Tenn. Man Says He Was Accidentally Shot by His Dog While Lying in Bed: Police

A dog owner in Tennessee says he was shot in the leg by his pet while lying in bed with a female companion.

According to a press release from the Memphis Police Department obtained by PEOPLE, officers responded to the man’s home on Whitney Avenue about the “accidental injury” shortly before 4:00 a.m. on Monday, March 10.

The man allegedly told officers he was laying on his bed “relaxing” and “talking” with his female friend when his dog “jumped on the bed and got his paw stuck in the trigger guard and ended up hitting the trigger.”

The man, who has not been identified, was “grazed in his top left thigh,” police said.

Although the man’s female friend allegedly left the scene with the gun following the incident, the Memphis Police Department said that officers were able to locate “one spent shell casings on the front room floor.”

First responders arrived on the scene and were able to clean the man’s wound before taking him to a local hospital in “non-critical” condition, police said.

An update on his health is not available at this time. The Memphis Police Department tells PEOPLE the information provided is all that is available.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security considers the “safe and secure storage” of a firearm one of the most essential responsibilities of gun owners.

To aid with safety measures, the government office advises gun owners to “treat every firearm as if it were loaded” and to properly understand how it operates before using it.

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Gun owners are also advised to store their firearms and ammunition separately “so that they are not accessible to children or other unauthorized persons.”