Dog Shocked By Manhole Cover

1/21/12 – Danielle Thompson. South Street, corner of 4th or 5th Street (exact location unknown), Philadelphia, Pa.  Weather: Snow/Slush. Unconfirmed.

I was walking my large dog down the sidewalk when she got shocked (very badly) by stepping on a manhole cover.  I've never seen a dog behave like this- she starting barking/screaming and was jumping and snapping all over the sidewalk and street for a good few minutes after it happened.  BE CAREFUL PET OWNERS!  I hope you never have to see this happen!

Dog Shocked By Light Fixture

1/16/20012 – Anonymous. Welburn Sq., N Stuart St. and 9th St. North, Arlington, Va.  Weather: Damp from previous rain.  Confirmed.

My dog urinated on a tree and short light fixture coming out of the ground next to the tree.  The dog yelped in pain and jumped away.

Dog Shocked Sniffing Utility Box

11/2011 – Anonymous.  SE Corner Fairfax Drive and Randolph Rd., Arlington, Va.  Weather Clear, cool.  Confirmed.

My dog was sniffing a utility box on the SE corner of Fairfax Dr. and Randolph Rd.  He yelped with pain and jumped away.  Afterwards, he was shaking and frightened.

London

6/10/2011 – Stephanie Prescott.  Corner of Courtfield Gardens and Collingham Road SW5, London.  Weather: Heavy Rain.  Confirmed.

My Mother was walking with our two beloved dogs, Casey and Baby, to come and meet me at the Doctor's surgery.  It was raining heavily and my Mother didn't want me to get soaked so she was bringing me an umbrella.

As she reached the pavement outside the Doctor's surgery both Casey and Baby started screeching and jumping up and down on the pavement like they were having some sort of fit.  Mum tried to calm them down and was bitten by Casey on the leg as she was in so much pain, after a few moments both of the dogs drop on the floor like they had been stunned, Mum screamed at a passer-by to come and get me from the Doctor's and when I ran out I could not figure out what had happened, when we touched the girls we were thrown back by a strong current and all we could think was that they had been struck by lightning.

My initial thought was to get their harnesses off as they contained metal and could be retaining the current, it took a lot of strength to do this as current was transferring into us.  When I was pulling off our smaller dog, baby's harness she started to move so automatically I lifted her up, the only way I can describe her is like a new born baby before it has its first cry, she was soaking wet and completely limp apart from this strong buzzing which was going through her whole body into me, I rubbed her and she came back to us, I passed her to my Mum and tried to help Casey, Casey was much larger than baby and every time Mum and I tried to pick her up we were thrown back by the current, I could not even touch her ear to comfort her and my memory of her looking at me haunts me, I feel so guilty that I could pick up Baby but not our Casey girl.  As I knelt down to comfort her I felt an electric current shooting through my knees and it was then that we realised the voltage was coming through the floor and all that time had been going through Casey.  Lots of people had gathered and I had screamed for a Doctor who just stood there, there were a couple builders there who said we should leave her, I understand that people cannot put their lives at risk but if we could have moved her she would have been ok.

What felt like forever was only a few minutes and devastatingly our loving, gentle girl died there on the street in the rain.

She was such a loyal companion, my mother had rescued her from Spain when she had been abandoned to fend for herself, she went everywhere with her for the next 7 years, she didn't ask for anything but love and was so content.

We lost more than a pet that day, we lost a member of our family and in such a horrific way.

We have since found out that another dog walker had reported an electric fault to the council in the same area 2 weeks before, nothing had been done about this all that time and it enrages me that if this had been a child that had been killed it would have been in the news and there would have been outrage, but as it is 'just a dog' nothing has been done.  We are still awaiting the investigation findings, nearly 4 months later, with the council blaming the Power company and vice versa.

Nothing will bring our Casey back but if this awful incident can educate people on what to do should this ever happen to them or improve the health and safety knowledge of builders or even Doctors to know what to do, another dog's life could be saved.

Hot Light Pole In Cold Snow

2/8/2011 Anonymous.  305 Inspiration Lane, Gaithersburg, Md.  Weather: Cold, snow on ground.  Unconfirmed.

Crossed street with dog.  Had to walk through snow to get on sidewalk.  Dog stopped and sniffed light pole.  She yelped loudly and jumped back.  I touched the light pole and felt nothing.  No sign of injury to dog.

Little Dog Big Shock

2/1/2011 – Anonymous.  Driggs Ave and North 8 Street, Brooklyn, NY.  Weather: Rainy, freezing.  Confirmed.

