# Holy crap, got nailed by some stray voltage in a snow bank **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 4, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787 "2015-02-04T03:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/1 "2015-02-04T03:48:21Z")
Just need to decompress a little bit. I was out about an hour ago walking my dog in the snow (we got hit with about 20 inches here), and on my way back I was crossing a busy street that connects with the side street I live on. There was a bit of a snow bank from the plows blocking the sidewalk, so I hopped over/into it, when all of a sudden my knees buckled and I felt a surge not unlike what happens when you hit your funny bone. At first, I thought I had just landed on my foot funny. Then I hear my big dog Zuk yelping frantically. Now I think I have accidentally fallen on him. Then I realize a) that he’s behind me and b) that I’m still feeling these pulses of tingling and that it’s electricity, mostly on my left side. I manage to get out of the stray voltage area, but my dog is still in there, yelping and crying. I drag him out, he’s going crazy biting at the air, tail tucked between his legs, and apparently pooping himself (which I only noticed later.) Anyhow, I managed to regain composure a few seconds later, called 911 to report the incident and the area where the stray voltage is, and am knocking pack an Eliot Ness porter to ease myself a bit. I’ve been shocked before, but never like this, where my whole body just buckles down. And poor doggie. He seems to be doing okay now. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/2 "2015-02-04T03:54:42Z")
good you’re both still walking. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/3 "2015-02-04T03:55:24Z")
I was hoping to pick up some superpowers or something, but nothing so far. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/4 "2015-02-04T04:05:09Z")
Damn. Glad you’re both OK. I’ve heard about the stray voltage thing, haven’t witnessed it before. This one sounds really bad! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/5 "2015-02-04T04:07:28Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Damn. Glad you’re both OK. I’ve heard about the stray voltage thing, haven’t witnessed it before. This one sounds really bad! I hadn’t heard of it, either, but I Googled as soon as I got home and saw it is, indeed, a thing especially in urban areas after snow storms. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/6 "2015-02-04T04:08:48Z")
Pretty scary. They’re always finding poles at 120 volts or so around Chicago. Glad you’re doing ok. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/7 "2015-02-04T04:12:33Z")
Did you give 911 your name? I’d make a report to the city and the local utility. If anything further happens to you or your dog, they [the city or the utility] should be on the hook for it. Even if it was weather related, that’s what insurance is for and yours shouldn’t be covering it. Report it now, for sure, but in the next day or two, I’d call whoever comes out to deal with it and see if you can get a report to see what they did. Hopefully it was just 120 running to the houses, but if it was on the primary side or even before a substation it could be substantially higher. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/8 "2015-02-04T04:14:12Z")
Yikes! You may (depending on your age) want to get an EKG, just to see that your heart hasn’t picked up an arrhythmia. Took me 8 tries to spell that right. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/9 "2015-02-04T04:17:26Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Did you give 911 your name? Yes. They asked for my name and verified my phone number. > [@](#): > > I’d make a report to the city and the local utility. If anything further happens to you or your dog, they [the city or the utility] should be on the hook for it. OK. I’ll see if I can figure out how to do that. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/10 "2015-02-04T04:31:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was hoping to pick up some superpowers or something, but nothing so far. Your dog knows better than that. Good work. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/11 "2015-02-04T04:32:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK. I’ll see if I can figure out how to do that. Pull up the utility’s website and find some kind of emergency contact. Similarly, pull up your city’s website, probably the DPW and find some kind of emergency number, but 911 is probably the best you can do this late at night. Having said that, someone, probably from the electric company, should be out there ASAP, like within the hour, digging up the snow and climbing a pole in the area to see what’s going on. If it was anywhere near my house, I’d make sure all my computers (etc) were turned off in case they cut the power to work on it. There’s clearly an unsafe situation of a random person walking down the sidewalk can get that bad of a shock. The problem with calling 911 is that they might not know what to do with it or even show up to look any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/12 "2015-02-04T04:37:28Z")
