• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Doggoned Dog-Gunners (Dogs Discharging Firearms / Shooting Guns)

Angel_Fish

Gone But Not Forgotten
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
Joined
Jul 26, 2002
Messages
9
Could anyone point me at a site/article etc which discusses the "dog shoots man" genre of Urban Legends (e.g. where a pet dog accidentally/deliberately leaps on a gun, or an owner ends up shooting themselves when beating or poking the dog with the gun butt, etc)? Many such stories appear to be reported and confirmed as 'true', but others seem to circulate endlessly; Snopes doesn't seem to have a note of them (or maybe I just couldn't find it).

Reason for asking: I've just come across a reference to a "dog shoots man" incident circa 1830, and I'm wondering if this might be one of the first recorded cases :)

Thanks.
 
I've read an awful lot of stories of men being shot by their dogs but it was usually accidentally this sounds like the dog was 'gunning' for him (which makes me wonder if is true - either he is covering for someone or the story is made up):

Mexican shot by his own dog

A Mexican man who was shot in the back and neck says his dog did it.

Juan Evangelista Poot, 22, from Yucatan, told doctors he was outside his house when he was hit.

He turned around and saw that the dog had picked up his gun and was holding it in his mouth, reports Las Ultimas Noticias online.

Mr Poot took himself to the Hospital de la Seguridad Social Federal.

He said: "I don't know how this happened. One minute we were playing and the next he had the gun in his mouth. This dog is my best friend."

A police spokesperson said: "This is the most amazing story I have ever come across. And, so far as we can tell, the man is telling the truth.

"Somehow the dog managed to fire the gun, but it is not like we will arrest him is it?"


Story filed: 15:29 Wednesday 8th October 2003

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_827010.html?menu=news.quirkies
 
So maybe that advert where the dog parks the car isn't so far fetched after all? :p
 
Sept. 9, 2004, 3:40PM

Dog takes law into own paws
Reuters News Service

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida man was shot in the arm when a puppy he was trying to kill caused the gun to fire, officials said today.

Jerry Allen Bradford of Pensacola, Fla., was shooting a litter of seven puppies Monday when one of the feisty pooches took matters into his own paws, the Escambia County sheriff's office said.

Bradford, 37, told police he shot the dogs because he couldn't find a home for them. Having killed three of seven pups, Bradford was holding a fourth in his left hand, a .38 caliber revolver in his right hand and a fifth puppy in his arms.

The puppies struggled and one hit the trigger. The bullet struck Bradford in the left wrist, according to the police report. Requiring medical attention, Bradford went to the local emergency room, where physicians treated the gunshot wound and notified authorities.

Following his instructions, deputies found the three dead pups in a shallow grave near Bradford's home. The mother and four survivors are now with local animal control officials and will be put up for adoption.

Bradford faces charges of animal cruelty, the sheriff's office said.

The names of the puppies were being withheld. "They are minors," said sheriff spokesman Sgt. Ted Roy. "Even in dog years."

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2786648
 
Pup shoots man, saves litter mates

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/09/shooting.dog.ap/index.html
A man who tried to shoot seven puppies was shot himself when one of the dogs put its paw on the revolver's trigger.

Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, was charged with felony animal cruelty, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. He was being treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound to his wrist.

Bradford said he decided to shoot the 3-month-old shepherd-mix dogs in the head because he couldn't find them a home, according to the sheriff's office.

On Monday, Bradford was holding two puppies -- one in his arms and another in his left hand -- when the dog in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger of the .38-caliber revolver. The gun then discharged, the sheriff's report said.

Deputies found three of the puppies in a shallow grave outside Bradford's home, said sheriff's Sgt. Ted Roy.

The other four appeared to be in good health and were taken by Escambia County Animal Control, which planned to make them available for adoption.

Good dog. :D
 
Yup, WHAT a good doggy!
Pup's aim was poor though - should have got him in the nuts. ;)
 
Dog shoots man in buttocks, US police reveal
An American man was rushed to hospital after being shot in the buttocks by his dog during an ill-fated duck hunting accident in Utah.
By Andrew Hough
6:30AM GMT 01 Dec 2011

The 46 year-old, who has not been named, was hit just a few feet away from his "excited" pet canine, which had stepped on a shotgun in his boat.
He escaped serious injury – only receiving an injury to his buttocks and, almost certainly to his pride. Police confirmed the incident was not a hoax.

Officers said the man, and an unidentified friend had been duck hunting on the Great Salt Lake, in the country's west, at the weekend, when the bizarre occurred.
The hunter, from Brigham City, about 60 miles north of the state capital Salt Lake City, was shot as he climbed out of the boat to move decoys in the shallow marsh area.
Kevin Potter, the Box Elder County Sheriff’s deputy chief, said the man left his 12-gauge shotgun in the boat before the dog stepped on it, causing it to discharge.

