Dog 'shoots' owner in New Zealand

A New Zealand man is recovering from surgery after being shot in the buttock by his dog. Police believe the animal stood on the trigger of a .22 bolt-action rifle in a freak accident. The dog's 40-year-old owner was getting into the rear seat of a four-wheel drive vehicle with the rifle next to him when the animal jumped in.

He was among a group of four people who had slaughtered a pig at Te Kopuru, 90 miles northwest of Auckland on New Zealand's North Island. The group told police they had thought the gun, which in fact contained five shells, was unloaded.



Mark Going, a St John Ambulance manager, said paramedics who attended were told the rifle had been fired through the seat, lodging a bullet in the man's left buttock. The victim, who was in extreme pain, was airlifted by rescue helicopter to Whangarei Hospital where surgeons removed the bullet. He was in a stable condition in hospital on Tuesday.

The owner has not been named, neither has the breed of dog. Senior Constable Ian Anderson, of nearby Dargaville, said the victim was lucky not to have been more seriously hurt. Police are testing the rifle and speaking to witnesses.