Dog shoots Iowa man during hunt

BBC ^ | Tuesday, 30 October 2007 | n/a

[fishhound]

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.

A local official told a news agency the injury was "not life-threatening, but will give him trouble for a long time".

Alan Foster, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, told AFP 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.

"They'll step on the trigger assembly and, if the gun for whatever reason wasn't on safety, it doesn't take a whole lot to trip a trigger."

Mr Harris was treated at Grinnell Regional Medical Center and later transported by helicopter to University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City, following the accident in Poweshiek County on Saturday afternoon.

An investigation into the accident is under way.

[fishhound]

Poor guy.

It's just an accident and hopefully not fodder for the anti-gun crowd.

[americanophile]

Guns don’t kill people, dogs do.

[padre35]

Maybe the dog was pissed that the man hit only one of the 37 birds he flushed..

Like the Jerry Clower Monkey and Hound Dog story...

[Nathan Zachary]

James Harris, 37, put his gun on the ground to retrieve a fallen pheasant.

That will teach him to think twice before being a good Samaritan, helping fallen pheasants back on their feet.

I would have just shot the thing.

[LukeL]

I guess he was the man who shot his dogs “paw”

[HereInTheHeartland]

“told AFP it was not uncommon for hunters to be shot by their dogs.”

The dogs were really aiming for the family cat...

[Doogle]

.." and if he makes me wear that stupid camo hat again, I'll kill him"

[Cobra64]

[KarlInOhio]

Does anyone have any pictures of his purebred Cheneyhounds?

[MaggieM]

“AFP it was not uncommon for hunters to be shot by their dogs”.

Smells like a conspiracy to me! ;)

[Thud]

My law school torts professor, in private practice, handled a similar fireams accident case in which the safety was engaged on the gun which the hunter's dog knocked over. He and the manufacturer had the piece disassembled on a pure white cloth, and their experts noticed that a small amount of gunpowder came out of the safety. It turned out that unburned gunpowder could be injected into the safety in firing, and so jam it. The manufacturer settled the claim and changed the design.

Trials of a Philadelphia Lawyer, by Lawrence Eldridge.

[DTogo]

Had he only been hunting deer...

[scott says]

OK, I’ve heard of” man bites dog”, but this is getting ridiculous......

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Man shoots dog: No story.

Dog shoots man: Story.

[VRWCmember]

I’d still go hunting with this guy’s dog before I’d ride in a car with a Kennedy driving.

[LimaLimaMikeFoxtrot]

Good grief.

Gun safety is so easy to practice. Every gun is always loaded and you never, ever handle one (or in this case put one down) in an unsafe state. Lots of lax hunters have been killed while climbing a fence with a loaded shotgun.

Darwin nearly claimed another.

[woofie]

An investigation into the accident is under way.

They need to see what organizations that dog belongs to

[Bogtrotter52]

In DUmmieland. Same story. No gun grabber comments but out of the 7 comments 3 were Chaney related. One other was “About effin time”

[awelliott]

Had he only been hunting deer...

Now we know why it's illegal to use dogs when hunting deer. They're just trying to take care of us and keep us safe. We're so lucky...

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

"The accident happened after James Harris, 37, put his gun on the ground to retrieve a fallen pheasant."

I've heard of Golden Retrievers but I've never heard of a Harris Retriever. See what happens when you let dogs outsource? (Insert Dick Cheney hunting dog joke here.)




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