According to Highlands Today, Lanier was driving around Sebring, Florida in his truck with his dog and shotgun. The dog (name undisclosed) accidentally kicked the weapon, which Lanier had thought was unloaded. It turned out it wasn’t.
Lanier heard a gunshot, looked down and saw smoke coming from the gun and a newly acquired hole in his leg. Highlands Today explains in its report that Sebring police “did not arrest the dog.” An investigation is ongoing.
It is incredibly rare though, but these sorts of incidents have happened before. In 2012, a hunter in France was shot by his dog when the pooch jumped up to give the man a hug. The dog’s paw hit the trigger and shot the man’s hand, which had to be amputated. Still, the hunter had no hard feelings. “It’s not the dog’s fault,” he said.
Be careful about putting guns and dogs together; dogs are way smarter than we sometimes think – remember the dog that called 911 when its owner was needed help?
