Dog owner 'not fit for firearms license' after pet shoots him with rifle

A man has been told by a German court that he is not fit to carry a firearms license after his dog shot him with a rifle.

An earlier decision by Bavarian authorities to withdraw his license to own a rifle, as well as his hunting permit, was appealed by the man but this was dismissed by a Munich administrative court.

The decision followed a 2016 incident in which the man’s dog managed to release the trigger on a loaded rifle that was lying in his car and shot him in the arm.

The court ruled the man, a passionate hunter, could not be relied upon "because it must be assumed that he will handle firearms and ammunition carelessly in future as well."

He can appeal the ruling.

It is not the first time a dog has shot its owner.

In November last year, a dog named Charlie shot a man named Tex on the way to a jackrabbit hunt in the New Mexico desert.

The 120-pound Rottweiler mix got his foot caught in the trigger of the gun, shooting his owner through his ribs, lung and collarbone.

In May last year, an Iowa man was shot by his dog while they were roughhousing one afternoon.

Richard Remme, 51, of Fort Dodge, told police police he was playing with his dog, Balew, on the couch and tossed the dog off his lap.

When the pit bull-Labrador mix bounded back up, he must have disabled the safety on the gun in his belly band and stepped on the trigger.

The gun fired and hit one of Mr Remme’s legs.