Dog Hit By Car After Meter Installation, Tulsa Family Says

A Tulsa family claims that a smart meter installation ended with an open gate and their two dogs running loose.

The dogs’ owners said the worker was remorseful, but it doesn't compare to the grief they felt after one of their dogs was hit by a car and killed.

PSO is hiring contract workers to install smart meters around town and it was one of the workers that reportedly left the gate open.

The family said they don’t want the same thing to happen to anyone else.

Putting a padlock on his gate is a $3 fix Ossie Moore wished he had invested in sooner.

“She asked, 'Are the dogs okay?' And he said, 'No, they got out,’" Moore said.

His wife came home from running errands Friday to find a PSO contract worker, looking concerned. She said he was installing a smart meter at their home, near 61st and Yale, and didn't shut the gate.

Bullet and Braun pushed their weight against the gate and got out. Bullet, a rambunctious little dachshund, was hit by a car.

"Just a closed gate and, you know, she'd still be here. It's frustrating for us because it's not the first time," he said.

Moore believes his dog, Joe, was also killed when a meter reader left the gate open, though, he doesn't know for sure.

A PSO spokesperson said the contract workers, installing smart meters now in Tulsa, are with another company, CMI Services.

Moore's wife said she spoke with a CMI representative over the phone.

"His attitude to her was that, 'Well, we've got a good track record. We've only killed one dog in eight years,’" Moore said.

A PSO spokesperson said CMI employees are being reminded to close gates.

PSO released a statement, saying, "We are very sorry this happened...It's pretty rare. That's the type of thing we hope to avoid with AMI [smart] meters" because they transmit data and don't require meter readers.

Moore hopes that helps, but he now has a padlock for Braun.

"People can't leave your gate open," he said.

We called CMI for comment but haven't heard back.

Those contract workers are still installing smart meters for PSO customers in Tulsa. About two-thirds of PSO's Tulsa customers have them now.