Two dogs died on the 1100 block of 19th Street NW in the District earlier this week. The police and power company Pepco are investigating whether the dogs were electrocuted.
At around 4 p.m. Monday, a yellow lab mix named Chile and his owner were walking on the sidewalk when Chile started yelping and acting erratically, according to Fox affiliate WTTG-TV. A passerby in a nearby office building came down to try and help.
“The dog was jumping in the air, and then it would flop down and jump again. This went on several times, and then he flopped down and didn’t move. I bent down, because I was going to feel for a pulse. I felt a sharp pain in my hand and I thought I had hit something sharp,” Ben Stearn told CBS affiliate WUSA-TV. He ultimately realized he was being shocked.
Chile died after being rushed to the hospital.
At around 7:30 p.m. Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a report of another dead dog from a second unnamed dog owner, and learned at that time about the first incident according to local independent TV station WDVM-TV.
The second dog was a Boxer, according to WTTG-TV. The District’s Humane Rescue Alliance told WUSA-TV the dog was a stray.
Police notified Pepco and an investigation into the circumstances around the purported electrocutions is ongoing.
“We are aware of two incidents that occurred yesterday near 1140 19th St. NW involving two individuals and their pets. … We are working closely with local authorities and are continuing to investigate this matter,” Pepco said in a statement to multiple outlets.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Pepco parent company Exelon told WDVM-TV that there was “no stray voltage in the area,” that the area was safe and that investigation into the matter would take about two months.
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