Roo, a Yellow Lab, was taking a routine walk with his mom in Chicago on a January day when he suddenly cried out in pain. At first, the dog’s mom thought he had some salt in his paw, a common winter occurrence. But there was something weirder going on at the corner of Diversey Parkway and Orchard Street.
Michelle James, a witness to the incident, saw what happened to Roo and how panicked his mom was. When James saw Roo go down in pain, she came over to try and help.
In an interview with CBS Local, James described the scene:
“…every time the dog tried to get up, he collapsed back down – and strangely, my neighbor mentioned, ‘Hey, I don’t want you to think I’m crazy, but I feel some type of electric current or something on the ground,’ while she’s laying there with her dog.”
Weirdly, several dogs have been “shocked” at this same location in the Lakeview neighborhood. Jensen Byrd personally saw both Roo and another dog receive some jolts at this corner.
“The screaming sounded like a human,” she said. “It was really disturbing and really hard to watch.”
After this happened to Roo, he went right to the vet and is now resting comfortably at home.
The Source Of Electricity Remains Unknown
According to Alderman Tom Tunney of Chicago’s 44th district, two site inspections took place the week following Roo’s injury. After receiving the reports, inspectors with the Chicago Department of Transportation checked light poles for any electric conductors potentially running along the sidewalk.
So far, these investigations have found “no problems on the city’s side whatsoever.” Until officials can determine what’s causing this phenomenon, certain sections of the sidewalk will remain closed.
Byrd told Fox she can’t believe how casually the city is approaching this threatening situation:
“I’m kind of rattled that this is being dealt with so casually after what I saw. It was really disturbing.”
The electric current has affected enough dogs that residential buildings in the area have even put up signs warning dog owners of the danger. Roo is recovering well from his injuries, but residents are still worried about what could happen to their dogs or themselves. James added:
“Much concern just because it can affect the animals – who’s to say it won’t affect one of us?”
Rubber and leather, materials shoes are made of, make good insulators for human feet. That’s one possible explanation for why humans haven’t been injured in this same way so far.
All locals will still likely want to avoid the affected area until more is known about what’s been shocking pups.
H/T: CBS Loca