http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=a07415fc-32f4-4f4a-ab2e-e3ba237fd993
Careless hunter shot by his dogs

The Edmonton Journal

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

CHICAGO - A pack of hunting dogs shot a man as he went to retrieve a fallen pheasant, authorities said.

James Harris, 37, of Iowa was shot in the leg while hunting with a friend and two children on Saturday afternoon, the day pheasant season officially opened in the state.

The hunter had put his gun on the ground to climb a fence and retrieve the fallen bird. But the dogs followed him too closely, stepping on the gun's trigger before he managed to get over the fence.

About 100 to 120 pellets of birdshot hit him square in the left calf at a distance of just one metre.

"This is a pretty substantive injury," said Alan Foster, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resource. "It's obviously not life-threatening, but it will give him trouble for a long time to come."

Oddly, it's apparently not uncommon for hunters to be shot by their dogs.

"I hear about it a couple times a year," somewhere in the U.S., Foster said.
© The Edmonton Journal 2007