VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach man is mourning the death of his beloved dog after he says his dog was electrocuted while walking on a sidewalk in Washington, D.C.
The incident occurred on Monday, and police say it was one of two deadly incidents in the same spot.
News 3 reporter Angela Bohon talked with pet owner Ben Mason about the tragic event.
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As he was in the Raleigh airport, heading toward Florida for a family wedding, Mason shared his grief, saying, “We’re all kind of toughing it out, living through memories and pictures right now and wishing she was still with us.”
Mason, who lives in Virginia Beach, traveled to D.C. to help care for his daughter, Reid, following her recent surgery. He brought their 5-year-old dog, Chili, to comfort her and said, “I thought it would make her feel better, so I brought her up to be with her.”
While walking on 19th Street NW to a pet-friendly hotel, he said things took a terrible turn.
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He described the moment, stating, “… and walked on a sidewalk that Chili stepped on and just went horribly crazy, raged - which she never is. I thought it must have been a seizure.”
Mason now believes his sweet cream-colored lab was electrocuted by a current coming from under the sidewalk.
A nearby doctor, Ben Stearn, heard the yelping and rushed to help. He told USA9 in D.C. that he first thought the dog was uncomfortable because of the salt put down on the snowy sidewalk. He soon realized it was much worse.
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“I bent down. I was going to feel for a pulse. I felt a sharp pain in my hand…” said Stearn, who added, “I finally figured out this was electrical shocks.”
Fortunately, no people were seriously hurt, but it was too late for Chili. Mason rushed the dog to an emergency vet who said multiple vets tried CPR.
“All the what-ifs, you know, if you had just taken half a block different on the walk, she would still be with us. But, didn’t do that and we’re heartbroken over it,” he explained.
Mason also learned that another dog had suffered a similar fate. Police say a few hours the same night, another dog died in the same area.
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He reacted, “That’s the frustrating part, because we called authorities to alert them to it and then they did nothing, apparently…”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Pepco, the utility company in D.C., told WUSA9 that their crews conducted an inspection of the 1100 block of 19th St. NW and confirmed that there is no stray voltage in the area and that they deemed the area as safe.
However, Pepco says it is still investigating the incidents. A spokesperson sent the following statement:
"Pepco is conducting a thorough investigation of this incident to understand what took place and what may have caused this issue. This investigation will include industry peers and third-party experts. We expect the full investigation to take approximately 60 days."
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Mason told Bohon that the Mayor of D.C. and a senior representative for Pepco contacted him to offer their condolences. While which he appreciates that, it certainly won't bring back his dog, and he remains concerned about others.
“They say it’s going to be a two-month investigation to determine exactly why the current existed that day. They’ve checked it out and apparently it’s gone now, but you know, I certainly wouldn’t let my family or my dog walk anywhere on that street right now, because there’s still an investigation,” stated Mason. “And why they’ve kept it open, I have no idea.”
As the Mason family mourns the loss of their dog, they hope other pet owners will consider walking their dogs in parks instead of on sidewalks, avoid metal grates, and put boots on their dogs, especially during winter weather, until more is known about the causes behind this tragedy.
