Electric shocks

Electric shocks, like stings tend to be more common in younger pets due to their quizzical nature. Plug points in the wall tend to be close to the ground and electrical chords at that level make great toys to pull on and chew on!

An electric shock, if it does not kill the animal outright, will often knock the animal out. BE VERY CAREFUL if you come across this scenario: Pet lying immobile on the floor near an electric socket and chord. The FIRST thing you need to do is turn off the main power supply and pull out the plug. Failure to do this will endanger your life! Treat the pet as "live" until the main power source is turned off.

Once the mains are switched off and the chord unplugged, check the pet for signs of breathing and a pulse. If necessary, start CPR and get the animal to a vet as soon as the pulse and respiration rate have stabilised.

Pets that survive an electric shock will often have mouth burns and thus sometimes the first clinical signs that the owner sees (assuming the animal has recovered from the initial shock by itself) is excessive drooling, and very often difficulty in eating and drinking. This may only become obvious a while after the electric shock happens.

There are 2 courses of action you need to embark on in this case.
1) Take the pet to your Veterinarian to start treating the mouth burn and
2) Have a careful look around for the newly created electrical fault because it is likely to present a danger to both humans and pets.

Preventing pets getting hold of electrical chords is not an easy task - unless you are into re-designing electrical layouts of buildings - a rather expensive undertaking!. Probably the best you can do is to ensure that susceptible pets have lots of other toys and activities to keep them busy.

Electric shocks are unfortunately one of those things that happen from time to time in even the most concientious of households. The important thing is to educate all members of your family, especially young kids, about the necessity to switch off the main power source before they try to help the animal.