Everyone knows that marijuana can heighten sensations and let the mind wander. But not, usually, to the extent that someone might mistake a dog bite in the bum for a bullet wound.

Yet last week, police in Texas revealed that they were obliged to visit a man who contacted them to say he had been shot in the left buttock while sitting on his porch during a thunderstorm. Police in Groesbeck, east of Waco, concluded that the man, who had been smoking, had been in truth been bitten by his own dog, the Associated Press reported.

“During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the ‘victim’ had been smoking marijuana on the porch as the thunderstorm passed through the area,” Groesbeck Police Chief Chris Henson said in a Facebook post. “The loud thunder scared one of the dogs causing it to nip the ‘victim’ in the left buttock. He believed he'd been shot and subsequently called the police.”

Mr Henson said he posted about the incident “to quell the rumour concerning a reported shooting”.