On Thursday, a second dog was shocked downtown, the day after a Boston terrier apparently died from an electrocution on Rector Street. A dog walker who had been walking three dogs on John Street noticed the dachshund was shocked after leaning on scaffolding. The dog walker was able to revive the dog by giving it CPR, at the suggestion of someone who worked in a nearby building.
We spoke to our vet, Dr. Peter Soboroff, about giving dogs - and cats - CPR. He said that you close the dog's mouth and breath through it's nose (because it's hard to seal some dogs' mouths). You can breathe into the dog's nose every five seconds, and you can also give the dog chest compressions - put the dog on its side and press the ribcage where the heart might be (next to the left elbow). The procedure for cats is similar, though you can put your mouth around the cat's mouth and nose. More info here for dog CPR and cat CPR (plus, here's information on getting trained for human CPR).
NY1 reported that Con Ed found stray voltage from lighting on the scaffolding, which Con Ed said it wasn't related to them (still, Con Ed did ask the building to shut electricity to the scaffolding). And a NY Times reporter and photographer took a trip with Con Ed employees as they inspected areas for stray voltage; dog owners should be careful, as an expert helping Con Ed noted, "If you have a dog or a lot of dogs urinating on a lamppost, you’ve got quite a conductive pathway.”
NYU's ScienceLine had a good article about the stray voltage issue in the city. And if you see stray wires or suspect stray voltage, call 1-800-75-CON-ED.
Photograph of our friend Feta wearing his new sneakers taken by his human Frank Harris
