It is common knowledge that dogs, apart from food, cuddling, and playing in the park, like to chew objects the most. We can most often see a dog gnawing a bone, but also some other hard objects because, to them, it doesn’t matter.
Unfortunately, a dog’s cluelessness of what is between his teeth can sometimes lead to serious consequences. Probably, the first thing that comes to mind for most dog lovers is endangered dog health, but sometimes it can be much worse than that.
This can best be seen in the case that happened in May 2024, when a dog played too much with a phone charger in his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, chewing it as if it were just another ordinary bone.
Since none of the people were around, no one could “tell” him that the object was potentially much more dangerous than some old bone.
The Fatal Moment
Although the unfortunate event that followed after the dog chewed the phone charger happened in May, the Tulsa Fire Department, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, did not share the video with the public until August 1st.
Nevertheless, the video quickly attracted a lot of attention and was shared by all well-known media in the country.
It shows one dog bringing a phone charger containing a lithium-ion battery in his teeth. Then, he lies on a mattress and passionately starts chewing on it, while the other dog lies relaxed on the couch right in front of the camera.
However, after a few moments, their enjoyment is abruptly interrupted when the phone charger explodes. Then, the dog drops it from his teeth, and its sparks set the mattress on fire.
The two dogs manage to get to a safe distance, but their constant barking fails to solve the problem. Then, aware that the situation is starting to get out of control, they leave the room, and soon, the firefighters arrive.
“We responded to a house fire in May that was caused by a damaged lithium-ion battery. While the home was significantly damaged, their two dogs and cat escaped the home uninjured through a dog door,” the Tulsa Fire Department captioned the video.
Fortunately, the animals managed to avoid the tragedy, but it could easily have been different if there had been no dog doors. Not to mention what would have happened if someone had stayed asleep in the house – they probably wouldn’t have survived.
Dangers Of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Firefighters were quickly on the scene and successfully extinguished the fire. The house was badly damaged, but fortunately, there were no injuries or victims.
However, since it could easily have been otherwise, the Tulsa Fire Department’s public information officer, Andy Little, decided to share some important information about lithium batteries with the public.
“Lithium-ion batteries are known for storing a significant amount of energy in a compact space, however when this energy is released uncontrollably, it can generate heat, produce flammable and toxic gasses, and even lead to explosions,” Little said.
He also added that there are several things that can lead to this, such as extreme heat exposure, overcharging, using incompatible charging equipment, and obviously, physical damage caused by dog’s teeth.
However, since the dog does not have that level of consciousness to understand that it is dangerous, the responsibility passes to the owner.
Of course, the responsibility is also on all other people who have to be very careful with these types of batteries because there are more and more cases of fires caused by them.
“Let us work together to prevent lithium-ion battery-related fires and keep our homes and communities safe,” Little said in the end.
