Tex Gilligan, 74, was in good spirits as he recovered in a Texas hospital after being shot while out hunting in New Mexico.

Seemingly alone in the woods, Gilligan at first thought he was the victim of a random sniper when he was shot in the back through the driver’s seat of his car, suffering three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a broken shoulder bone. There was some luck involved in his survival, as well. Normally Gilligan doesn’t take his cell phone hunting, but the area rains had made him extra cautious.

But he was surprised when investigating police found that the perpetrator was actually Gilligan’s 120-pound Rottweiler mix, Charlie, one of the three dogs he’d brought with him on the jackrabbit hunting trip.

“It went through my ribs my lung and busted up my collarbone on the right side,” Gilligan told ABC News. “I had a gaping hole, you know, and a lot of blood there too,” he told ABC News.

As no one was around, Gilligan had figured it was the work of a lone gunman.

It was only when the county sheriff investigated that it was determined Gilligan had in fact been shot by his own dog. “The gun was positioned in the truck with the barrel facing up, towards Mr. Gilligan,” law enforcement representatives said. “The investigation is being handled as an accidental shooting.”

Gilligan’s son, Mark, was grateful for the swift police action.

“He was done, there’s no doubt about it. I can’t say enough about the sheriff’s deputies, because without them my dad was dead,” he told WECT-6, adding that it’s normal for his dad to take his three dogs, Charlie, Cowboy, and Scooby, hunting for rabbits near Las Cruces.

“He spoils his dogs, you know. He calls them you know, his boys,” Mark Gilligan said. “So he’s very fond of his animals.”

Indeed, Gilligan had no trouble forgiving Charlie for the mishap.

“He’s a good dog,” said Gilligan as he recovered in Texas after the accidental shooting. “[He] did not mean to do it,” he said.“I never thought that this would happen,” a good-humored Gilligan said. “It’s an interesting story: ‘a dog shot a man!’”

When Miami-Fire Rescue got a call about a tired dog in a Southwest Miami-Dade canal, they headed to the scene and found what appeared to be a Rottweiler-mix struggling to stay afloat.

“They quickly went in and pulled the tired dog out,” said Lt. Kirsten Miller, a spokeswoman for the department.

Video of the rescue shows three firefighters in the water, getting the dog to shore. The dog is then placed on a yellow tarp, clearly relieved.

The department said the dog’s rescuer, whose heart-strings were tugged by the sweet-faced pup, “will be taking the dog to nurse it back to health and try and find it’s owner.”

Did you know…?

Dalmatians, of course, are these days a mascot-dog of sorts to firefighters, but back in the early days of professional firefighting, this breed served a vital role that pre-dates even their time serving alongside these brave heroes.

It was discovered, much earlier on, that Dalmatians not only did a good job keeping pace with horses as they pulled carriages in the days before engines, but even protected them and kept them calm. British aristocrats used them for this purpose in the 1700s and the dogs even became something of a status symbol, according to Trevor J. Orsinger’s book, “The Firefighter’s Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs.; the more Dalmatians you had running along side your carriage, the higher your social standing.

This became far more important when it came to fire, which of course, naturally frightens horses. The Dalmatians’ presence would keep them calmer during blazes, allowing the firefighters to better do their job. And so they became the breed of the profession.

For awhile, even after the invention of the automobile, the dogs were kept around for tradition, instead guarding the fire house and all that was in it while the firefighters were out battling a blaze. Though few stations still maintain the tradition of Dalmatians in fire houses (those who do have dogs have them in all shapes, breeds, mixes and sizes these day), they do remain a fun, spotted symbol of this noble profession.