Man loses leg after being shot by a dog

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Man loses leg after being shot by a dog

He was shot after the dog, a Labrador retriever, stepped on the trigger of his shotgun during a hunting trip with friends.

By Web Report

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Published: Sat 12 Jan 2019, 7:00 AM

Last updated: Sat 12 Jan 2019, 2:21 PM

A hunting trip turned tragic for a former Louisiana State University football player who had to have his leg amputated after a dog accidentally shot him. Matt Branch, 29, was shot after the dog, a Labrador retriever, stepped on the trigger of his shotgun during a hunting trip with friends.
Branch, from Baton Rouge, and his friends were on an annual duck and deer hunting trip in Eagle Lake, Mississippi, on December 28. Seeing the hunters loading the vehicle, the dog named Tito jumped in the bed of the Ranger where the shotgun was kept and stepped on the safety, pulling the trigger, Insider quoted Clarion Ledger reports.
Branch's friend, Micah Heckford said, "The gun shot. Everybody looked up. The first thing I saw was Matt and within two to three seconds he realized he was hit." Heckford added that Branch was screaming and fell to the ground.
The accidental firing from the 12-gauge shotgun severed Branch's femoral artery and the group drove him to the highway to meet EMT officials who took him to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Heckford said doctors repaired Branch's artery and amputated his leg above the right knee.
Branch, a married father of one who played football for LSU from 2009 to 2011, is still recovering in hospital, where he will likely stay for two months. "Yesterday, they removed the ventilator and he woke up," Heckford told PEOPLE, adding that "all of [Matt's] MRIs and CT scans came back positive. It's a great outcome, no brain damage." Post the life-changing disaster, friends have set up a GoFundMe to raise money to pay for the footballer's medical fees.
 


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