Electrocution danger!!! UPDATE

[luvatfirstdood]

This was in today's Toronto Star...I am shocked (no pun intended) that such a danger exists for our dogs!!! The article follows after the short section with tips/whys/and history.....
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Fateful step leaves dog dead, owner angry

Mrak died after walking over a hydro plate that short-circuited.

WHY DOGS?
Dogs are better conductors than humans because they usually have at least two paws in contact with the ground, allowing the current to move through their body. What’s more, they generally don’t wear shoes (the booties some breeds wear could actually increase the risk of electrocution if they get soaked, since water is a great conductor). Dogs also pee on the ground, offering another conduit for electricity.
Humans, on the other hand, usually have only one foot on the ground when walking, which slows the current — as do our thick, rubber-soled shoes. But beware: metal-laced leashes can carry the current from the dog to its handler, as reportedly happened five years ago in a tragic New York case.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Don’t put booties, metal collars or metal leashes on your dog. Also, keep away from:
Street and traffic lights
Fire call boxes
Phone booths
Manhole covers
Construction hole covers
Service boxes
Decorative lighting

INCIDENTS OF STRAY VOLTAGE
Stray voltage has led to many electrocutions in the U.S. in recent years, including:

• Jodie Lane, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Columbia University in New York, was killed when she stepped on a service box lid while walking her two dogs in 2004. The current was reportedly transferred to her from the dogs, who survived. Her death triggered an investigation that led the state to adopt strict regulations on stray voltage.

• Cassius, a 1-year-old Boxer pup, died in 2005 when he stepped on top of a charged Boston sidewalk while walking with his 13-year-old owner. The city launched an investigation and found the utility, NStar, had removed a street light at the site but failed to take out underground wires.

• New York Post reporter Denise Buffa lost her 100-pound Italian mastiff, Mushy, in 2007 after the dog touched an electrified light pole in a Manhattan park located in Harlem.

• A Milwaukee family of former dairy farmers filed a suit last year against the utility WE Energies, alleging that low-level stray voltage caused reduced milk production in their 500 cows – and, ultimately, led to the farm's failure in 2005.

Dairy farmers throughout the country have fought stray voltage since the 1980s.
Stray voltage from sidewalk hydro plate delivers a deadly shock; 'it's completely irresponsible'

Jan 14, 2009 04:30 AM

Michele Henry
Paola Loriggio
STAFF REPORTERS

He would have done anything to save his dying dog.

Without hesitating, Dusko Avramovic knelt on the slushy sidewalk early yesterday morning, pressing his lips to his Labradoodle named Mrak in a frantic attempt to deliver mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"Anybody would do it for him," Avramovic, 55, said. "He was a wonderful dog, a member of the family."

Out for a 2 a.m. walk with Avramovic and his son, Darjan, Mrak dropped to the ground, squealing in anguish after walking over a metal hydro plate in the sidewalk. He was instantly electrocuted.

The plate, at the foot of a bus shelter on Keele St, near Annette St., covers a junction box containing wires that feed traffic lights and other electrical equipment. It short-circuited, Hydro officials said yesterday, giving the plate an electric charge.

Avramovic also received a shock when he pulled the dog from the plate to perform CPR.

Mrak is the second canine fatality from an electric shock on a two-block stretch of Keele St.

The Avramovics can't understand how or why live charges of electricity are flowing unprotected beneath the footsteps of pets and pedestrians.

"It's completely irresponsible," said Darjan, 25. "There shouldn't be such mistakes like that. What would happen if a small child walked over it?"

Any stray voltage is unacceptable and potentially dangerous, Toronto Hydro spokesperson Blair Peberdy said yesterday. "We're approaching this (incident) as if there's no difference whether it's a pet or a person."

While the exact strength of the current that jolted through Mrak's body is unknown, experts said yesterday that such "stray" charges originating from junction boxes are unlikely to harm a human.

A combination of rubber-soled shoes and two-legged bodies are better at foiling electrical shocks than the potentially wet, salted feet of four-legged animals trudging through slush and snow.

In dogs, a small shock can have a profound effect, causing pulmonary edema – when the lungs fill with fluid – or heart failure, experts said. "Even a mild shock can have an impact on a big dog," said Chris O'Toole, a veterinarian with the Blue Cross Animal Hospital on Danforth Ave.

Junction box currents can come to life unexpectedly, Peberdy said, for a variety of reasons, such as the freeze-thaw cycle that Toronto has experienced over the past few weeks.

Hydro crews disabled the faulty box yesterday morning and officials will trace all the electrical feeds to determine what went wrong. It could take days.

It's a process Hydro has conducted before. It also launched a city-wide sweep for stray voltage late last year after a German Shepherd was electrocuted near a light pole in the Keele and Annette Sts. area in November. The sweep, which uses infrared cameras and visual inspections to identify stray voltage hot spots, will end in the next few weeks, Peberdy said.

The Toronto Humane Society yesterday blamed Hydro for not taking the risk seriously in the German Shepherd case, and said the company would have acted more diligently had the victim been human.

