{"id":111515,"date":"2026-02-11T22:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/111515\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T22:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:59:13","slug":"slushy-wet-sidewalks-could-spell-trouble-for-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/111515\/","title":{"rendered":"Slushy wet sidewalks could spell trouble for dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a chilly wet day in mid January, Angela and Karl Wagner were out walking their 4-year-old Samoyed mix, Laszlo, in Philadelphia\u2019s Society Hill neighborhood when he suddenly started yelping and shaking violently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aWe immediately started going into like a triage situation we\u2019re like grabbing his body, trying to figure out like did he get stuck with anything? Is he bleeding,\u201d said Karl.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple panicked, unsure of what was happening. It didn\u2019t appear that Laszlo had stepped on glass. When they took a closer look at Laszlo\u2019s paw, realization dawned, \u201c\u200aHis paw was hooked in on itself, stuck, shaking. Like, I mean, every single nerve is firing. \u200aAnd when I touched it, I felt it and I was like, oh, that\u2019s electricity,\u201d said Karl.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Karl scooped up the 62 pound, black and white, fluffy dog, ran across the street, and watched as Laszlo\u2019s paw unclenched and his affect returned to normal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shocked \u2014 both literally and figuratively in Karl\u2019s case \u2014 the couple rushed Laszlo to a vet to make sure he was okay. While in the waiting room, Karl hastily posted on the social media platform Reddit looking for any insight on the bizarre incident. The post, titled \u201cDog Electrocuted on Sidewalk<\/a>\u201d garnered dozens of comments in a matter of hours. Some people offered condolences, some directives, and some possible explanations. A couple of people corrected Karl\u2019s use of \u201celectrocuted,\u201d since the term technically only refers to a shock with fatal impacts. But to the Wagners\u2019 surprise, one commenter reported that he had experienced the same thing less than 24 hours earlier in Center City.<\/p>\n

\"GabeGabe Dell\u2019s Italian greyhound, Vinny. (Photo Courtesy of Dell)<\/p>\n

Gabe Dell had just picked up his Italian Greyhound, Vinny, from dog daycare when Vinny suddenly yelped and bolted. \u201c\u200aIt was definitely the most sort of severe yelping I\u2019ve ever heard from him. It was pretty distressing, although very short-lived,\u201d Dell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It turns out, both Laszlo and Vinny were unfortunate victims of a rare phenomenon called stray or contact voltage. It occurs when a wire underground is nicked \u2014 maybe because of construction, maybe because someone is digging in their yard\u2014and a charge escapes. That charge can then travel to the surface and energize things like manhole covers, light poles, utility boxes and even mesh enforced concrete.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile underground power is the best way to go, when people dig into the ground there are risks\u201d said Doug Dorr, an executive at EPRI, a nonprofit organization that works with utilities and governments to improve how people use, manage, and think about electricity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every year, EPRI hosts a conference bringing together industry leaders on the topic of contact voltage and other public safety issues. The conference is named after graduate student Jodie Lane<\/a> who was killed by contact voltage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2004, Lane was walking her two dogs along a slushy sidewalk in the East Village in New York City when both dogs suddenly started howling and acting erratically. Bending down to try to calm them, Lane was exposed to 57 volts stemming from an electrified junction box, electrocuting her. Both dogs were injured and survived the incident. Jodie Lane\u2019s family received a $6.2 million settlement from Con Edison, the energy company that serves New York City and Westchester. Lane\u2019s father, Roger then used part of the settlement money to fund research into how to better address instances of contact voltage in New York and he eventually persuaded the state to force Con Edison to send out trucks with voltage sensors more frequently with notable results. <\/a>Over the last decade, the number of contact voltage incidents recorded by Con Edison have declined, according to a report<\/a>. In 2024, the company received 79 shock reports from the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York, Rhode Island and Maryland are the only states that mandate contact voltage reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Pennsylvania, PECO was not able to provide data on the number of contact voltage incidents that occur in the Philadelphia region, and the city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

People are not usually impacted directly by contact voltage, thanks to our rubber-soled shoes. But every year, there are reports of dogs getting shocked. Dorr says often, it\u2019s right when the snow is melting. \u201cWater becomes conductive when you add ions, and salts are great ionizers,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It may not be a coincidence that both Vinny and Laszlo experienced shocks on the same weekend. It was a couple days after a snowfall in the Philadelphia region when rock salt and rain created a conductive blanket over streets and sidewalks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dorr says contact voltage is a documented risk, \u201cbut we learn as we go and we can\u2019t avoid failures.\u201d Dorr says EPRI is working on a prototype of a dog collar with sensors that can detect energized areas of sidewalk.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, a spokesperson for PECO confirmed that both incidents in Philadelphia were investigated shortly after being reported. Inspectors found no live voltage in Society Hill and fixed the cables causing voltage in Center City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dell says his Italian Greyhound, Vinny, only seemed temporarily shaken before returning to his usual spunky self. Laszlo had a bit of a tougher recovery. <\/p>\n

\"Left:Left: Angela and Karl Wagners\u2019 dog, Laszlo. (Photo courtesy of the Wagners) Right: Gabe Dell\u2019s dog, Vinny. (Photo courtesy of Gabe Dell)<\/p>\n

According to the Wagners, they had to stay up for 24 hours watching him after their vet warned them that the shock put him at risk of fluid filling his lungs. But today, he\u2019s doing just fine. Now, the couple\u2019s concern has turned to the unexpected $2,000 dollar vet bill. \u201cSomeone on Reddit commented that the city does have a municipal claims department for freak accidents. So we\u2019re going to start there,\u201d said Angela.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since Vinny and Laszlo were shocked, similar incidents were reported on another social media site. In a Facebook group called \u201cPHILAQUEENS,\u201d multiple people warned of recent shocks to dogs including Gianna Masini of Philadelphia\u2019s Rittenhouse neighborhood. Masini said that she witnessed four dogs being shocked on the same Center City street corner over a week-long period in January. The last shock occurred as PECO was attempting to investigate. <\/p>\n

\"PECOPECO workers investigate Broad Street and Callowhill Street on January 26, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Gianna Masini)<\/p>\n

\u201cAs they\u2019re sectioning off the area with caution tape, somebody walks by with a smaller white dog and the dog gets shocked,\u201d said Masini. Of the dogs she saw, none seemed seriously injured. \u201cThey all seemed to be fine. Just surprised, obviously,\u201d said Masini.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the snow melts this week, dog owners should consider rubber-soled dog booties and avoid walking over or letting pets urinate on metal surfaces like manhole covers. If a shock does occur, report it as soon as you can.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPECO proactively inspects its equipment and responds immediately to any reports to ensure public safety. Customers who suspect an electrical issue should contact PECO immediately at 1-800-841-4141,\u201d said a spokesperson for the utility company.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a chilly wet day in mid January, Angela and Karl Wagner were out walking their 4-year-old Samoyed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9356,69,71,70,53239,14834,48336,933,53238],"class_list":{"0":"post-111515","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-dogs","9":"tag-philadelphia","10":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","11":"tag-philadelphia-news","12":"tag-plowing-snow","13":"tag-snow","14":"tag-snow-cleanup","15":"tag-snow-storm","16":"tag-the-pulse"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}