An incident involving a light pole in Pittsburgh is under investigation after a woman and her dog were shocked while on a run. In a post to social media, Montana Mitchell raised awareness about a scary encounter she and her dog had with a “live electrical current.” The message was accompanied by several photos, including one of Mitchell in a hospital bed. Mitchell said on Tuesday she was running with her dog Denim when he suddenly yelled and lost control of his body, “like he was being tased.”The incident happened at Smallman Street and 11th Street near a light pole. “It does seem for some reason the pole itself was live and active,” said Dan Gilman, chief of staff for Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor.In the post, Mitchell said she was shocked while trying to take off Denim’s collar and get him to safety. Thankfully, they are both OK. “To hear that a lamp can do that to someone walking by, I guess it kind of scares me a little bit because now looking down the street here, I can see a number of lamps,” said downtown resident Ricky Parsons. Gilman told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that crews deactivated the light pole on Tuesday. In addition to investigating the pole, Gilman said there will be a city-wide analysis of every street pole, light, and masthead in Pittsburgh. “The bottom line is it cannot happen and we need to be proactive and looking at other sites across the city to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Gilman said. This isn’t the first situation of its kind in recent years. “It’s sad to see that another person has had to experience this same type of thing that I did,” said Robert Robinson-Dassel. “I really, really hope she and her dog recover physically and that she recovers emotionally from it because it’s not something that makes you forget quickly.”Robinson-Dassel said hearing about the incident brought up memories of a traumatic loss he endured almost two years ago to the day. On Jan. 7, 2024, he said his dog Nikki was electrocuted as they walked across the Murray Avenue Bridge in Squirrel Hill. “The first two or three weeks, I think every 10 minutes I sat down and cried,” the Greenfield resident said. A report from a third-party consultant found a low voltage inside the electrical closure Nikki walked on. It was due to an issue with the conductor. The city at the time said repairs were made and they would implement an inspection schedule to check the streetlight system every two years. “I wish that the city would’ve done what they said they were going to do and start the inspection process,” Robinson-Dassel said. He explained that he hasn’t walked on that side of the bridge since losing Nikki. Robinson-Dassel and his wife welcomed their dog Tucker home a few weeks into their healing journey. Forever missing Nikki, the couple believes she had a part in bringing Tucker into their lives. “You know, there were just some similarities and some things that it just felt like he was just totally the right dog to come home,” said Kathi Robinson-Dassel.Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 talked to Mitchell over the phone. She was not ready to go on camera just yet.

PITTSBURGH —

An incident involving a light pole in Pittsburgh is under investigation after a woman and her dog were shocked while on a run.

In a post to social media, Montana Mitchell raised awareness about a scary encounter she and her dog had with a “live electrical current.”

The message was accompanied by several photos, including one of Mitchell in a hospital bed.

Mitchell said on Tuesday she was running with her dog Denim when he suddenly yelled and lost control of his body, “like he was being tased.”

The incident happened at Smallman Street and 11th Street near a light pole.

“It does seem for some reason the pole itself was live and active,” said Dan Gilman, chief of staff for Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor.

In the post, Mitchell said she was shocked while trying to take off Denim’s collar and get him to safety. Thankfully, they are both OK.

“To hear that a lamp can do that to someone walking by, I guess it kind of scares me a little bit because now looking down the street here, I can see a number of lamps,” said downtown resident Ricky Parsons.

Gilman told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that crews deactivated the light pole on Tuesday. In addition to investigating the pole, Gilman said there will be a city-wide analysis of every street pole, light, and masthead in Pittsburgh.

“The bottom line is it cannot happen and we need to be proactive and looking at other sites across the city to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Gilman said.

This isn’t the first situation of its kind in recent years.

“It’s sad to see that another person has had to experience this same type of thing that I did,” said Robert Robinson-Dassel. “I really, really hope she and her dog recover physically and that she recovers emotionally from it because it’s not something that makes you forget quickly.”

Robinson-Dassel said hearing about the incident brought up memories of a traumatic loss he endured almost two years ago to the day.

On Jan. 7, 2024, he said his dog Nikki was electrocuted as they walked across the Murray Avenue Bridge in Squirrel Hill.

“The first two or three weeks, I think every 10 minutes I sat down and cried,” the Greenfield resident said.

A report from a third-party consultant found a low voltage inside the electrical closure Nikki walked on. It was due to an issue with the conductor.

The city at the time said repairs were made and they would implement an inspection schedule to check the streetlight system every two years.

“I wish that the city would’ve done what they said they were going to do and start the inspection process,” Robinson-Dassel said.

He explained that he hasn’t walked on that side of the bridge since losing Nikki. Robinson-Dassel and his wife welcomed their dog Tucker home a few weeks into their healing journey.

Forever missing Nikki, the couple believes she had a part in bringing Tucker into their lives.

“You know, there were just some similarities and some things that it just felt like he was just totally the right dog to come home,” said Kathi Robinson-Dassel.

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 talked to Mitchell over the phone. She was not ready to go on camera just yet.