Oregon’s State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF) released a clever video that warns workers to be more careful around animals and pets in the workplace. Since 2014 the fund has logged 1,900 claims because of dogs and cats.

“It’s easy to assume that injuries from small animals only occur in the animal services industry,” said Becky Griswold, senior safety management consultant at SAIF. “But we’re seeing injuries across industries.”

Veterinary services, pet care and universities accounted for the highest rate of injuries but workers in healthcare also get injured by pets. Since 2014 SAIF data shows 30 cat-related injuries in home health care, nursing care facilities, hospitals and residential care facilities combined. Dog-related injuries are common in these healthcare fields too, with 94 injuries relating to dogs reported since 2014. Dogs also accounted for 54 injuries in in-home service industries like janitorial services, plumbing and HVAC services. Restaurants saw 20 dog-related injuries.

Griswold said the organization loves pets and is not encouraging businesses to alter any pet-friendly policies they may have, but SAIF wants to “educate employees on how to safely interact with pets in the course of their day.”

Some of their tips include:

• Approaching pets cautiously to avoid injury to yourself and unnecessary stress to the animal
• If the owner is present, always ask permission before approaching the animal
• If the animal is in a car don’t reach through the window as this may scare the animal
• Approach pets calmly, ideally let them approach you on their own terms
• If they are calm and come to you, pet them gently
• If you are in doubt about whether a pet is exhibiting fearful/aggressive behavior, ignore and avoid it

Read more tips from www.saif.com/animalsafety and read more from KTVZ News.