Tripping Over the Dog

According to the Center for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, more than 86,000 Americans end up in hospital emergency rooms every year due to falls involving cats and dogs.

For the record, nearly 90% of the injuries were dog-related, and females were more than twice as likely as males to be injured.

The most common injuries and the highest injury rates were for fractures and contusions/abrasions, and the highest fracture rates occurred among persons aged 75 and older. Twenty-six percent of falls involving dogs occurred while persons were walking them, and the most frequent circumstances were falling or tripping over a dog (31.3%) and being pushed or pulled by a dog (21.2%). Falling over a pet item (e.g., a toy or food bowl) accounted for 8.8% of fall injuries. Approximately 38.7% involved other or unknown circumstances.

Not said: How many people died from tripping over a dog or a dog toy.

My bet is that more people are killed by tripping over a dog than are actually killed by dog bites.

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