Moaning dog

An elderly lady phoned her telephone company to report that her telephone

failed to ring when her friends called - and that on the few occasions when

it did ring, her pet dog always moaned right before the phone rang. The

telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog

or senile elderly lady.

He climbed a nearby telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the

subscriber's house. The phone didn't ring right away, but then the dog

moaned loudly and the telephone began to ring.

Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found:

1. The dog was tied to the telephone system's ground wire via a steel chain

and collar.

2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.

3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the phone number

was called.

4. After a couple of such jolts, the dog would start moaning and then

urinate on himself and the ground.

5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to

ring.

Which demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing and moaning