SHOCKS FROM A POOL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19727, 29 August 1927, Page 11

SHOCKS FROM A POOL.

STRONG ELECTRIC CURRENT. VALUABLE DOG KILLED. A valuable Alsatian dog was killed in astonishing circumstances on the footpath, Crayford, Kent, recently. It was walking quietly by its owner's side when it began to howl, and fell on its side in a pool of water. It writhed in agony for a moment and then died. Its owner, Mr. Mathew, bent over the dog's body, but he had no sooner touched it than he staggered away in pain. A small crowd had gathered by this time, and it was noticed that those who stepped near the water in which the dog was lying received more or less severe electric shocks. Then, to every one's amazement, a small girl ran into the centre of the pool and stood by the dog unharmed. Some one cried out that the child's immunity was due to the fact that she wore rubber-soled shoes, and the crowd again drew back in fear from the "electric pool." A danger zone was marked out, and the police guarded the spot until an electrician arrived to clear up the mystery. It was found that a strong electric current was leaking from an underground cable through the soil, which had been saturated by the recent heavy rains. Power was at once switched off.