Dog Triggers Gun Blast, Killing Owner

HOUSTON (AP) ? A tracking dog apparently stepped on a loaded shotgun in the bed of his owner's pickup truck, firing a fatal blast into the man's thigh during a goose hunt, officials said.

Perry Alvin Price III died at a hospital Saturday from severe blood loss from his femoral artery shortly after the southeast Texas accident.

According to Chambers County sheriff's investigators, Price was hunting on a lease near Stowell, about 60 miles east of Houston, when he shot down a goose.

Price, 46, then set the gun in the back of his truck and was about to open the tailgate to release his tracking dog when the shotgun fired, investigators said. The blast penetrated the truck's tailgate before hitting Price.

Paw prints from the dog, a chocolate Labrador retriever named Arthur, were found on the muddy shotgun, Sheriff Joe LaRive said. Daniel Groberg, Price's hunting partner, said he tried to stop the bleeding with clothing before driving him to seek help.

"It's the strangest case that I've seen," LaRive said. "We couldn't talk to Perry and Groberg was at the front of the truck when he heard the shotgun blast and didn't see what happened."