Locator Safety & Appreciation Week (LSAW) is a celebration of utility locators’ hard work and an acknowledgment of the hazards they face every day in the field. Locators play crucial and often underappreciated roles in protecting the public and our underground infrastructure. Take some time this week to thank a locator in your life! We’ll be sharing locator safety content throughout the week to spread awareness of the difficult work they perform. Learn more about LSAW and how to participate at locatorsafety.com.
Locator Safety Hazard: Dog Bites
According to The American Veterinary Medical Association, 38% of U.S. households owned at least one dog in 2018. While the majority of these animals are likely friendly companions, locators are appropriately trained to treat all dogs they encounter as potential threats – The nicest dog can become unpredictably aggressive when a stranger enters the property.
The Humane Society of the United States urges anyone who sees a dog exhibiting the following behaviors to move to a safe distance:
- Pulled back head and/or ears
- Tense body
- Stiff tail
- Wrinkled brow
- Yawning
- Rolled eyes so the whites show
- Flicking tongue
- Intense stare
- Backing away
If avoiding the animal becomes impossible, locators can be equipped with dog deterrent spray and dog barriers, or stoppers, that expand like umbrellas and provide a physical layer of protection.
