On a chilly wet day in mid January, Angela and Karl Wagner were out walking their 4-year-old Samoyed mix, Laszlo, in Philadelphia’s Society Hill neighborhood when he suddenly started yelping and shaking violently. 

“ We immediately started going into like a triage situation where we’re like grabbing his body, trying to figure out like did he get stuck with anything? Is he bleeding,” said Karl. 

The couple panicked, unsure of what was happening. It didn’t appear that Laszlo had stepped on glass. When they took a closer look at Laszlo’s paw, realization dawned, “ His paw was hooked in on itself, stuck, shaking. Like, I mean, every single nerve is firing.  And when I touched it, I felt it and I was like, oh, that’s electricity,” said Karl. 

Karl scooped up the 62 pound, black and white, fluffy dog, ran across the street, and watched as Laszlo’s paw unclenched and his affect returned to normal. 

Shocked — both literally and figuratively in Karl’s case — 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 “Dog Electrocuted on Sidewalk” 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’s use of “electrocuted,” since the term technically only refers to a shock with fatal impacts. But to the Wagners’ surprise, one commenter reported that he had experienced the same thing less than 24 hours earlier in Center City.

Gabe Dell had just picked up his Italian Greyhound, Vinny, from dog daycare when Vinny suddenly yelped and bolted. “ It was definitely the most sort of severe yelping I’ve ever heard from him. It was pretty distressing, although very short-lived,” Dell said. 

The hidden danger of contact voltage

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 — maybe because of construction, maybe because someone is digging in their yard—and 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.

“While underground power is the best way to go, when people dig into the ground there are risks” 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. 

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 who was killed by contact voltage. 

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’s family received a $6.2 million settlement from Con Edison, the energy company that serves New York City and Westchester. Lane’s 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. Over the last decade, the number of contact voltage incidents recorded by Con Edison have declined, according to a report. In 2024, the company received 79 shock reports from the public. 

New York, Rhode Island and Maryland are the only states that mandate contact voltage reporting. 

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. 

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’s right when the snow is melting. “Water becomes conductive when you add ions, and salts are great ionizers,” he explained. 

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. 

Dorr says contact voltage is a documented risk, “but we learn as we go and we can’t avoid failures.” Dorr says EPRI is working on a prototype of a dog collar with sensors that can detect energized areas of sidewalk.

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. 

How are the dogs? 

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.

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’s doing just fine. Now, the couple’s concern has turned to the unexpected $2,000 dollar vet bill. “Someone on Reddit commented that the city does have a municipal claims department for freak accidents. So we’re going to start there,” said Angela.

More shocking incidents in Philadelphia

Since Vinny and Laszlo were shocked, similar incidents were reported on another social media site. In a Facebook group called “PHILAQUEENS,” multiple people warned of recent shocks to dogs including Gianna Masini of Philadelphia’s 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.

“As they’re sectioning off the area with caution tape, somebody walks by with a smaller white dog and the dog gets shocked,” said Masini. Of the dogs she saw, none seemed seriously injured. “They all seemed to be fine. Just surprised, obviously,” said Masini.

What can dog owners do?

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. 

“PECO 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,” said a spokesperson for the utility company.