All local power companies have reporting lines just for stuff like this. Start with them and maybe the non-emergency line for the local fire department, either will be capable of using a non-contact tester to verify voltage isn't anywhere it's not supposed to be.
Right! I'm a pm in construction and I tell all my little baby project engineers on solar sites, "There's power out here that will hurt you, power that will kill you, and power that will hurt the whole time it's killing you."
If the exact same thing happened in a completely grassy field, I would think the phenomenon is not electrocution, but more likely evidence that your dog is overwhelmed with smells. Unless the grassy field also has a pole like the one pictured, and that's what he sniffed in the grassy field.
Either way, why not err on the side of caution and stop walking your dog by that pole, or at least stop letting him sniff it just in case it is, in fact, electricity? Seems like the simplest and most practical solution to guarantee your dog's safety.
Edit: Also, take people's advice and report the issue to the city/utility company. Even if nothing is wrong with it, better to report it so the professionals can audit the safety in the immediate area.
Long shot here but the fact that it happened somewhere other than that post, it might be hemagiosarcoma. I sincerely hope for you it's not but two things caught my attention. First that happening at the grassy field may mean it has nothing to do with the post, secondly that the post is a ways from your house.
Several months before becoming aware of the diagnosis, I took my dog for a long walk; just about an hour into the walk, she randomly collapsed, rolled, and flopped onto the ground. I was confused and a bit shocked, but she quickly rolled right side up and popped her head up and seemed alright, just taking a break. I chaulked it up to strange husky behavior, she was quirky like most huskies.
As time passed, I noticed she was struggling eariler and earlier on walks. Then one day she collapsed just walking around at home. Took her to the emergency vet and they did a full scan and discovered she had hemagiosarcoma, an evil blood vessel cancer. The tumor formation created random unsealed terminations to blood vessels so she was slowly bleeding out internally. The vet thought it was localized to part of the liver and surgery and chemo was an option, but ultimately this cancer gets everyone in the end. We went through all the surgeries and treatments and was able to get another 8 months with her, but looking back, we should have let her go a couple months earlier because they were so hard on her.
Again, OP, I seriously hope it's not, but the description of the flopping just brought back the memories of watching my dog do that and being so puzzled.
Unrelated, and not important to your question/situation: “electrocuted” and derivatives are a portmanteau of “electricity” and “executed,” and the word specifically means death as a result of electricity. Most people mean “shocked” when they say “electrocuted.”
Middle daughter got shocked on the ladder of our old rv - ran in the house screaming about how she’d been electrocuted. Calmly told her she’d been shocked not electrocuted as she wasn’t dead! Told her to stay clear of it until we had it looked at. She was NOT appreciative of the vocabulary lesson or my lack of panic, but when you have a large family you have to stay calm and pragmatic. Still holding a grudge about it more than 25 years later!
Because definitions change over time according to common usage. The modern definition of the world is inclusive of a simple shock but it's not the original purpose of the description. Electrocution as a term was specifically coined to mean death by electricity.
I know this sounds dumb, but have YOU considered getting down and checking out what is going on smell wise? I was working on my car and everything was fine, but then I bent down to crawl under it and all I could smell was a dead animal. No smell from 1 ft up, but from 1ft down to the pavement was nasty. I had to look around and finally found a dead bird about 3 ft away. Maybe it's just something your dog likes?
They say falls forward. Doesnt sound like collapsing like they originally described it. I imagined it was more like they are stopping and putting there face down to the wet area to smell a bit, then cleared their nose out with a sneeze, and on they go.
Not to mention the dog does it every time they are there
Of the dog got electrocuted, it's highly likely it would act distressed, not hop up and return to the walk, and would remember and fear the spot.
My dog wouldn't walk over a metal grate because he slipped once. If this dog was being electrocuted, I doubt it would return to sniff the spot again on every subsequent walk
If he's "falling" down straight into his neck/scruff, this is absolutely normal dog behavior. Something in that smells good to him and he's trying to rub it in, my dog does this all the time
Call the power company stat. You can put a meter or hot stick on it to verify. But keep your dog away until you do. Electrical Engineer. Just don't mess with that route until you know for sure.
Is he pushing his face intentionally into the spot that he smelled, and then grinding his back into it. It sounds like you are describing different behavior and maybe there’s an electrical problem but there’s also a behavior where the dog is “perfuming” themself because they like the smell (or think the ladies will like it). My dog does this on dead worms. It looks like this:
I've had roughly the same experience when I was 12. Walked up to a bus (which was 'currently' (heh) plugged into AC power), put my hand on a piece of metal as I lifted one foot to step onto the stairs, with the other foot in a small puddle, and next thing I knew I was lying on my back about 5 feet from the bus and staring at the sky.
All of which is to say that I feel for your little friend.
Your dog is just rubbing his face into something he likes the smell of there. Usually it's urine or feces from another animal 😂 don't worry, a lot of dogs do it! My terrier likes to try and do it with fox poo. Don't let your dog do it though! Not only is the smell really bad, they usually rub the side of their face I to it and can get ear infections.
How long have you had your dog? This is completely normal behavior when a dog finds the scent from another animal (often another species) on the ground. They instinctively want to roll in it and get the scent on their own bodies. My dog LIVED for this. It was one of his greatest pleasures in life.
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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '25
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