I just went back out there (it’s about a quarter mile from my house), and there is a squad car at the corner. They were actually watching the opposite corner for a downed line and, sure enough, the corner I was at had the other end of the downed line maybe 2-3 feet from where I stepped in the snow bank. I told them to back the car up and make sure nobody steps across this side of the street either, and pointed to exactly where I got shocked. I guess they’re waiting for the utility to arrive. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/13 "2015-02-04T05:10:52Z")
Damn. Glad to hear you’re OK. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/14 "2015-02-04T05:22:35Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Damn. > Glad to hear you’re OK. Thanks. We’re all seemingly back to normal now. Zuk and a peanut buttered rawhide brought him out of his funk, tail back into normal happy position, and my couple-two-three porters did the same for me. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/15 "2015-02-04T05:49:39Z")
Mmm. Couple too-tree sounds good to me. I’ve got vanilla and tart cherry porters at home and those are sounding good right now. Leaving for home very soon. Walking through several blocks of snow myself! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/16 "2015-02-04T12:12:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Just need to decompress a little bit. > > I was out about an hour ago walking my dog in the snow (we got hit with about 20 inches here), and on my way back I was crossing a busy street that connects with the side street I live on. There was a bit of a snow bank from the plows blocking the sidewalk, so I hopped over/into it, when all of a sudden my knees buckled and I felt a surge not unlike what happens when you hit your funny bone. At first, I thought I had just landed on my foot funny. Then I hear my big dog Zuk yelping frantically. Now I think I have accidentally fallen on him. Then I realize a) that he’s behind me and b) that I’m still feeling these pulses of tingling and that it’s electricity, mostly on my left side. I manage to get out of the stray voltage area, but my dog is still in there, yelping and crying. I drag him out, he’s going crazy biting at the air, tail tucked between his legs, and apparently pooping himself (which I only noticed later.) > > Anyhow, I managed to regain composure a few seconds later, called 911 to report the incident and the area where the stray voltage is, and am knocking pack an Eliot Ness porter to ease myself a bit. I’ve been shocked before, but never like this, where my whole body just buckles down. And poor doggie. He seems to be doing okay now. Good lord! Wow, so glad to hear you are okay - what a completely unexpected, scary thing to have happen. Poor Zuk - I am sure he needs a beer, too! Next time, you should arrange to fall into a vat of eels, 'cuz, you know, that worked in Amazing Spiderman 2 😕 :dubious: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/17 "2015-02-04T14:29:23Z")
I’ll just throw my hat in the ring and say thank the Lord nothing tragic happened. I know I would have done the same thing, but it’s worth it to say it was brave and wonderful of you to jump back into the fire (so to speak) to save your poor puppy! Glad the whole house is doing ok ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/18 "2015-02-04T14:54:39Z")
You both are so lucky. A few years ago some dogs in Toronto were killed by stray voltage in the ground. If I were you I’d be contacting the local media as well. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/19 "2015-02-04T15:05:09Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I’ll just throw my hat in the ring and say thank the Lord nothing tragic happened. > > I know I would have done the same thing, but it’s worth it to say it was brave and wonderful of you to jump back into the fire (so to speak) to save your poor puppy! Glad the whole house is doing ok Aw, thanks. The puppy part–I don’t even remember if I just pulled him up by his leash, his collar, or picked him up–it happened so quickly. He was writhing for a good three or four seconds and going batshit crazy after pulling him out, though, and that really worried me. He seems 100% back to normal this morning. > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > You both are so lucky. A few years ago some dogs in Toronto were killed by stray voltage in the ground. If I were you I’d be contacting the local media as well. Yeah, when I googled it when I came home, I saw there were a bunch of dogs and even people killed from this sort of thing. I had no idea it was such a known problem. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787/20 "2015-02-04T15:06:22Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Good lord! Wow, so glad to hear you are okay - what a completely unexpected, scary thing to have happen. Poor Zuk - I am sure he needs a beer, too! Yeah, if that’s the way I went, I would have been really disappointed. Then again, I guess it gets points for creativity. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-got-nailed-by-some-stray-voltage-in-a-snow-bank/711787.md?page=2)