By Joe Biesk
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - A woman who slipped on dog feces and hurt her ankle while she was shopping at a Florence Petsmart store deserves a jury trial, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

The Boone Circuit Court had granted Petsmart a summary judgment in September 2001, and dismissed Vickie Jenkins' claim that store owners were negligent in her fall.

Jenkins told the court that on April 23, 1999, she was shopping at the store, off Houston Road in Florence, when she stepped in the feces and slipped.

Petsmart argued that because Jenkins acknowledged the feces was out in the open and she could not say how fresh it was, they should not be responsible for her fall.

In a 3-0 decision, the appeals court ruled there are enough questions that a jury should decide the case.

"It is wholly reasonable for a customer to be perusing merchandise on shelves lining the aisles through which she is walking instead of focusing solely on the surface beneath her feet," the court ruled. "Additionally, Petsmart's duty to keep its premises in a reasonably safe condition must be examined and evaluated in light of the special nature of the risks to customer safety inevitably created by the presence of animals."