Lawrence, Kansas, December 12, 2012

A Kansas farm wife called the local phone company to report her telephone
failed to ring when her friends called - and that on the few occasions, when
it did ring, her dog always moaned right before the phone rang.

The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic
dog or senile lady. He climbed a telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and
dialed the subscriber's house.

The phone didn't ring right away, but then the dog moaned and the telephone
began to ring.

Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found:

1. The dog was tied to the telephone system's ground wire with a steel chain
and collar.

2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.

3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the number was
called.

4. After a couple of jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinate.

5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to
ring.

Which demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing and moaning.

 

Source, please.  I heard this story many years ago, supposedly having taken place in England.  I'd say it's an urban legend, although I haven't been able to find a source online and Snopes doesn't seem to know about it.

I was curious and ran this by my husband, a master electrician who teaches electrical theory at a technical college.  While it sounds unlikely, he said nothing in the description of the electrical currents was impossible. 

The ground wire is only there for lightening strikes and catastrophic events.  It isn't part of the actual electrical circuit.  If there was current going to ground, it means there was a problem with the wiring of the circuit and the dog urinating *could* conceivably complete the circuit. 

Whether it's true or not (my money's on not) it is a really funny story with a great punch line so I gave a +1 

  poor,  poor  dog  but  still  a  funny  story.   

Reminds me of when Dad ran a wire from the pump house around the bird dog's pen.  He dared me to pee on it and that is where the word:  WHIZ came from.

I don't know what's funnier; the story or all the analysis of the story. 

Quote from: BK on March 23, 2013, 23:03
I don't know what's funnier; the story or all the analysis of the story. 

Quote from: lisafx on March 23, 2013, 19:23
I was curious and ran this by my husband, a master electrician who teaches electrical theory at a technical college.  While it sounds unlikely, he said nothing in the description of the electrical currents was impossible. 

The ground wire is only there for lightening strikes and catastrophic events.  It isn't part of the actual electrical circuit.  If there was current going to ground, it means there was a problem with the wiring of the circuit and the dog urinating *could* conceivably complete the circuit. 

Whether it's true or not (my money's on not) it is a really funny story with a great punch line so I gave a +1 

As a old Telephone guy ( take that as you will) the ground was really important on Party lines ( remember those) to get the phone to ring.  If there was a problem with the ground, the phone would work fine, but it would not ring. So the story is possible, and very funny.

Quote from: grsphoto on March 24, 2013, 18:45
As a old Telephone guy ( take that as you will) the ground was really important on Party lines ( remember those) to get the phone to ring.  If there was a problem with the ground, the phone would work fine, but it would not ring. So the story is possible, and very funny.

Interesting info.  Party lines were before my (and my husband's) time.  I will pass the info along.

The ground wire is there as a circuit braker. To make it more safe.
The current goes to the ground instead of through you.
That is reasonable enough, but best is that it can be meassured, and such everything can shut off if there is only a small current venturing out of the circuit.

means, if YOU are part of the circuit, it will shut itself down before you die of it.

I don't know about tech stuff but my dog would pull out the pipe and the pole and the repairman and the wall and would start pulling all of that down the block running.

He would even stop a bit to take a piss on repairman's  truck tire , most probably front left.

It could happen once but he wouldn't be waiting the phone to ring again calmly or scared  for sure 

 

Quote from: JPSDK on March 24, 2013, 20:29
The ground wire is there as a circuit braker. To make it more safe.
The current goes to the ground instead of through you.
That is reasonable enough, but best is that it can be meassured, and such everything can shut off if there is only a small current venturing out of the circuit.

means, if YOU are part of the circuit, it will shut itself down before you die of it.

Sorry, you are talking about something else, a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI).  A ground wire is not a GFCI and doesn't act as an over current protection device.  It's there merely as a path for fault current (abnormal currents flowing on parts of the circuit not intended to have current flow.)
 
If there is a GFCI or overcurrent protection device (i.e. a fuse or circuit breaker) the fault current will have a low-impedance path to ground, facilitating fast action of the OCPD.

In this scenario, the ground wire was loose, and therefore, not sufficient to carry fault currents to ground.  When the phone would ring, the 80 or 90 volts, D.C., would go through the dog, causing him to whine.  An expulsion of urine would create a low-impedance path to ground, allowing the phone to ring. 

I wasn't there, and am not asserting that this story is Gospel.  I am merely stating that, given the details, it is likely or plausible.  Signed, Lisa's husband (and model), Brian.

Ja ja, Lisas husband, we are talking about the same. i just got sidetraced and talked about grounding, since there seemed to be some confusion there.

I couldnt fit the dog and the pee into the circuit.