"No animal should be at risk of injury or death while simply enjoying a walk," spokesperson Ian McConachie said.

Councillor Bill Saundercook (Parkdale-High Park) agreed, noting local residents are concerned about safety. He wants city officials to consider using sand on sidewalks instead of salt, which causes water to pool making for slushy walkways.



With files from Vanessa Lu

[Raleighsmom]

Thanks for posting this to make us all aware of dangers we never even think of! How sad for Mrak's owner and Mrak!

[Cinsmom]

My son did a report on this for his final thesis years ago. There was a conclusion, but I don't remember exactly what it was that remedied this. Of course, we're talking about an electrical engineer degree vs HS. No wonder I didn't retain it. Sounded like Greek to me anyway. Maybe I'll ask him, something about a grid I think.

[Jac]

OMG! Thanks for posting this...I never would have imagined such a risk existed!
Very sad...I just choked up when I read how the owner knelt down to give CPR to his Labradoodle...that hit home!
What a horrible, senseless threat.

[Calimom]

Yikes!! That's horrible!!!!!!!! There should definitely be accountability!!!!!!

[tuffystar]

Thank you for posting that! I can't find the words for the feelings I have. Thanks again for the heads up!

[tykesmom]

I guess it's not surprising to hear a lawyer say this, but I hope Mrak's owner sues the crap out of them! It won't bring his poor labradoodle back, but unfortunately, when it comes to big companies and utilities, losing money is the only thing that hurts them. And after winning the case, donate the proceeds to an animal rescue group. Maybe then they'd get the message!

[cissy k]

Just sent this on to my cousin in Toronto in case she has not seen it yet. How very sad for everyone!

[MaxandMe]

thank you soooooo much for posting this to make us all aware

and like Jac, i teared up reading about the owner trying to revive his labradoodle with cpr.

[luvatfirstdood]

Here's an update on what is happening with this in Toronto:

January 24, 2009
Paola Loriggio
STAFF REPORTER

Toronto Hydro plans to replace 30,000 metal "handwells" across the city with non-conductive ones by the end of the year after several dogs were jolted by street fixtures in recent months.

It's part of a $10 million preventative program that includes a stray voltage awareness campaign and a 24-hour hotline (416-222-3773) for reporting suspected hot spots.

The hotline and ads will be launched on Monday.

Crews have already replaced several defective handwells – utility-access cavities in the sidewalk, usually covered by metal plates – in the wake of the recent dog shockings, said Toronto Hydro spokesperson Denise Attallah yesterday. The latest incident occurred Thursday night in Liberty Village, near King St. and Strachan Ave.

A separate team has been assigned to replace the remaining handwells to prevent stray jolts, Attallah said.

The $10 million will also cover repairs and the ongoing city-wide sweep of electrical equipment, Attallah said.

"We're willing to spend as much as it takes," she said. "Even if stray voltage is just suspected, we'll dispatch a crew immediately."

Attallah said a growing number of incidents involving pets have been reported recently, after the death of two dogs in three months spotlighted the dangers of stray voltage.

A German shepherd named Pierre was fatally shocked in November near a light pole around Keele St. and Annette St.

Last week another dog – a 5-year-old Labradoodle named Mrak –was electrocuted after stepping on a live metal plate in the sidewalk.

Pierre's owner, Max Mancuso, said he was glad the distressing experience brought the issue to light, even though it was an electrified sidewalk – not a handwell – that killed his pet.

"When it happened, I was hoping a plan of action (by Toronto Hydro) would take place, that it wouldn't just be washed over," Mancuso said in a phone interview yesterday. "Any steps they're going to take is a good thing."

Pierre's death triggered a city-wide inspection of electrical equipment by Toronto Hydro crews. The sweep, due to be completed in the next few weeks, should help the utility determine the scope of the problem, a spokesperson said last week.

Yesterday Attallah said the utility will perform regular inspections – even after the sweep is completed – to ensure problems don't recur.

Stray jolts have struck several dogs throughout the city.

On Thursday night, Brian Lawrence figured out the source of the stray electricity that had been silently zapping pets in Liberty Village for the past month – when his dog Jake got jolted for the third time while stepping on a metal sidewalk plate.

"When it happened a month ago, Jake yelped and he was very lethargic for a couple of hours afterward and I had no idea what had happened," Lawrence said.

"This was so powerful that even four or five feet away it was conducting through the slush," he said.

A hydro crew discovered a bad wiring connection and repaired it, police at the scene said.

On Wednesday evening, a woman was walking her two dogs in Yorkville when one pup was shocked by a metal plate embedded in the sidewalk near a hydro pole, police said.

She called police after the second dog was zapped.

Neither dog was seriously hurt, police said.

The stray electricity was caused by a damaged pole, which belongs to the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area, Attallah said at the time.

Briar deLange, general manager for the BIA, said it appears the pole's wiring broke down over time.

"We check our equipment fairly regularly," she said. "It seems like it was just a fluke."



With files from Henry Stancu

[Calimom]

I'm so glad something is being done! Thanks for the update.

[blueteal]

Yikes!!!!!!! I would be so upset if that happened to my boys...........