"One of the hunters was inside the boat with the dog, and the other hunter was in the water setting up decoys," he told local media.
"The guy in the water had put his 12-gauge shotgun across the bow of their boat.
"The dog got excited, was jumping around inside the boat and then it jumped on the gun. It went off, shooting the (decoy setter) in the buttocks."

He added: "(The dog) did something to make the gun discharge. I don't know if the safety device was on. It's not impossible the dog could have taken it off safety."
It remains unclear whether the safety catch on the gun was engaged at the time of the incident, which happened in the bird refuge about 10 miles west of Brigham City.

Mr Potter said the man was hit from about 10 feet away with 27 pellets of birdshot during the incident at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
He wasn't seriously injured, in part because he was wearing waders or thick, waterproof trousers.

The men called 911 and walked to a nearby main road to wait for emergency crews. The wounded hunter was then transported to a local hospital about 9am on Sunday.
Doctors removed the bird shot and released the man to recover from his injuries wounds and nurse his wounded pride.

Neither the dog, which has not been identified, nor any ducks within range at the time of the accident, were injured.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... eveal.html

"They don't like it up 'em, Mr.Mainwaring!" :twisted:
 
Sun headline: Dog Shoots Frog!

No hard feelings after dog shoots huntsman in France
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19630411

Related Stories

Dog shoots Iowa man during hunt

A leaping dog inadvertently shot his master in the hand by catching the trigger of his shotgun during a hunt in the Dordogne, south-western France.

The shot blew off part of the huntsman's right hand, which he had to have amputated after being flown to hospital in Bordeaux.

But the victim, whose name was given as Rene, said he had only himself to blame for not applying the safety catch.

"It wasn't the dog's fault - and he's adorable!" he told France Bleu radio.

The accident occurred while the huntsman was taking part in a deer hunt on Sunday with three Blue Gascony Basset hounds near St Michel de Double, near Mussidan.

Two of the dogs ran off after a deer while the third, the youngest and new to hunting, stayed by his master, according to French news magazine Le Point.

"[Then] he jumped on me to give me a cuddle, I think," Rene said. "As he jumped, he put a paw on the gun."

The huntsman, 55 and from the region, was evacuated to hospital by air ambulance.

He said he did not hold the incident against his dog "at all".
 
A man who decided to shoot a bunch of puppies was himself shot by one of his intended victims. NBC News reports that Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, of Pensacola, Florida, sustained a gunshot to the wrist when "one of the dogs put its paw on the revolver’s trigger."

On Monday, Bradford was holding two puppies — one in his arms and another in his left hand — when the dog in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger of the .38-caliber revolver. The gun then discharged, the sheriff’s report said. Deputies found three of the puppies in a shallow grave outside Bradford’s home, said sheriff’s Sgt. Ted Roy.

http://boingboing.net/2016/02/12/puppy-shoots-florida-man.html
 
A real gundog. Accident?

WOOLSTOCK, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a pheasant hunter in north-central Iowa was accidentally shot when a dog stepped on shotgun trigger guard and the gun fired.

The Iowa Natural Resources Department says the shooting occurred around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday at a public hunting area near Woolstock in southwestern Wright County. The department says four hunters and two dogs were looking for the game birds when one of the hunters placed a loaded 12-gauge shotgun on the ground. It went off when one of the dogs stepped on the trigger guard, and shotgun load sprayed another hunter. The department says several pellets lodged in the back of William Rancourt, of Lebanon, New Hampshire, but he was able to walk soon after being wounded.

He was taken to a hospital in Fort Dodge for treatment.

https://apnews.com/1a52ab69becd4abcb1643585f7cf5326
 
Man claims his dog didn't shoot him deliberately

“Charlie did not mean to do it,” he said. ”He’s a good dog.”

Investigators believe that Charlie, a 120-pound Rottweiler mix, slipped and got his paw caught in the trigger of the gun and fired a shot at his unsuspecting owner.

Mr Gilligan has three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a broken scapula and is currently being treated at the University Medical Centre of EL Paso in Texas, where doctors determined it would be best to leave the bullet inside him, for fear of damaging his pierced lung.

The dog owner, who first told officers he had accidentally shot himself, said he had long forgiven Charlie.

According to Las Cruces Sun-News, Mr Gilligan’s son Mark, is not surprised the incident occurred.

“They [the dogs] are kind of rowdy. They’re pretty rambunctious and full of energy,” he said. “That’s why the owners gave them up. My dad has four acres of land so they can run free. So, it didn’t surprise me at all.”
 
