US Man Hospitalised After Pet Dog Accidentally Sets Off Shotgun

In a bizarre case from the US, a man has been hospitalised after his pet dog jumped on a shotgun that was resting on a bed, shooting him in the back. The 53-year-old man from Shillington, Pennsylvania, who has not been identified, was cleaning his gun on Tuesday (Nov 11) inside his home, close to midnight, when the incident took place.

According to a report in ABC News, the man called his son for help after the shooting. When police arrived on the scene, they found the man lying on the floor but conscious. He was then transported to Reading Hospital, where he underwent surgery. 

"While they were responding, they were informed that a dog had jumped up onto the bed, causing the shotgun to go off, which ultimately struck the male," said Corporal Michael Schoone with the Shillington Police Department

"He's not sure what stage of cleaning he was in at the time, so it's unsure if the dog's paw may have gotten caught inside the trigger and the safety was off, or if there was some sort of manufacturer's malfunction. That's unknown at this time," he added.

The officials added that the man underwent an initial surgery but would have to be operated on again to recover completely from the gunshot wound. Though the shooting appears accidental, the police are still investigating the accident.

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Previous Incidents

This is not the first instance when such an accident has taken place in the US. In March, a man from Memphis, Tennessee, was asleep beside his female partner when his pitbull got its paw stuck in a loaded shotgun and ended up hitting the trigger.

Local news station Fox 13 Memphis cited the Tennessee victim's girlfriend, who was not named, as saying she was sleeping when the gun went off.

"The dog is a playful dog, and he likes to jump around and stuff like that, and it just went off," she reportedly said.

Two years ago, a German shepherd dog shot and killed a 30-year-old man in Kansas after it stepped on a hunting rifle. In 2018, a 51-year-old man from Iowa was shot in the leg by his pit bull-Labrador mix.