LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A 74-year-old man is in the hospital after his own dog shot him during a hunting trip.

After the shooting, Sonny Gilligan managed to call 911.

"He was done, there's no doubt about it,” Gilligan’s son, Mark Gilligan, said. “I can't say enough about the sheriff's deputies, because without them my dad was dead."

Mark Gilligan told KRQE it's normal for his dad to take his three dogs, Charlie, Cowboy, and Scooby, hunting for jackrabbits near Las Cruces.

In fact, he says he feeds the trio the rabbits as a treat.

His dad says he was sitting in the truck, his rifle in the backseat, when Charlie's paw got caught in the trigger. The bullet went through the seat and Sonny was shot in the back. And even though his dog Charlie could've killed him, he's forgiven him.

"He spoils his dogs, you know,” Mark Gilligan said. “He calls them you know, his boys. So he's very fond of his animals."

After the accident, Mark Gilligan says all three dogs were taken to a county shelter, but his father is trying to get them back.