An elderly person falling in their home and breaking one of their frail bones is a sad and unfortunate event. It often means the end to their life as a self reliant, independent person. Recent research has been undertaken by Dr Susan Kurrle, Director, Rehabilitation and Aged Care Service at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Health Service, Sydney, NSW to look at the role pets play in causing accidents within the home.

Pets have long been regarded as a plus but they do get underfoot from time to time and falls can happen. This was going to be a serious article on the issue until I got to this line:

80 - Female - Pelvis - Cat - Fall while attempting to move quickly out back door as cat carried live snake in through side door.

Yes it is a serious issue but the mental image of an 80 year old woman high-tailing it out the back door as the cat enters with a highly agitated snake in its mouth through the side door is just too much for a Friday afternoon. Reminds me of the time my dad got locked in the walk-in canary cage with a tiger snake wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. The venom of the Tiger snake is the fourth most poisonous in the world and is present in large quantities. A normal bite could kill 40,000 adult mice.

I can still hear him yelling in abject terror "Shit! There's a snake in here"

laughed! we nearly wet ourselves (after we got him out of course)

Perhaps you had to be there, or perhaps it is just the perverted Australian sense of humour when it comes to these highly venemous snakes that share our bush life.

Anyway the serious research is here if you wish to read it.