Elderly man was shot by his own dog and miraculously survived

Dogs are definitely a man’s best friend. Their pure and protective nature excludes nothing but warmth and love for their caretakers. If necessary they even put their lives in danger to save whom they love. However, this dog did the opposite. No, the dog did not bite or scratch its owner, he did something that a dog has probably never done before. It shot its owner!

A good dog?

All dogs are adorable and so was Charlie, a rottweiler, who was on his way to hunt jackrabbits with his owner, 74-year-old Sonny ‘Tex’ Gilligan, and his other two, four-legged companions Scooter and Cowboy. Gillian and his dogs were going from New Mexico to the desert of Las Cruces in a car, according to ABC News.

The dogs were sitting in the back seat, however, Charlie was in the front seat along with the shotgun that was going to be used for the hunt. Suddenly Gillian felt a piercing pain tearing through his chest. As intense pain shot through, he thought that he had been shot by a sniper.

Shooter dog, Charlie

In actuality, it was Charlie who had accidentally stepped on the trigger and fired the shotgun. The shot heavily damaged Gillian’s upper chest. As reported by All That’s Interesting he said:

It [the bullet] went through my ribs my lung and busted up my collarbone on the right side… I had a gaping hole, you know, and a lot of blood there too. I could see the blood and I felt it

The incident left the dogs agitated and Gillian contacted the emergency services immediately. As the authorities investigated, they ruled out this ‘freak incident’ to be accidental. Unfortunately, all three of Gillain’s dogs went to ‘jail’ i.e. to the Animal Service Center of the Mesilla Valley. He said that ‘Poor Charlie, he’s a good dog’. However, Gillian's son was able to get all the dogs back. Meanwhile, Gillian recovered successfully from the incident.

Thankfully, Gillian didn’t press charges against Charlie and even forgave him for what he deemed a ‘freak accident’.

Sources used:

ABC News - Dog shoots man, man survives, defends dog: 'He didn't mean to do it. He's a good dog.'

All That’s Interesting - A New Mexico Man Nearly Died After His Dog Accidentally Shot Him

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