PLEASE NOTE THIS BEFORE YOU READ: Kipawa and I are no longer going to this enclosed dog park.
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This year, I found a large enclosed dog park - great people, great dogs. We've been there twice over the last 2 months. It's about a half hour drive to get to, but seemed so worth it. Kipawa absolutely loved running and romping with all the good dogs. There are high voltage power lines over the park. RIGHT over the park.
The first time we were there, I'd give Kipawa a shock every time I touched him. I could feel, see and hear the spark. Kipawa would yelp each time I touched him. Of course at some point I stopped touching him and just let him play until we were ready to go. Later that day, Kipawa was vigorously licking his paw. I checked it out. It was very inflammed and RED. So the next day we saw the vet.
I mentioned being at a dog park that was under high voltage power lines and how I was giving Kipawa shocks when I touched him. That theory felt weak to her. She believed he must have stepped on a biting insect (bee, spider, etc). So Kipawa came home wearing the dreaded 'cone of shame' around his neck. I was also given some Fuciderm gel (antibiotic/corticosteroid) to help with the inflammation and itch. After a couple of weeks, Kipawa's paw looked good. I thought he was ready to have a fun time at the same park. The same thing happened again - sparks and shocks. Once I realized what was happening, we left the park.
Yesterday my sister came over and was talking to me about some crystals and beads she bought. She overheard a man talking about a crystal he had that was very good for him, and how he could feel the energy in it. So my sis went over to talk to him and he offered her to hold the crystal and see if she felt good energy from it. Well, she didn't, but she asked him a question: "my sister has been to a dog park twice now with her dog. It's right under some high voltage power lines. She winds up shocking her dog and both times her dog winds up with a sore and aggravated front left foot (toe pads) that needs treatment. Are the power lines causing any of this?"
My sis said that he looked at her like she was crazy for asking the question. He said that "of COURSE the power lines are to blame. Your sister (me) must be very sensitive to the electromagnetic field, and her dog probably is as well. When she touches her dog and shocks him, his paw is grounding the electricity. And the dog is probably sensitive on his own to the electromagnetic field".
So now, Kipawa needs a few days again of no running or irritating that paw. He's not licking the toes because I've put a little tea tree oil on an unaffected area of his foot.
Have any of you had anything like this happen to you and your dogs? So why are they building dog parks underneath them? <---- rhetorical question. Our adventures will no longer be under any power lines.
It would seem like a good place to put a dog park: big open areas that must be kept cleared. But many people refuse to live near the high voltage lines, and various ill effects have been blamed on the wires for years. Of course power companies say it is all myth, that no ill effects have been PROVEN.
While your experience may not be proof for some, I would not completely disagree with what the guy said. Too bad, sounds like a nice park. I guess you could get Kipawa some rubber-soled sneakers to wear!
I guess you could get Kipawa some rubber-soled sneakers to wear!
Could do, but something tells me they wouldn't last much longer than 10 seconds! 
High voltage power lines will cause induced current in the ground beneath them, something people who want free electricity use to their advantage from time to time. I am going to guess this phenomenon happened in dry weather, as that is more likely. A Ham radio buddy of mine used to amuse himself by placing a florescent tube parallel to his antenna, then transmit Morse code. Even the relatively low voltage rf field was enough to light up the tube. Snow static is also something many Hams are familiar with. I have seen coax arc between the outer braid and the inner conductor when heavy snow was falling on my outdoor antenna. So yes, short answer is your shocks were likely connected to the power lines.
We have no idea whether or not you were wearing rubber soled shoes or what the conditions were of the ground you were on. Sounds like there is a lot of static electricity there and when you reached out to pet your dog you were grounding him.
TwinDogsDifferentMothers - I was wearing runners (sneakers), rubber soled, and the ground was dry, for both instances.
Eeeefarm - good explanation. Thanks for that. In a nutshell, I think somehow Kipawa was grounding either me or other dogs or other people petting him or…
But as it has happened both times we've been there, sadly, we won't return. 
Kipawa loves it there, such a large area of nicely cut grass and good dogs and people. But it's not worth having him getting owies on his feet.
I was wearing runners (sneakers), rubber soled, and the ground was dry, for both instances.
O.K. then, probably you had built up a charge, and it discharged through his feet when you touched him. Your rubber soled shoes would have prevented the charge from grounding through you, the same way a car's tires allows it to build up a charge…...and why you can get a jolt when you exit the car, then touch the door to close it. (happens to me all the time!)
Yep that's what it sounded like to us.
O.K. then, probably you had built up a charge, and it discharged through his feet when you touched him. Your rubber soled shoes would have prevented the charge from grounding through you, the same way a car's tires allows it to build up a charge…...and why you can get a jolt when you exit the car, then touch the door to close it. (happens to me all the time!)
Thanks for helping me out with my basic science. 
I guess at some point in school I was not listening! I'm going to mention it to our vet. I thought it had something to do with those power lines right off the bat, but she felt it was more likely something he stepped on. Even vets aren't perfect - so I'll tell her and maybe she'll think of it as a possibility the next time she sees a foot that looks the way Kipawa's did.
We had a couple people killed on our base last month, they were taking down an antenna that was approx 100 ft from a high power line, it did not come any where near the line, but an arc of electricity from the line struck the antena as they were taking it down and killed them. I would stay away from all power lines.
