Chihuahuas are wonderfully spirited little dogs full of love and energy! Anyone who knows them can tell you how lively their personalities are. I have 5 chihuahuas, 3 of which are puppies. Susu, Ginger, Cori, Fen, & Cinna. I'll be sharing my thoughts here on everything from health issues, to food, to fashion and fun for the small dog.

I hope you enjoy the blog, leave me a comment and follow along!!

-- Michelle K.


While the main dog here is the Chihuahua, I believe the information here is valuable and entertaining to any small dog owner.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Contact Voltage: A Hidden Danger to You and Your Pets

I was really surprised to find that pets have been electrocuted in cities all over the world from stray contact voltage.  This is caused by fraying of underground power lines or damaged or missing plates on lamp posts, etc.  Weather including rain and snow / salt can make this even more dangerous.

There have been deaths in NY, PA, London and other places throughout the world.  This is more of an urban danger than a rural one but any city can have hidden dangers.  When you are walking your dog be mindful of metal objects including lamp posts, man hold covers, fences, etc.  Anything metal can pose a risk if for some reason it has come into contact with an electrical current.

 Sam: electrocuted on Thanksgiving Day while on a walk with his owner 11/25/2010
http://sammysbigheart.wordpress.com/

Sebastian: electrocuted by contact voltage from a lamppost in May 2008

--  And those are just two of hundreds of beloved pets that have been killed by stray contact voltage.  Be aware of this hidden danger and protect yourself and your pets from this very real problem.

Here are a couple of websites for more in depth information on this phenomena.

http://www.streetzaps.com/
http://www.contactvoltageinfo.org/

And if you run into a hot spot, you can report it here..

http://www.streetzaps.com/shockreport.htm

 FQDQYYRD6K3P
Posted by Charming Chis at 9:22 AM
Labels: , , , , , , ,

2 comments:

  1. Nadine, Chewy and LilibellNovember 17, 2011 at 6:13 AM

    I have read about this before. Living in the city, where there are many manhole covers about, I am always mindful of them when we're out for walks and steer Chewy & Lilibell around them. Funny thing though....they avoid them on their own, I've seen them walk right around them without my having to steer them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Charming ChisNovember 18, 2011 at 7:23 PM

    Being more rural I had no idea this could be an issue and have never avoided manholes and what not.. even in heavy rain.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for dropping in at The Charming Chi!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)