My little dog was shocked on a metal plate in the middle of the intersection.  Reported to 311, transferred to 911 and now Con Ed emergency is there addressing it.  My dog is fine.

It's Not Salt, It's A Shock

1/12/2011 – Hannah Moorhead.  Roebling Street and Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY. Weather: Following Winter Storm, Slush/Snow/Salt.  Confirmed.

She was walking and all of a sudden started bobbing her head up and down like a gecko - convulsing, really.  I thought all her paws were hurting from the rock salt that was there, but when I went to wipe her paws, she kinda fell over and curled all her paws!  I panicked and dragged her off that spot and threw her in fresh snow to clean her paws.

She seemed OK after, but damn, I think she was actually shocked right there!  I've never seen her react like THAT even when stepping on acid rocks.  She usually just starts limping.

Philly Double Shocker

1/18/ 2011 – Kristen Toland.  2400 block of South Street (first half of block/North side of street), Philadelphia, PA. Weather: Damp and chilly (low 30s). Unconfirmed.

My dog and my friend's dog were both shocked.  Just jumped, tried to run away, disoriented.  Once we realized I remembered my older dog had something happen on that block about 2 years ago, same spot.  I just never go that way with him, but walking with him and with another person I didn't think anything of it.  

My dog seems okay now, waiting for an update on hers, she (dog) was much more upset and jumpy than mine.

Shocked Dog Jumps and Runs

1/8/2011 – Anonymous.  23rd Walnut Street (northeast corner of street), Philadelphia, Pa. Weather: Snow.  Confirmed.

Walking the dog and he practically jumped out of his harness and ran into the street.  I had to carry him home – no small feet considering he weights 100 lbs.

Dog Shocked by Manhole Cover

4/22/09 - Anonymous.  Foster Street towards 91st Street, Overland Park, KS.  Unconfirmed.  Weather: had been raining.

Walking along Foster Street towards 91st Street, when we came to the south west corner of the intersection our dog moved near a man hole cover that was approximately 10 feet from a traffic signal light.  It appeared that some one from the city had recently been working on that light because the marking paint was still in the grass along with marker flags.  It was in the middle of a calm walk that the dog suddenly started screaming and took off running like something had and was attacking her.  She has always been a good walker, right by your side the whole time.  

It was a cool night . . . and there were no signs of bite marks or sore places on her body.  She had bowel and bladder evacuation during the incident.  Luckily she was not hurt except for her nerves.

Dog Suffers Double, Man Single Shock on Sidewalk

12/28/2010 – Stephanie Smith.  174 North Brighton Ave and Park Vale Ave, Allston, MA.  Weather: Following Winter Storm, Slush/Snow/Salt.  Unconfirmed

While out for a walk my dog, Porter, was shocked twice by voltage from an electrical plate in the sidewalk.  It was covered from view by snow and slush.  He screeched in pain and was unable to move for a few mins.  When the fear subsided, I moved him to a safe sidewalk location and a passerby helped me by calling 911.  At this time we did not know what caused his injury.  The dispatch refused to send an officer because it was animal related.  It was not until a man stepped in the same area and felt the shock that emergency responders arrived.

Since the incident I have read many accounts of stray voltage ending in fatalites among pets.  This saddens and angers me that this hazzard was previously unknown to me and that it exists at all.  I would like other pet owners to know how quickly tragedy can strike.  In the meantime, I will change our walking habits to prevent tragedy in my family.

I Still Don't Believe It!

6/2/2011 – Lisa McKibbin.  Update.

My beloved dog Sam, at 6 ½ years old, was tragically killed while on a walk with me in Seattle on Thanksgiving Day, 2010.  The city had been hit with a severe snowstorm that holiday week, so for this reason, I do not like to venture far from home to go to our normal hiking area and instead took our daily walk through the neighborhood.  Never did I expect that I would not be returning home with my sweet boy.

After finishing Thanksgiving brunch, we set out on our walk, I wearing snow boots and Sam in his new down jacket that my mom had just gotten him one week prior.  We came to the main drag of Queen Anne, where lots of shops and restaurants and hundreds, if not thousands, of passersby visit and traverse daily with their children and pets in tow, when I noticed in the slight distance a mother and child with their dog traveling toward us.  As they approached us, and I being unsure of how friendly the dog was, told the mother that I would step to the side and let them pass.  When I moved over, Sam began to screech and wail, his body convulsing heavily.  He began to jump around as if he had stepped on something sharp.  I had no idea what was happening to him! I began to panic, and spoke to him as if he were my child, “Baby, what’s happening to you, please, let me take a look at you”.  When I reached for his paw, thinking he had some object stuck in it, Sam fell to the ground near a metal plate and light pole.  He was still convulsing as if having a seizure, and then he bit my thumb.  I had to pull it from his mouth for he would not let go.  I still did not know what was happening to my poor dog.  I could not believe what was happening, a perfectly healthy happy dog who all of a sudden was dying in my arms.

