace Caren’s lost nose with a reconstruction using cartilage from her ear.

Meanwhile, Buddy is in detention, but will likely be returned to his owner because Dallas County, where the attack occurred, has no vicious dog ordinance on the books.