Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Family's Dog Electrocuted in Pond

I missed this item when it appeared in the local news - even though it happened just two miles from my home.
Indeed, a scary situation - especially in a community pond/lake where kids often play (literally thousands of similar sites in the Houston area).
Thought I'd pass this along as a reminder to be very cautious when blending high-voltage and water.
Family Dog Electrocuted in Pond

That's really sad. Sounds like the power cord to the fountain had a short. Maybe a muskrat chewed on it?

This is why compressors and diffusers are much safer than fountains in that there is no power cord going into the water -- just an air line.

Wow, that's just brutal.

Actually the compressor/diffusers can be lethal too - in winter. I had a friend who's dog drowned when he went through a thin ice spot created by his pond diffuser. He let his dog roam the property all day while he was at work though, something I would never do. I'd be terrified my dog would end up on the busy highway in front of the property, let alone on bad ice.

Cecil, that also almost happened to my 2 dogs a few years ago. They almost drowned chasing geese around the open area, and couldn't climb back up on the ice to get out of the pond. It was below 0 out, and wind chills were in the -20° range. I moved the diffuser closer to the shore next year so it melted the ice all the way to the bank.

UPDATE: I visited the site of this incident this morning while the "new" lake management company was inspecting the situation.
It is now known that the fountain wasn't set to run (nor running) when the accident occured. Also, the fountain's GFI was properly functioning. Sooooo, it appears the news-jockey; in her haste to air the story, reported "speculation" as "fact".
Still not sure what killed the dog - OR, if the dog simply encountered an untimely siezure, and drowned (which could feasibly explain why the grandfather was able to enter the pond and rescue the dog without suffering a similar fate).

A guy I worked with for years one Saturday morning went over to his Mother's house that had a small pond in her front yard to "work on her fountain". He waded out to the fountain and I am not sure of exactly what happened but he was electrocuted that morning. The paramedics said he was dead before he even knew what hit him. Someone said they thought fire-ants had chewed through some of the wiring to the fountain pump near the shoreline. What was sad was his little 5 year old granddaughter was in the yard watching "Pa-Pa" work on the pond. This guy was in the prime of his life. Very sad.

It makes a better story you know.

I have been swimming in our pond with the fountains operating. I was relying on the GFI's to trip if there was any leakage current. I guess not any longer!

Something left untold here perhaps?

A man who went into the pond to help the dog stated he felt electricity in his feet. This has all the indications of an electric shock drowning or electrocution.

GFCIs are the primary safety mechanism to prevent this. Many community ponds have fountains with no GFCIs. Our neighborhood has 7 fountain pumps. Only 4 had GFCIs when I asked the BOD to look into it for safety's sake. Now they all have GFCIs. But GFCIs fail and must be tested routinely. They make it safer, but not 100% safe.

Whenever you are working in and around water, everything electrical MUST be protected by a GFCI (like in your bathrooms and kitchens).

David