I began to scream for help when two men came to Sam’s aid.  One was a nurse who administered CPR, another who said Sam had been electrocuted.  Sam could not be saved, it was too late.   As I sobbed, my reaction to the man’s conclusion that Sam died from electrocution was, “what? What do you mean electrocuted, how is that possible”?  The man then told me to stick my hand in Sam’s mouth when I felt a shock, a current go through my hand.  I still couldn’t believe what was happening, even more so that Sam had been electrocuted.  I couldn’t believe how this was at all possible, we were just walking down a sidewalk.

I had never heard of the term contact voltage.  I didn’t know what it was, what it did or why it even existed, until now.  I began to do some research on this hidden and deadly danger and found that we were all at risk that day, I could’ve been killed, the people helping Sam could’ve been injured or killed.  Sam’s death was not an isolated incident.  The City of Seattle, Seattle City Light had found numerous contact voltage problems in light poles and metal plates following Sam’s death, but have since made repairs.  However, it is important to note that contact voltage occurs intermittently and may surface even after a survey or repairs have been completed.  There have been several recent incidents involving dogs being shocked within the last month in Seattle.  If contact voltage can easily kill a dog, it can kill a human and it already has.

What I thought was going to be a great walk with my best buddy instead turned deadly.  I had always believed that all was safe walking on sidewalks, standing near, or touching a light pole, even walking on metal plates that can been seen almost everywhere.  My life has changed forever.  I hope Sam’s story can inform and help others to keep safe, be aware of surroundings and learn how to stay protected from dangerous conductive objects, such as light poles, metal plates, even fire hydrants and other metal structures.  Sam is a hero.

Goodbye Sammy

11/27/2010 – Lisa McKibbin. Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, Washington. Confirmed.

Hi, my name is Lisa, I started a blog in memoriam of my beloved dog Sammy, who I just lost in a terrible tragedy.  This goes out to all dog/pet lovers, owners and anyone who would like to help spread the word in keeping our pets safe while walking on the streets.  Visit Sammy's Blog.

Rascal Electrocuted by Fire Hydrant in Brighton, Ma.

1/26/2009 – Dan Stevens, Brighton, Ma.  Confirmed.  Weather: Wintery Mix

I was just walking down the street to the 7-11 on the corner of Chestnut Hill Ave and Beacon Street.  I tied my pitbull (Rascal) up on a fire hydrant because the store doesn't let animals in. Rascal's leash was made of metal, one of those choker collars because he's still young and sometimes needs reinforcement.  Anyway, when I was inside the 7-11 I heard yelping and barking outside.  I ran out and Rascal was lying on the ground twitching, the leash must've conducted a current to his collar. 

That was the last time I got to look into poor Rascal's eyes.

Mother Comments On Thanksgiving Tragedy

11/27/08 – Nichole M. Baiz, 2997 Heritage Court, Mishawaka, In.  Confirmed.  Weather: Sunny.

My 5 year old son, Izaya Michael Baiz-Hickey was out playing with a neighbor boy when they came across an unlocked transformer box.  My son died instantly after touching something inside of the box.  My son's beautiful body burned until fire fighters could come and extinguish him.  I was unable to have an open casket or even kiss my son goodbye after he passed because his injuries were too severe.  It's a horrible thing to have happen to anyone.

Lamppost Shocks Pinscher

11/5/08 – Anonymous.  Montgomery St. & Evertrust Plaza, Jersey City, NJ.  Confirmed.  Weather: Cold, Clear.

I was walking my miniature pinscher (10lbs dog) and we were almost home.  She stopped at a pile of leaves in front of a lamppost (without a cover and exposed wires) to do her business.  She jumped back, yelped, and I carried her home.  I saw a mark on her leg which I thought was a cut and so I took her inside to clean it.  I quickly realized it was a burn mark and not a cut.  We monitored her and noticed continuous shaking and blood in her stool, she was lethargic and couldn't eat or drink water. 

We rushed her to the weekend emergency pet hospital where they had to do a full body work up of blood and told us she was in shock.  They gave her subcutaneous fluid and she slowly came back to normal.  It cost us 1K and I had to take a full day off work to monitor her.  It was very scary and we felt like we had no recourse to make sure this doesn't happen to another living being again!