Dog suffers shock after wires are left exposed on parkway on Chicago's north lakefront
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A little Chicago dog named Harvey recently had a close call that ended with a visit to the emergency veterinarian.
It all happened back on Saturday, Aug. 31, as Chrystal Brown walked her 3-year-old bichon toy poodle, Harvey, along a grassy area near Interfaith Park at Thorndale Avenue and Sheridan Road in the Edgewater neighborhood.
"So I was walking him here in the grass, and all of a sudden, he yelped and cried out and ran," Brown said.
The electric shock was captured on nearby surveillance video. Harvey is seen running, as Brown bends down, to pick him up.
"He was shaking," said Brown. "I looked back and saw that the pole that was laying there was still attached to underground—and there were these wires coming out of it."
Brown shared pictures of the utility pole with the exposed wires.
"Everything happened so fast. I'm not sure exactly if he brushed up against it, stepped on it, sniffed it," Brown said. "But he definitely made contact with it, because I've never seen him act like that or cry like that in my life."
Brown took Harvey to right to the emergency veterinarian.
"The vet said that he had an electrical shock. They're not sure where on his body," Brown said, "but he got really lucky to be alive."
A medical report said Harvey's exam showed no evidence of burns or wounds consistent with significant electrocution, but "possible he was mildly shocked."
Brown filed a police report about the incident, and immediately contacted her Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) about the exposed wiring. CBS News Chicago is told the wiring was removed within four days after being reported to the alderwoman's office.
A spokesperson for Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth said city workers discovered live wires the day Harvey was shocked, and the area was immediately made safe the same day by turning off the power. The city found a contractor had recently planted a tree in the same grassy area and an electrical conduit was dug up and damaged—and it was never reported.
A few days later, a crew was brought in to make repairs, put in new wiring, and bury the conduit a foot below ground.
"Harvey's my life. He's like a child to me, and I don't know what I would do without him," Brown said. "So I'm just really glad and so blessed that he's OK."
Brown said she plans to file a claim with the city to get reimbursed for Harvey's nearly $200 emergency vet bill.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Transportation said the city will pursue potential public way violations against the contractor who planted the tree and exposed the electrical wire.
