Pittsburgh using third party to investigate responsibility in dog's electrocution death
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A family wants answers after a routine walk around the neighborhood ended in the death of their beloved dog, Nikki.
KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller learned the city of Pittsburgh is now using a third party to investigate who's responsible in the dog's electrocution.
"We did a lot of things together. Matter of fact, we did everything together," said owner Bob Robinson-Dassel.
Nikki's bed still sits on the family's hardwood floor with her squeaky shark just within reach. Her owners fight through the grief in hopes that speaking up will lead to answers.
"I hope so," said Kathy Robinson-Dassel.
"It should never have happened. I mean, what happened to the dog and her electrocution and death, it's just not good enough that I'm the one that's affected by it. It has to go up the chain and the city needs to think clearly about how they keep people safe from electrical shock on a public sidewalk," said Bob Robinson-Dassel.
The couple wants everyone to know about what happened to their Nikki. She was electrocuted as she walked across a metal plate on the Murray Avenue Bridge sidewalk Sunday afternoon. Bob said there were no warning signs.
"Ungodly yelping and screaming and that's when I went in at first to try to pull her away," he said.
At first, Bob thought his perfectly healthy dog was having a seizure. But when she bit him to keep him away, he believes Nikki saved his life.
"Very clearly that is what I truly believe happened, that she did not want me to get hurt," said Bob. "She bit me just to keep me from reaching down or dropping down on my knees and trying to pick her up."
It wasn't until later when they tried to move Nikki's lifeless body, that they realized the cause.
"He pulled the dog's leg to move her away so we could transfer her to a tarp to bring her home, is where we discovered it was electrical," Bob said.
KDKA-TV obtained the police report of the incident. It said first responders touched a hot stick to the metal plate and confirmed it was energized.
"A toddler, for sure, but anybody could have dropped something and picked it up," said Kathy. "You sort of hate to say she kind of gave her life to save somebody else's and they need to take care of the bridge. Because the other thing is they turned the electricity off, which is fine, except now it's a dark bridge."
KDKA Investigates confirmed the city of Pittsburgh has launched an investigation with a third party to look into how this happened and who is responsible. KDKA was told they're focusing on a potential issue with the nearby streetlight. The city declined to name the third party or answer questions about who owns and is responsible for maintaining the wires along the bridge.
Duquesne Light said they are not responsible for maintaining the wires and added there are no Duquesne Light owned-facilities on the bridge.
"The city is ultimately responsible for the safety of people walking on the sidewalk," added Bob.
KDKA-TV also uncovered dog owners in the neighborhood had previously reported issues with the bridge to the city's 311, some even saying their dogs got zapped.
Councilwoman Deb Gross tells KDKA-TV she saw enough reports about the bridge to flag the city administration for further inspection.
"If I had dropped down on my knee at that moment to try to grab Nikki, it's real possible I could have been the second fatality on that bridge," said Bob.
