Pet threat: Animals cause $3 billion in annual electronics damage

Dogshaming.com is full of electronics incidents. Coco the hound knocked a glass of soda onto a MacBook Pro. Levon ate his mom's new cell phone. Slim pooped on his person's laptop. These crimes against technology are pretty hilarious after the fact, but a new study by electronics warranty provider SquareTrade totals up some pretty serious damage statistics.

According to the survey results, pets damage 8 billion electronic items each year, with a repair and replacement bill totaling $3 billion annually. Good thing our pets are so cute. The most common offense is chewing, with two-thirds of accidents resulting from a pet placing a delectable phone, laptop, or other device in its mouth.

Another leading reason for pet-related device destruction (21 percent) was animals causing a person owner to drop a device while using it. This includes tripping over your cat and dunking your laptop into the sink, or getting knocked over by your overzealous dog as you're chatting on your cell phone.

On the grosser side of the study, 1 in 6 pet owners reported a vomit or potty incident on their electronics. Certain factors can increase the chance of a sorry end for your gadgets. Overweight animals are 72 percent more likely to cause an accident, according to the survey, while male pets are 50 percent more likely to cause damage than female pets. Dogs are also twice as likely to be the culprit as cats.

The survey involved 1,200 pet owners tattling on their four-legged companions. When I reached the CNET test cats for comment, they couldn't be bothered to wake up enough to make a statement.

So far, I've only had minor incidents to report. My sister's dog ate a pair of earbuds. My cat chewed the handle off a laptop case. My iPad survived another cat knocking it onto the floor. Let us know how you have fared with your furry companions. Share your best tale of pet technology destruction in the comments.