Ever since I heard about a dog being electrocuted by stray voltage on a city street, I’ve been careful to keep my own dogs away from lampposts. It happens more often than you might think, although the numbers have declined since Con Ed and the DOT took responsibility after a person was killed.

Last week the NY Times reported on an Upper West Side dog named Sebastian who was killed by electrical voltage. The article links to Street Zaps, an informative website that maps out areas where voltage has been reported. You can contact them to report an incident. They list utility contacts in PDF as well.

Street Zaps’ safety tips list dog booties as ineffective; even more dangerous than bare paws because they could get waterlogged. It says to keep your dog away from any street lights or sidewalk metal. And you probably want to avoid them yourself.