Wendy says, "Something odd is happening in the Slush Pile. Is a creative writing class in South Africa getting motivated by submissions to The Darwin Awards? Whatever the reason, eyewitness accounts from South Africa are on the rise. (1) (2) (3) Enjoy this lovely journey... "

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Gerda and Roger own a lovely farm in George's Valley, South Africa. They love to go for walks on their piece of heaven, along with their four-legged children, two Great Danes. (Un)fortunately, there are small wild animals such as hares on the farm, and when the two dogs get a sent, they go running off on a wild hare chase, sometimes returning with their prey. Being nature lovers, Gerda and Roger do not like this.

If you ever see a Great Dane, you'll notice it is the size of a small cow, rather than a dog. There is no way to restrain a dog that size, once it's a mission. So Gerda and Roger decided to buy collars with a shock device, controlled by a remote, of a type often used for training purposes.

Since Gerda and Roger are animal lovers, they decided that the collars must be tested before being used on the dogs. They especially wondered at what range the remote is effective. So Gerda stayed at the farm house while Roger drove off with the collar around his own neck. He drove about a mile, stopped, and pressed the hooter to signal Gerda.

What Gerda and Roger did not take into account was the power of a shock meant to control a giant-sized dog. On receiving the shock, Roger's body jolted forward, pressing the hooter. Gerda thought that this was a signal to press the button again. The second shock caused Roger to jolt forward again, again pressing the hooter. This time, Gerda kept her finger on the button for a few seconds. Roger twirled and twitched as the spasms went through his body, finally slumping forward to a rest on the hooter.

Luckily, Gerda, with a Ph.D. from a reputable university, realised that something was wrong and did not press the button again. Roger was bruised and sore for a couple of days, but suffered no lasting ill effects. As for the shock collars, they were never used on the dogs.

Gerda and Roger owns a lovely farm in George's Valley, South Africa. They love to go for walks on their piece of heaven, with their four legged children, two Great Danes, with them. (Un)fortunately, there are lots of small wild animals such as hares on the farm, and when the two dogs get a sent of them they would go running off on a wild hare chase, sometimes returning with their prey. Being nature lovers, Gerda and Roger did not like this.

If you've ever seen a Great Dane, you'll know that it resembles a small cow, rather than a dog, in size. There is no way that you could restrain a dog that size on a leash, once they're on a mission. So Gerda and Roger decides to buy dog collars, with a shocking device in them, that can be controlled by the owner with a remote. These collars are often used for training purposes.

Since Gerda and Roger are animal lovers, they decided the collars must be tested before they try it on the dogs. They especially wondered at what range the remote will still be effective.

So Gerda stayed at the farm house while Roger drove off with, the collar around his own neck. He drove for about a mile, stopped and pressed the hooter. This was the signal for Gerda to press the button on the remote.

What Gerda and Roger did not take into account, was how powerful the shock must be, to control a dog that size. On receiving the shock, Roger's body jolted forward, pressing the hooter. Gerda, not knowing what had happened, thought that this was a signal to press the button again. At the second shock Roger jolted forward again, pressing the hooter again. This time Gerda kept her finger on the button for a few seconds. Roger was twirling and twitching as the spasms went through his body, finally slumping forward, his body came to a rest on the hooter. Luckily Gerda, who earned a Ph.D. from a reputable university, realised that something was wrong, and did not press the button again.

Roger was bruised and sore for a couple of days, but suffered no other ill effects. But as for the collars, they were never used on the dogs.

Submitted on 01/29/2011

Submitted by: Anonomous
Reference:

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Given that this only qualifies for a PA I'll accept it, however I doubt shock collars can operate at a mile range. Most I've ever seen only operate up to roughly 300 feet although I have seen one or two that claim a half mile range.

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
I doubt he actually drove for a mile; depending on the terrain, he could have been out of sight in far less then that. But deliberately testing the shock collars on yourself!? Good grief!

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