Activity, walking an animal

This code identifies an external cause of injury or adverse event that occurred while the individual was engaged in the activity of walking an animal. It specifies the activity itself, rather than the nature of the injury or the animal involved. This code is used to provide additional detail about the circumstances surrounding an incident.

This code is appropriate when the patient sustained an injury or adverse event directly attributable to the act of walking an animal, such as a dog, horse, or other pet. Examples include falls while walking a dog, being pulled by an animal on a leash, or tripping over an animal during a walk. It should be used in conjunction with a primary diagnosis code describing the injury.

• Always assign this code as a secondary or tertiary diagnosis, never as the primary diagnosis.
• This code requires an accompanying injury code (e.g., fracture, sprain, contusion) to describe the actual condition.
• Do not use this code if the injury was due to being bitten or struck by an animal; instead, use codes from categories W54-W59.