Dog kicks gun; gun goes off; man's leg hit

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SEBRING, Fla., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Memo to pet owners: Don't leave a gun on the floor of a truck where a dog could kick it and shoot you -- which is what happened to a Florida, man, police said.

Sebring police said Gregory Dale Lanier, 35, of Frostproof was traveling in his truck when his dog kicked a gun on the truck's floor, shooting him in the leg, the Tampa Highlands Today reported.

Sebring police ruled the shooting accidental. Lanier was not seriously injured.

The dog wasn't arrested, pending an investigation, Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr said, adding he never heard of a case like this.

Lanier told investigators he thought the gun in his pickup truck was empty, Highlands Today said.

He said that he was driving "when his dog kicked his ... .380 pistol causing it to fire and the bullet struck his leg. Lanier said he heard boom, saw smoke and felt a burning in his leg," the police report said.