Charlie is still a “good, old boy” even though he accidently stepped on his master’s trigger and shot him from the back seat of the pickup.
“I was very fortunate I could get to my phone,” Charlie Gilligan told the Las Cruces Sun News. “The DASO (Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office) first-responders saved my life. If they waited 10 more minutes I would’ve died. I lost so much blood. I know I actually passed to the other side just before getting to the hospital but they were able to revive me through CPR and bring me back. I have so much appreciation to the doctors and first-responders who saved my life.”
Gilligan was hunting jack rabbits in south-central New Mexico when the incident took place. Among other things, the bullet entered Gilligan’s back, broke a couple of ribs and hit his collar bone. Emergency crews flew him to El Paso for treatment.
“Poor Charlie, he’s a good dog,” Gilligan said. “Truth is, (Charlie’s) a big, loving dog and would never hurt anybody on purpose.”
(Photo source: Mark Gilligan)