Another dog shoots man story

Man who had leg amputated after being shot by dog reveals how he nearly died

Matt Branch, 30, and some friends were loading a utility terrain vehicle with hunting equipment when the black labrador retriever, named Tito, jumped on to the floor of the vehicle, stepping on a shotgun that had been placed there. The dog managed, somehow, to depress the gun’s safety mechanism and pull the trigger with his paw.

Branch, who played college football at Louisiana State University, was hit in the leg and was unconscious for 12 days. He had to have his entire left leg amputated and was operated on nine times.

After being fitted with a titanium prosthetic leg, Branch is walking again, back at work and intends to carry on hunting.
 
Another dog shoots man story

...the black labrador retriever, named Tito, jumped on to the floor of the vehicle, stepping on a shotgun that had been placed there. The dog managed, somehow, to depress the gun’s safety mechanism and pull the trigger with his paw.

Wait, wait, wait, just a minute. How on earth did this happen? :wide: Okay so I'm not familiar with guns and I don't know the mechanisms involved, but doesn't it seem a tad far fetched?
 
Wait, wait, wait, just a minute. How on earth did this happen? :wide: Okay so I'm not familiar with guns and I don't know the mechanisms involved, but doesn't it seem a tad far fetched?

I can see how it could happen, and in this case I can specify a likely suspect. The venerable Remington 870 is probably the most common pump-action shotgun in the USA. The 870's safety is a single two-position button setup implemented by a cylindrical component that can be moved from side to side through the front portion of the trigger guard. Push the pin from one side to the other (through the trigger guard), and it extends out of the trigger guard with visible red markings to indicate this is the 'fire' position. Push the pin in the opposite direction, and it extends out of the other side of the trigger guard with no red marking to indicate this is the 'safe' position.

If the shotgun had been lying on its side and the dog stepped on the trigger guard, it's entirely possible the pin got pushed from the safe to the fire position. Once that happened, all the dog had to do to fire the gun was make any move sufficient to trip the trigger (e.g., jerk a paw while trying to disentangle it from the trigger guard).
 
If the shotgun had been lying on its side and the dog stepped on the trigger guard, it's entirely possible the pin got pushed from the safe to the fire position. Once that happened, all the dog had to do to fire the gun was make any move sufficient to trip the trigger (e.g., jerk a paw while trying to disentangle it from the trigger guard).

Or - my cynical guess - he hadn’t engaged the safety and had left a cartridge in the chamber...

maximus otter
 
The dog managed, somehow, to depress the gun’s safety mechanism and pull the trigger with his paw.

The simplest explanation is that the man had left the gun in an unsafe condition. That's how these accidents normally happen; human error.
 
Woman shot when dog jumps onto car console, causes gunfire

An Oklahoma woman was shot in the thigh when a dog inside the vehicle with her jumped onto a back seat console, causing a gun under the console to fire.

The Enid News & Eagle reports that Tina Springer was in the passenger seat of the vehicle that had stopped Thursday to wait for a train in Enid in northern Oklahoma. The yellow Labrador retriever, which belongs to the 79-year-old driver Brent Parks, was in the back seat and jumped onto the folding console. That’s when the .22-caliber handgun under the console went off.

Police say cloth from the seat covers could have gotten into the trigger well of the gun, making it discharge.

The 44-year-old Springer, who lives in Nash, Oklahoma, and is Parks’ caretaker, was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police say Parks told them the gun isn’t usually loaded.

SOURCE: https://www.apnews.com/13c0fdaad9424fd388a0be8a1ad4a80b
 
Here's a new variation on the theme - a dog alleged to have shot itself in the face.
Bizarre call: Ohio man claims dog shot itself in face

Norwalk police say it was one of the most bizarre calls they have received–a man claimed his dog shot itself.

“Said his dog shot itself and he trained the dog to bring a gun to him,” explained Norwalk Police Captain Jim Fulton. “The dog had the gun in its mouth when it went off accidentally. The officers didn’t believe that story.”

Police say 31-year-old Jonathan George was charged with three misdemeanors, including handling a firearm while intoxicated, cruelty to animals and discharging a weapon in a municipality. ...

Capt. Fulton said George later admitted he was trying to unload his gun when he accidentally shot the dog in the jaw.

“If that’s true or not, or he pointed at the dog and squeezed the trigger, we don’t know,” said Capt. Fulton. “His BAC was 1.7, so that’s a little over twice the legal limit for driving. Shouldn’t be drinking and handling firearms bottom line.”

Lula, a 4-year-old boxer, is on the mend post-surgery but lost an eye in the shooting Monday. ...
FULL STORY: https://fox8.com/news/bizarre-call-ohio-man-claims-dog-shot-itself-in-face/
 
Back
Top