Dog shoots owner in the backside

SALT LAKE CITY - A bird hunter was shot in the buttocks after his dog stepped on a shotgun laid across the bow of a boat.

Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Potter says the 46-year-old Utah man was duck hunting with a friend when he climbed out of the boat to move decoys.

Potter says the man left his 12-gauge shotgun in the boat and the dog stepped on it, causing it to fire. It wasn't clear whether the safety on the gun was on at the time.

"The dog "did something to make the gun discharge," Potter told CNN affiliate KSL. "I don't know if the safety device was on. It's not impossible the dog could have taken it off safety," he said.

Potter says the man was hit from about 10 feet (three meters) away with 27 pellets of birdshot. He says the man wasn't seriously injured, in part because he was wearing waders. The man was treated at a nearby hospital. The dog was uninjured.