West Vancouver dog suffers electrical shocks on sidewalk at Park Royal mall
Benny is a 200 pound Leonberger with a very calm, gentle demeanour. So when the five-year-old dog started thrashing and yelping on a sidewalk outside Park Royal mall in West Vancouver last Saturday, his owner Teresa Bouchard knew something was seriously wrong.
“All of a sudden he just started yelping so loud, threw himself on the ground, started doing body rolls, started screaming. It was honestly like scream barking, it was so horrific,” said Bouchard.
As she was trying to help Benny, Bouchard noticed she felt small jolts of electricity whenever she touched him.
“There was salt everywhere, and I thought 'is this a new type of chemical salt, like what is this?' It’s got electricity in it. I was trying to wipe it off his paws, but he was thrashing like a bull,” she said.
Eventually a man helped Bouchard get Benny into her SUV and she took the terrified pooch to an emergency vet. The dog will be okay, but Bouchard also required medical care. When Benny was thrashing and yelping on the sidewalk, he bit down hard on her hand, which he would normally never do.
Bouchard began to suspect her dog had suffered electrical shocks on the sidewalk. She says it took four days of pestering and taking her story public for Park Royal management to find and fix the problem.
“They brought in an electrician who investigated and found there was a ground fault, a ground break, and it was related to a metal pole that was right in front of Chipotle,” said Bouchard.
Three days after Benny was shocked, the same thing happened to a dog named Titan on a sidewalk in downtown Vancouver. Both times, the sidewalk had been salted because of the snow.
Michael Wrinch, an electrical engineer with Hedgehog Technologies, explained salt water is a very good conductor. While people wearing rubber-soled shoes likely wouldn’t feel the electricity in the sidewalk, dogs with bare paws are particularly vulnerable.
“When you mix clogged drains with a good conductor and water pooling there and people walking around with their animals, unfortunately if there is a problem, which is very rare, this kind of event can happen,” said Wrinch, who is relieved both dogs survived.
“Just because a dog gets electrocuted doesn’t mean they’re going to die. But it is extremely uncomfortable, and my heart goes out to these poor animals and the owners who had to watch their animals go through the extricating experience,“ he said.
Bouchard plans to walk her dog in the forest or on the beach from now on.
“Basically I’m going to avoid all man-made sidewalks and what not if I can, and it’s best to be in a natural environment,” she said.
As for Benny, he seems no worse for wear. “He is such a trooper,” Bouchard said. “I feel like I should change his name to Sparky. Or Miracle you know, something like that.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.