Dog Shoots Man ... Is The Dog Related to Dick Cheney?

Hunting dog steps on shotgun, shoots his master in leg

DES MOINES - A hunter is recovering after he was shot in the leg at close range by his dog, who stepped on his shotgun and tripped the trigger, an official said yesterday.

James Harris, 37, of Tama, was hit in the calf Saturday, the opening day of Iowa's pheasant season, said Alan Foster, a spokesman with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

"He had surgery and is doing pretty well," he said. "He took between 100-120 pellets in about a 4-inch circle to his calf."

He was hunting with a group about three miles north of Grinnell. The group shot a bird and when Mr. Harris went to get it, he put his gun on the ground and crossed a fence. As he crossed the fence, his hunting dog stepped on the gun, Mr. Foster said.

No one else was hurt and the dog was not injured.

ASSOCIATED PRESS