'My Dog Shot Me,' Says Iowa Man With Leg Wound

FORT DODGE, IA — Is a dog man’s best friend? Generally, yes, but an Iowa man may rethink the quintessential question after his dog shot him. Yes, really,

Richard Remme, 51, of Fort Dodge, was roughhousing with his dog, Balew, Wednesday morning when the dog jumped in his lap and hit the trigger guard on the Ruger 9 mm he carries in a belly band under his bib overalls.

Remme wasn’t seriously injured in what police called a freak accident.

"My dog shot me," Remme told authorities who responded to his 911 call.

The gun, which Remme has a permit to carry, has both a trigger safety and a thumb safety. Both were on, Remme told The Fort Dodge Messenger newspaper, but Balew managed to hit both of them and shoot his master.

Balew was a mess afterward.

“The dog’s a big wuss,” Remme told the newspaper. “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.”

And now, guns may be added to the things that cause poor Balew to tremble.

Fort Dodge Police Chief Roger Porter told the newspaper the dog-shoots-man story is a first for him, but said it’s a reminder of the danger guns can pose.

“Guns aren’t toys, and they can go off,” Porter said. “All it takes is a little pressure on the hammer or the trigger to get it to go.”

Photo via Shutterstock / B Norris