Dog shoots owner while hunting in New Mexico

NEW MEXICO -- A 74-year-old man is in the hospital after a bizarre hunting accident involving his own dog.

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

Sonny Gilligan regularly takes his three dogs, Charlie, Cowboy, and Scooby, hunting for jackrabbits near Las Cruces, New Mexico, KRQE-TV reports.

But on the latest trip, Sonny says he was sitting in the truck with his rifle in the back seat when Charlie's paw got caught in the trigger.

The gun went off, and the bullet went through the seat, hitting Sonny in the back.

Luckily, he managed to call 911.

Mark says even though Sonny was shot by his dog, he has already forgiven him.