Hydro to fix sidewalk boxes after dogs zapped
$10M to be spent on non-conductive 'handwells', repairs and awareness campaign including hotline
Paola Loriggio
STAFF REPORTER
HENRY STANCU/TORONTO STAR
Jake, a Boston terrier-Jack Russell pup, was jolted three times while out walking.
Toronto Hydro plans to replace 30,000 metal "handwells" across the city with non-conductive ones by the end of the year after several dogs were jolted by street fixtures in recent months.
It's part of a $10 million preventative program that includes a stray voltage awareness campaign and a 24-hour hotline (416-222-3773) for reporting suspected hot spots.
The hotline and ads will be launched on Monday.
Crews have already replaced several defective handwells – utility-access cavities in the sidewalk, usually covered by metal plates – in the wake of the recent dog shockings, said Toronto Hydro spokesperson Denise Attallah yesterday. The latest incident occurred Thursday night in Liberty Village, near King St. and Strachan Ave.
A separate team has been assigned to replace the remaining handwells to prevent stray jolts, Attallah said.
The $10 million will also cover repairs and the ongoing city-wide sweep of electrical equipment, Attallah said.
"We're willing to spend as much as it takes," she said. "Even if stray voltage is just suspected, we'll dispatch a crew immediately."
Attallah said a growing number of incidents involving pets have been reported recently, after the death of two dogs in three months spotlighted the dangers of stray voltage.
A German shepherd named Pierre was fatally shocked in November near a light pole around Keele St. and Annette St.
Last week another dog – a 5-year-old Labradoodle named Mrak –was electrocuted after stepping on a live metal plate in the sidewalk.
Pierre's owner, Max Mancuso, said he was glad the distressing experience brought the issue to light, even though it was an electrified sidewalk – not a handwell – that killed his pet.
"When it happened, I was hoping a plan of action (by Toronto Hydro) would take place, that it wouldn't just be washed over," Mancuso said in a phone interview yesterday. "Any steps they're going to take is a good thing."
Pierre's death triggered a city-wide inspection of electrical equipment by Toronto Hydro crews. The sweep, due to be completed in the next few weeks, should help the utility determine the scope of the problem, a spokesperson said last week.
Yesterday Attallah said the utility will perform regular inspections – even after the sweep is completed – to ensure problems don't recur.
Stray jolts have struck several dogs throughout the city.
On Thursday night, Brian Lawrence figured out the source of the stray electricity that had been silently zapping pets in Liberty Village for the past month – when his dog Jake got jolted for the third time while stepping on a metal sidewalk plate.
"When it happened a month ago, Jake yelped and he was very lethargic for a couple of hours afterward and I had no idea what had happened," Lawrence said.
"This was so powerful that even four or five feet away it was conducting through the slush," he said.
A hydro crew discovered a bad wiring connection and repaired it, police at the scene said.
On Wednesday evening, a woman was walking her two dogs in Yorkville when one pup was shocked by a metal plate embedded in the sidewalk near a hydro pole, police said.
She called police after the second dog was zapped.
Neither dog was seriously hurt, police said.
The stray electricity was caused by a damaged pole, which belongs to the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area, Attallah said at the time.
Briar deLange, general manager for the BIA, said it appears the pole's wiring broke down over time.
"We check our equipment fairly regularly," she said. "It seems like it was just a fluke."
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