Today, a meter reader used a repellent spray on a dog in the backyard of a
home on Alrose. The meter reader is fine. The dog, according to its owner, is
fine after experiencing some temporary discomfort. First of all, we apologize to
the dog owner. Many of us are dog owners, as well, and we can empathize with the
fact that no one wants to see their pet in pain. These are situations that we
all want to avoid.
In this case, this is the first incident with a dog at this home. The meter reader had previously accessed the meters at the address without problems and without encountering a dog. He entered the gate to read the meter on its scheduled read date, unaware that a dog was in the backyard. In this circumstance, it is common practice for the meter reader to keep a distance between himself and the dog so that he can exit the gate.
The dog kept advancing and the meter reader used the repellent to keep it at bay. Our meter readers try to avoid these types of situations, but dog bites can sometimes be an issue in this line of work. We've had 45 incidents involving dogs biting meter readers in the past five years. The meter reader made a judgement call at that moment based on what he believed was a threat to his safety.
The meter reader followed dog safety and bite prevention training that MLGW stresses during orientation and its safety meetings.
We're mandated to make an attempt to read every meter. Given the sheer number of meters to be read, it's not always possible to knock on a door before entering a gate nor is it always clear that a homeowner is present. A meter reader will, however, knock or leave a notice on the door if he or she cannot access the meter due to a locked gate or dog. In this case, there was access to the meter, but the meter reader did not know the dog was present.
Nevertheless, homeowners can request a door knock prior to a meter reading by contacting Customer Service (544-6549). We work with customers to make sure that there is safe access to meters.
In this case, the employee and the dog are fine, and we've noted in our system to knock on this customer's door in the future. Again, we apologize for what happened and we've taken steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.
In this case, this is the first incident with a dog at this home. The meter reader had previously accessed the meters at the address without problems and without encountering a dog. He entered the gate to read the meter on its scheduled read date, unaware that a dog was in the backyard. In this circumstance, it is common practice for the meter reader to keep a distance between himself and the dog so that he can exit the gate.
The dog kept advancing and the meter reader used the repellent to keep it at bay. Our meter readers try to avoid these types of situations, but dog bites can sometimes be an issue in this line of work. We've had 45 incidents involving dogs biting meter readers in the past five years. The meter reader made a judgement call at that moment based on what he believed was a threat to his safety.
The meter reader followed dog safety and bite prevention training that MLGW stresses during orientation and its safety meetings.
We're mandated to make an attempt to read every meter. Given the sheer number of meters to be read, it's not always possible to knock on a door before entering a gate nor is it always clear that a homeowner is present. A meter reader will, however, knock or leave a notice on the door if he or she cannot access the meter due to a locked gate or dog. In this case, there was access to the meter, but the meter reader did not know the dog was present.
Nevertheless, homeowners can request a door knock prior to a meter reading by contacting Customer Service (544-6549). We work with customers to make sure that there is safe access to meters.
In this case, the employee and the dog are fine, and we've noted in our system to knock on this customer's door in the future. Again, we apologize for what happened and we've taken steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.
1 comment:
17GAs the homeowner in question here, I have serious issues with this post. You have my information so contact me if you'd like my side of the story because what is printed on this post is not what I saw.
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