CHICAGO (CBS) — A yellow Labrador retriever was recovering Thursday after his paws were shocked while he was simply walking down the street.
The dog, Roo, is OK. But now, several pet owners are coming forward in Lakeview to say it has happened to their pets too – at the same spot. As CBS 2’s Jermont Terry reported, the city is trying to figure out what is behind the mystery jolts.
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Roo’s owner said she thought maybe her pet had some salt in his paw – which is common at this time of year. But when the dog let out a large and loud moan while walking along Diversey Parkway at Orchard Street, the owner realized something underground caused the pain.
The city has now blocked a section of the sidewalk until they figure out the problem.
Inspectors with the Chicago Department of Transportation were out late Thursday night, checking light poles for any electric conductors running along the sidewalk. Something is sending shock waves – especially to dogs like Roo.
The yellow lab pup went to the vet after that walk at Orchard and Diversey, across the street from Trader Joe’s.
“The lady was distress,” said Michelle James. “The dog was distress.”
James witnessed the incident and tried helping Roo and the owner after the pup went down.
“And every time the dog tried to get up, he collapsed back down – and strangely, my neighbor mentioned, ‘Hey, I don’t want 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,” James said.
“As far as I know, this has happened to maybe like five or six dogs in the last week and half or so,” said Jensen Byrd.
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It is such a concern and problem that signs are posted in buildings letting pet owners know of an electric jolt at the corner.
Byrd witnessed Roo and another dog get electric shocks there.
“The screaming sounded like a human,” she said. “It was really disturbing and really hard to watch.”
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) said there have been two inspections of the site this week.
“We want to get to the resolve of it,” Tunney said.
Tunney said until they pinpoint the cause, sections of the sidewalk where the shockwaves could be coming from will stay blocked.
But as of now, Tunney said, “The city has found no problems on the city’s side whatsoever.”
Plenty of people walk their dogs in the area, and right now, there is much more uncertainty.
“Much concern just because it can affect the animals – who’s to say it won’t affect one of us?” James said.
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Roo is resting comfortably at home, and none of the dogs were seriously injured. The city plans to keep monitoring the situation until they figure out what is going wrong.
