In Urban areas, there are lots of hazards that you can see and some that you cannot. Most people and animals know to avoid the streets where there are cars, bikes and other road hazards; most people don’t know that the sidewalk, lamp post on the corner, or the grate that you walk on could be conducting electricity. The reason is that in most urban areas electrical lines are buried underground and if the insulation is damaged in any way it can cause electricity to run through and electrify anything that they touch, including concrete sidewalks, lamp post, sidewalks.
The type shock that you can get will depend on the conditions and voltage going through the item. So you can get a slight shock or worse. If the concrete is wet, and has salt on it will conduct electrify more than a dry concrete. This can happen over time when the insulation on the wires can become damaged from construction, digging and other work being done. Once the insulation is damaged, the electricity is not protected and will flow to anything that will conduct it. This becomes a hazard for human and animal alike.
The reason that dogs and cats will get zapped before a person is that there is nothing to protect the animal from the bare concrete. If you are thinking, I will just get my pet shoes to protect them. Pet shoes will not protect your furry friend from being shocked because these shoes will collect water and because water will conduct electrify, you pet will still get a shocked.
This can happen anywhere, which has underground electrical wires. If there is any damage done to the insulation then you and your pet can become subject to a shock. There are not any hard numbers, as to how many people or animals have been shocked by loose electrical current. One of the reasons is because, if you don’t know that you have been shocked, you won’t report another. The main reason is most utility companies will not admit that there is a problem, because if they did that would mean allotting money, manpower and equipment to look into the issue. Even city governments ignore the issue.
How to know if you animal have been electrocuted, then you need look for these signs. Your animal can have seizure like symptoms, pulmonary edema, which is fluid in the lungs, look for black spots, burns, or look for an entry point and an exit point. You may see one or more these symptoms, a few days after the instance of electrocution. You may also see your dog vomiting and bloody diarrhea. This will be due to the stomach and the intestine being damaged. If you see any of these symptoms you need to take your pet to the vet to have them checked out.
There is some progress being made to keep this from happening. Some utility companies now trying to be proactive with the issue and checking lines and setting up prevention plans to cut down on the amount of stay voltage getting out and hurting anyone. Please note that this is not the case in most areas and that most companies still do not see this as an issue. So you need to be valiant to prevent you and your pet from getting hurt.
When you are walking in an area where the electrical is buried underground, just look for some signs. Avoid areas where they doing construction, or digging in the area. Also take cues from your pets, if you are out walking with your dog and he wants to avoid a crate, then avoid that crate, for some reason animals can sense when the area has been electrified. Also avoid areas that have been salted, this is easier said than done if you live in the north where they salt the roads and sidewalks. Whenever possible go to green areas that do not include sidewalks.
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