Dogs Take the Blame . . . Again

"The dog ate my homework." "The dog tripped me." We make handy scapegoats for just about everything that goes wrong!

Here's the latest from the CDC and WaPo: Even when we're ASLEEP, we are responsible for tripping more than 85,000 Americans every year & sending them to the emergency room (well, cats account for some of those).

Read more about how dangerous we are: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032601634.html

CDC Analysis Tracks Falls Related to Pets

By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 27, 2009

Federal government researchers yesterday filled in a blank spot on the map of life's hazards -- the part occupied by Spot, Fifi, the chew toy and the water bowl.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that an average of 86,629 Americans visit the emergency room each year after a fall caused by pets or their paraphernalia.

That's the equivalent of 240 ER trips a day, and roughly 1 percent of the 8 million visits for falls of all sorts.

About one-third of the falls broke bones, about one-quarter caused bruises, one-fifth caused sprains and a little more than one-tenth caused cuts. About 62 percent of the dog-related falls and 86 percent of the tumbles involving cats occurred at home.

"We know that pets have many benefits," said Judy A. Stevens, an epidemiologist at the CDC's injury center. "We just want people to be aware that pets and pet items can be a fall hazard and can lead to injuries."

Dog-related falls account for 88 percent of the total, cat-related ones 12 percent. Children 14 and younger recorded the most injuries, but the highest rate of injury is in people 75 and older.

Women were more likely to be injured than men; they suffered 68 percent of the falls involving dogs and 72 percent involving cats.