Electrical wire left unattended by MLGW crew kills customer’s dog

A two-day safety standdown is in effect right now ordered by MLGW after a third tree-trimming incident this month ended in tragedy. A two-day safety standdown is in place by MLGW after a third tree-trimming incident this month ended in tragedy, involving an East Memphis homeowner whose German Shepherd "Ace" died after being electrocuted. The homeowner, who did not wish to be identified, called ABC Professional Tree Trimming crews' actions by gross negligence. She alleges that she let tree trimming crews finish cutting down branches in her backyard when they left something behind, unaware that the trimmers had left behind a live wire. The incident occurred after her husband came home and let the dogs out, unaware of the live wire being left behind. MLGW has ordered a safety stand-down with ABC crews to reinforce existing safety rules and ensure procedures are followed to prevent future incidents.

Published : a month ago by Stephanie Douglas in

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) -A two-day safety standdown is in effect right now ordered by MLGW after a third tree-trimming incident this month ended in tragedy.

An East Memphis homeowner, who didn’t want to be identified, called actions by ABC Professional Tree Trimming crews gross negligence.

She said their actions took the life of her German Shepherd “Ace” who she said died after being electrocuted.

“He would be a year old on Easter and he is my little girl’s dog,” said the homeowner.

The homeowner says that just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, she let tree trimming crews in her backyard finish cutting down branches.

Shortly after, she left home. But her family didn’t know the trimmers left something behind.

“So my husband came home, let the dogs out. Saw the gate was shut so he knew they were gone and had no idea that there was a live wire in the back of our yard so he threw the ball and the dog just got all cut up in the wire,” she said.

The homeowner shared this video with Action News 5 that shows when the crews were working.

“They jumped, it smoked. They knew it popped, and according to them, they did report it to MLGW,” she said.

In a statement, MLGW told Action News 5 in part, “We are aware of Tuesday’s unfortunate incident that resulted in the loss of a homeowner’s beloved pet after our contracted vendor, ABC Professional Tree Service, accidentally knocked down a live wire. MLGW ordered a safety stand-down with the ABC crews at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday…to reinforce existing safety rules and to ensure procedures are followed to prevent incidents of this nature in the future.”

It’s something this homeowner demands to be evaluated before another casualty occurs.

“My husband could’ve been killed, I could’ve been killed. I have requested that they do not come back on our property,” the homeowner said. “People need to be cautious when these third-party vendors are in your backyard and you don’t know them and you didn’t hire them, you don’t know their skill level and you need to watch them. I mean this could happen to anybody.”