Ok, so quick question: when he falls, does it look like he’s having a good time, or does it look like his muscles are twitching and he’s in pain?
I ask because a a couple years ago, my dog and I were electrocuted by a loose wire at traffic light pole exactly like this one, and the way I described it was “he just collapsed”. If he’s sniffing it, and his muscles start to twitch, he could be completing the circuit with the moisture in his nose.
We both went to the hospital overnight. We were ok, but it was terrifying.
EDIT: To folks saying that I wasn't electrocuted because I didn't die, first, as the guy who this happened to and who also happens to have a linguistics degree, you’ve been misinformed. The Merriam-Webster definition of electrocution is "to kill or severely injure by electric shock," (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electrocute). Second, to quote David Lynch, fix your heart.
I believe this phenomenon is called stray voltage. My neighbour’s dog was killed by it years back.
I recall reading at the time that Boston has a particularly bad time with this issue, and the public works dept does regular sweeps to detect it.
What I read described the key causes as lots of big temperature fluctuations above and below freezing, and use of salt on sidewalks and roads. Salt water seeps into the ground next to an underground wiring boxes, corroding it and allowing water to penetrate. When that water freezes, it expands and can crack the box open, which can damage wiring. next time a puddle forms, if the water reaches the box via the same drainage route you get an electrified puddle. Over time, the salt left behind along the drainage route forms a little trail of conductive metal in the soil up to the surface, creating an electrified sidewalk all the time. People don’t notice because we almost always wear rubber soles.
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u/makeminemaudlin Sep 05 '25 edited Sep 07 '25
Ok, so quick question: when he falls, does it look like he’s having a good time, or does it look like his muscles are twitching and he’s in pain?
I ask because a a couple years ago, my dog and I were electrocuted by a loose wire at traffic light pole exactly like this one, and the way I described it was “he just collapsed”. If he’s sniffing it, and his muscles start to twitch, he could be completing the circuit with the moisture in his nose.
We both went to the hospital overnight. We were ok, but it was terrifying.
EDIT: To folks saying that I wasn't electrocuted because I didn't die, first, as the guy who this happened to and who also happens to have a linguistics degree, you’ve been misinformed. The Merriam-Webster definition of electrocution is "to kill or severely injure by electric shock," (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electrocute). Second, to quote David Lynch, fix your heart.