Roughhousing dog kicks pistol's safety off, shoots owner

This is not Balew the pit bull, but Balew probably had a similar expression after accidentally shooting his owner. This is not Balew the pit bull, but Balew probably had a similar expression after accidentally shooting his owner. Photo: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images Photo: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Roughhousing dog kicks pistol's safety off, shoots owner 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

Richard Remme has a license to carry firearms, and carry firearms he does, even when he's lying on the couch at home.

Remme, 51, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, also has a dog — a rambunctious pit bull mix named Balew who likes to jump on things.

Normally, these two things don't impact each other, but on Wednesday the convergence of dog and handgun left Remme with a hole in his leg.

"My dog shot me," Remme told the Fort Dodge Messenger News.

Remme explained that he keeps his 9mm Ruger in a belly band under his bib overalls.

"I was lying on the couch, and we were horsing around, me and the dog. And I was tossing him off my lap, and he was jumping back on my lap," Remme said.

"Apparently he bumped the safety one time, and when he bounded back over one of his toes went right down into the trigger guard."

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Remme felt a painful burn on his belly. He didn't even realize his leg had been shot until he saw his pant leg turning purple. That's when he called 911.

Balew took it hard.

"The dog's a big wuss," Remme said. "The poor dog laid down beside me and cried, because he thought he was in trouble for doing something wrong. He's a pit lab mix. He's afraid of the dark, he's afraid of water."

Fortunately, the wound was not that serious, and Remme was treated and released from the hospital. The bullet is still in his leg, however.

Fort Dodge Police Chief Roger Porter called the incident a freak thing.

"I've never heard of that," he said. "I've heard of guns dropping and going off on the floor, and horsing around and guns going off. I can't say I've heard a dog story before."

Porter must have missed the other "dog shoots man" incident in the Ford Dodge area in the last six months. William Rancourt, 36, was hunting in November when his dog stepped on the trigger guard of a shotgun lying on the ground 22 yards away. The pellets caused moderate but not life-threatening injuries to his back.

Rancourt was treated at the same hospital that patched up Remme.

In January, a Russian hunter was fatally shot by his own dog when the excited hound bumped a shotgun that the man had balanced against his knee, butt down, with the barrel pointed at his stomach.