HomePet News Petastrophies pets are feeling the crunch
Petastrophies pets are feeling the crunch
Written by MyPetFriends
Monday, 20 October 2008
We may be a nation of animal lovers but a new survey has revealed that pets are facing a whole host of 21st Century lifestyle hazards with the biggest threat coming from their owners! Modern day pet-astrophies include dogs falling out of their owner’s handbags and pets being stepped on by over-enthusiastic Nintendo Wii players. -
Whilst the majority of owners placed the fault firmly with their “clumsy” pets, the study of 3000 pet owners, carried out by animal insurance specialists Petplan, revealed that over a third of owners had accidentally caused injury to their pet resulting in an average vet bill of £170. -
Nearly six out of ten of these owners admitted to stepping on their pet, whilst 21% confessed to dropping them. The next biggest threat posed to pets by their owners was accidental poisoning. -
The survey found that the pet most likely to be stepped on is a dog whilst a guinea pig is the pet most likely to be dropped by their overly affectionate owners. -
One Chihuahua was lucky to survive after being dropped and breaking a leg. Owner, Clare Mitchell, said: “My dog, Sugar, jumped from the arms of a friend and broke her leg really badly. The break was so horrendous I thought Sugar’s leg may have to be amputated but luckily my vet was able to save it by fitting a tiny plate. Within two days of the operation Sugar was running around again – I can’t believe how lucky she has been. We haven’t picked her up since though!”
-
Petplan’s Vet of the Year, Brian Faulkner, said: “The survey shows how involved our pets are in our everyday lives which is something that can take a while to get used to! -
“Dogs are especially inquisitive and often get under your feet when you are concentrating on something else. Luckily, most of the time they see you before you see them and manage to move out of the way before you step on them but it is not uncommon for vets to have to help them through the odd accidental-owner-inflicted scrape and bruise.” -
Despite their clumsy owners the survey showed that pets themselves are enemy number one. Over a third of pets cause injury to themselves by eating something they shouldn’t, while a third have hurt themselves by jumping off furniture. Running in front of a vehicle has injured one in five pets. -
Some of the other pet disasters revealed by the study include a cat that tried to sniff a candle and singed the whiskers off one side of her head and a dog that swallowed a pair of knickers and landed its owner with a £1,200 vet bill.
Pet News 
