(NECN: Scot Yount, Lawrence, Mass.) - This is a story about an Essex County Sheriff's Police Dog named Ivan.
We can't say Ivan is in this car, but we can't say he isn't either. In any case, Ivan and his deputy were called into action early Saturday morning in Lawrence, Mass.
They were assisting police officers who had arrested three men and were looking for a gun they believe the men had hidden in a snowbank.
"Dog checked the area, apparently picked up a sent and as they are trained to do, started pawing at that location," said Lawrence Police Chief John Romero.
This is where the real story starts. Ivan found the semi automatic handgun in this snowbank, and it was definitely still loaded.
"First time I have ever seen it, an incident where the dog was actually able to locate it and have the weapon go off," said Romero.
That's right, Ivan hit the trigger, firing the weapon. The bullet, police think, might have hit the house were Cesar Brito and his family have lived for the last 13 years.
"That's very crazy you know what I am saying, I couldn't believe it, it is like one in a million chances for that thing to happen like seriously, out of a snowbank and to come in this direction," said Brito.
The great news here, is nobody was hurt, and police didn't find any evidence the bullet hit the house.
So, luckily this dog was good at finding a gun, but it was also lucky that he was a lousy shot.
"You know we can laugh at it now, because nobody was injured but it had to, everybody was startled, " said Romero.
Including Ivan we are told. The best news of all, nobody, including the dog, was hurt.
Police originally thought the gun might be defective, but it proved to be in full working order.
Serial numbers on the gun apparently show it was stolen in Manchester, N.H.
