A MUST read!! This is horrible!

[MyMolly]

A dog loses his eye and pet owners say an LUS meter reader kicked him.
However, they say no one is claiming responsibility.

"He came limping on three legs." Dog owner, Renie Botha says, "all I saw was his eye hanging out and blood all over."
Botha recalls what happened on Friday when a worker contracted by Lafayette Utilities was in her back-yard taking a reading; she says he kicked one of her dogs, puncturing the dog's eye.
KATC contacted LUS and a spokesperson sent a statement saying the meter reader was "aggressively approached by five dogs... and he panicked and kicked one of the dogs who he feared was going to bite him." The dog the reader allegedly kicked, a Yorkie, now without an eye.

"I didn't know how to handle it," Botha said.

"We understand they have a right to read your meter," Botha's daughter, Ilse Spears said. "We just want them to not abuse your animals."

"I have never seen in my career of thirty years an incident as unfortunate as this," LUS Director Terry Huval said.

Huval says the company is looking into the incident and will decide what actions to take, if any, once the investigation is complete.

"We have to do this in a reasoned way." Huval says, "(an investigation) that's justifiable for everyone involved."

However, for some pet owners like Botha, there's not much that can justify a one-eyed Yorkie.

"It was unnecessary what (the reader) did." Botha says, "that's how I feel."

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[Deuce]

Wait...the meter readers just walk into peoples yards unannounced? or did they let them know they would be taking the reading and the owner just let her dogs run out there anyway?
That poor yorkie that meter reader would be lucky to walk away with both his/her eyes if that happened.

[chachi]

I had a box put on my meter so they can read it outside my fence. I dont like strange people in my backyard

[Sammy Mommy]

That's terrible. Our meter readers used to come in the yard to read them but then they installed something so they can read the meters by remote from their cars.

[megansmomma]

This story made my stomach turn a the thought of this happening. We have gas, electric and water meters that can be read remotely by the meter readers. They never enter our yard to read the meters. A few years ago before we had the remote meters installed they meter reader would either knock or we would receive an estimated bill if they were not able to enter the yard. I would think that some liability would fall on the utility company because they enterer the yard and the dogs were not running loose.

On the other hand I am sure that meter readers face aggressive dogs every day in their jobs many (most) being much larger than a Yorkie. You would think that there would be some form of training in place to handle a situation like this one.

[JasmineNoelle]

No one can get into our hArd without knowing the combination for the gate to open. DH put in a gate opening so that people could not come in without permission. Poor little dog.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

That is awful. Our meter on outside of the garage so no one has to come onto/into our yard area.

[Gatord]

That is terrible! I used to have a dog that stayed outside during the day. It was a mixed poodle and he was pretty aggresive to anyone who come in the yard. He too was only about 6 lbs. When our meter reader would come in she would use an open umbrella to keep the dog from bitting at her feet. They also had me on call, so the day before the meter was to be read they would leave a recorded message on my phone.

[Gatord]

Originally Posted by Sammy Mommy

That's terrible. Our meter readers used to come in the yard to read them but then they installed something so they can read the meters by remote from their cars.

I think they take a picture now!

[MaddiesMommie]

This whole story is horrible. I can't tell from the story, was there a groups of dogs threatening him? Where did they come from?
Our meters are now read from the utility offices, so no one comes out any more.

[mauirobin]

I'm sorry....there is a way to toss a dog a couple feet away, with your foot...(an aggressive one), and not harm it one iota....and there is kicking. To cause an injury like taking an eye out is way above & beyond. For one who is truly scared of the animal coming at them, the first instinct is to get them away, not hurt them.
This sounds to me like a person had a bad day, & kicked...HARD!

[MyMolly]

The following is a statement from LUS Director Terry Huval:

LUS has completed its investigation concerning the actions of a contractor-supplied meter reader on Friday, March 11, 2011, which resulted in an injury to a customer's dog. LUS has determined that the contract meter reader did not follow established procedure in dealing with this situation. As a result, this contract meter reader is no longer working for LUS or LCG.

Because dog bites are the number one cause of injuries to meter readers, our employees are regularly trained in ways to avoid these types of confrontations with animals in the field. The meter reader in this situation panicked and did not follow appropriate procedure. LUS meter readers perform more than one million reads per year, and in the 16 years I have been LUS director, we have never had an incident this severe. LUS regrets the incident and has taken necessary action to remove this meter reader from LUS duty.

In the meantime, LUS has been in the process of converting to a system that will allow our meters to be read remotely. One advantage of this system is that it will eliminate the need for our employees to enter private property for meter reading purposes.

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[redwolf41]

That is so sad. There is no reason for that to have happened, even if the meter reader was having a bad day it is still no excuse. Aside from being fired, They should compensate the yorkies owner for vet expenses too.

[chestermama]

if that person done that to my yorkie, I dont think he would be walking, that is bs that poor yorkie and the owner as well

[yorkiepuppie]

this is so terrible! makes me so sad.