A man out hunting in Iowa was shot in the leg after a hunting dog stepped on his gun, authorities said. The accident happened after James Harris, 37, put his gun on the ground to retrieve a fallen pheasant.
One of a pack of hunting dogs following behind stepped on the trigger, and up to 120 birdshot pellets hit Mr Harris in the left calf at short range.
“If I knew which one of them did it I would make him pay but the crafty hound melted into the crowd before I could spot him,” said Mr Harris.
Alan Foster, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, told the AFP news agency it was not uncommon for hunters to be shot by their dogs.
“I hear about it a couple times a year,” somewhere in the country, he said. “The dogs always claim it’s accidental but it’s suspicious that it always seems to happen when the owner’s back is turned.”
“It was a genuine accident that he was hit in the leg, I was aiming for his arse!” laughed a one-eared, black and white dog, who did not wish to be identified.
“I don’t know what hop-a-long Harris is moaning about,” said a passing pheasant, “I took a whole wing full last summer and you don’t hear me complaining. If you can’t take it – don’t dish it out!”
