Recently, I read a news article on DogChannel about pet-related falls. The statistics were very interesting because one fact listed was that 88 percent of the falls were caused by dogs.

In my job as a pet sitter, I’ve been knocked down several times. Once was by a big yellow Lab greeting me. Luckily I fell right into the dog’s bed so it was a soft landing. I’ve also fallen while doing a meet-and-greet with an owner when a dog rushed past me and I didn’t see the step. That fall wasn’t quite as soft of a landing, but I didn’t suffer any injuries.

You might surmise by the above that I’m a little accident-prone, but I really don’t think I am. I believe being around animals so much increases my odds of having an accidental fall. I’ve learned from these different experiences and now am more careful where I step and how I greet dogs.

Daisy

I recently took care of Daisy, a large Rhodesian Ridgeback. I’ve taken care of Daisy several times previously, so am used to walking her. However, this time I came very close to taking another fall.

Daisy usually gets along very well with other dogs, and I’ve never had a problem with her. However, I do cross the street if we are walking and I see an unfamiliar dog. This is something I do whenever I walk a dog, just in case. This time, however, there were other dogs being walked on both sides of the street, so an encounter was inevitable.

A gentleman was walking two medium-sized dogs by us. All of a sudden Daisy lunged for one of the dogs, pulling me behind her. I pulled back with all my might and narrowly avoided a fall. All the dogs were fine, but I couldn’t take a chance and let them interact.

Daisy and I concluded our walk with no further excitement. I called Daisy’s owner just to make sure this wasn’t a normal occurrence. Apparently, she just likes to greet other dogs, and because she’s such a large dog, it’s hard to control her at times.

I will continue my policy of avoiding dogs I don’t know in the future, because animals can be unpredictable, and I don’t want any animals to get injured under my care. Daisy was perfectly behaved on all our other walks, and my close call prompted me to give warning to other owners or pet sitters: Be sure you take care when walking your dogs!

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