Keep Your Dog Safely Away Stray Voltage

When you're walking your dog stay away from metal street fixtures such as metal plates, lamp posts, grates, manhole covers, service boxes, and fire hydrants. There have been too many tragic deaths of dogs that have been electrocuted, simply from walking over a manhole cover, stopping to urinate on a lamp post and so forth. In recent years pet electrocution cases have frequented the news, and the risk of an accident is even more likely during the winter months.

The street fixtures can emit stray voltage at any time of the year, and can be caused by fraying, poorly insulated, defective equipment, and uninsulated underground cables. In the winter time it's a higher risk as the snow mixed with salt becomes a conduction path for stray voltage. What can keep you safe is to remember that neither you, nor your dog should touch or walk over ANY metal street fixture outside.

If you would like to delve into this deeper, StreetZaps.com is keeping track of incidents, and has an audio of an interview on Animal's Radio.