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Post Reporter Loses Dog To City Shock
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 7, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 7, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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A NY Post reporter is the latest to cover a dog being killed by a Con Ed shock. This time the dog, Mushy, was her own.
My dog, Mushy, a 100-pound Italian mastiff, died yesterday after an encounter with an electrified light pole - and I'm confronted with official bumbling and denials over what happened.
It was dark and damp at around 6:30 a.m., when I was walking Mushy in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. He stepped near the lamppost, and suddenly, he started staggering toward me. Right away I thought: "Oh, my God, he's being electrocuted!"
All the while I was thinking of Jodie Lane, who died in the East Village three years ago after stepping on an electrified Con Ed box while walking her dog.
She was told the prognosis wasn't good, and her dog had symptoms consistent with electrocution. By that afternoon, he'd become the latest fatality due to stray voltage around the city. In the past, a Boston Terrier, a chow-chow and a human being have all met a similar fate. Apparently using livery cabs to cover stray-voltage hot spots isn't working out so well.
What happened when the reporter, Denise Buffa, went back to the scene to see if the pole was being worked on? Nothing, of course. The police at the 25th Precinct told her nothing was found, the DoT told her to call Con Ed, and Con Ed told her "they got leakage here somewhere, they've got to correct it," but followed up by letting her know light poles are city property.
We've mentioned it before: be sure to buy your pup some shoes (example pictured).
Tagged
animals
boston
con ed
east village
harlem
hot spots
italian
Jodie Lane
Marcus Garvey Park
News: NYC
ny post
police
the city
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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