A Memphis man had his furry best friend turn on him as he was in bed with his girlfriend. One would think the canine friend attacked the man with its teeth. However, that was not the case.
The almost unbelievable incident happened Monday afternoon at the 700 block of Whitney Avenue in Frayser, Memphis. Per police reports, the victim and his girlfriend were in bed with a gun around 4 am when their pit bull, named Oreo, leapt into the bed, and things took a drastic turn.
Oreo’s paws became entangled in the trigger, accidentally releasing a bullet that nicked the man’s thigh. Luckily, the gunshot resulted in no life-threatening wounds. While speaking to Fox 13, the victim’s partner confirmed the reports. Although the girlfriend hid her face from the camera, she recalled the embarrassing incident, blaming it on the dog’s playful nature. In her words:
“The dog is a playful dog, and he likes to jump around and stuff like that and it just went off.”
When asked if it was the gunshot that woke her up or her boyfriend’s screams, she replied that it was a combination of both. The girlfriend, however, had one piece of advice for everyone with guns and dogs. “Keep the safety on or use the trigger lock,” she warned.
This incident adds to the growing statistics of the rarely recorded shootings by dogs. A Washington Post report revealed that at least six Americans were shot by their furry family members between 2010 and 2015. However, many of the mishaps reported occurred during hunting season. With less strict gun laws, perhaps more dog-related shooting events might occur.
Unsurprisingly, the news about the dog shooting its owner in Memphis has made its rounds on the Internet, sparking diverse reactions.
“So now not only do we need to be worried about people shooting people… but DOGS shooting people,” an alarmed user wrote.
“Guns don’t shoot people, dogs shoot people,” a second netizen mocked, while another added, “We need stricter dog laws.”
While streams of comments about the event poured in, some commenters insinuated the incident was a big lie. An internet user claimed the “dog was FRAMED,” while another poked holes at the storyline.
“Man and woman were fighting. Woman started waving the gun around and accidentally shot him. They cooked up a story to blame the dog, and the police were like ok, one less arrest. No one died, so we’ll buy it,” the Redditor theorized.
The user playfully wrote that if the dog needed help, he knew good “pawyers.” Amidst several discussions on the internet about the happenings, the man and his dog are safe.
