Every day in the United States, an estimated 240 people are treated in emergency rooms for injuries caused by their pets.  Most of these injuries involve trips, slips, and falls and more dogs cause injuries than cats.  But don’t let Fido be your fall guy.  Be careful when walking him and keep his food and water bowls and toys out of main traffic areas to keep yourself and your pets safest.

The latest weekly Mortality and Morbidity Report, published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says more than 86,000 people fell and hurt themselves badly enough to require emergency medical treatment each year from 2001 through  2006 in pet-related accidents.

According to the report, women get hurt twice as often as men in pet-related accidents and so do children and middle-aged adults.  Elderly pet owners, too, get tangled up with their pets and are more likely to break a bone than younger pet owners.  Broken bones in the elderly can be particularly serious, involving long-term health complications.

Dogs are involved in about seven times more accidents than cats and most dog-related accidents occur while walking them.

Dr. Judy Stevens, a CDC epidemiologist specializing in falls involving the elderly, conducted the study, using data collected in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program, which tracks emergency room visits in 66 hospitals across the nation that are used as national representations for the entire population.

Stevens said her interest in the falls of pet owners came after hearing patients comment frequently that they’d tripped over their dogs or that pet cats seem to be always underfoot.