Dog killed after it walks on utility panel

Boston officials last night were looking into the possibility that the city may be to blame for the electrocution of a dog that was walking with its owner at a Charlestown street corner.

James W. Hunt, the city's chief of environment and energy and a member of Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Cabinet, said the stray voltage that killed the dog may have come from a street light, ''which is owned by the city of Boston. We're going to do a full investigation. This is a most unfortunate incident, and our hearts go out to the dog owners."

Hunt said he did not have the identity of the owner, who he believed is a Charlestown resident.

Police and witnesses said last night that the dog was a 6-year-old mixed Labrador retriever that was killed while walking across a utility panel charged with electricity.

An unidentified 28-year-old female was walking the dog near the corner of Chelsea and Warren streets about 6:30 p.m. when the incident occurred. After receiving the shock, the dog howled in pain, fell to the ground, and ceased to move, said one witness.

Another witness attempted to move the dog and was also shocked, but suffered no injuries, said police. Public works crews cut power to the panel. Boston police said there would be no investigation of the incident.

At least three other dogs have been killed in Boston since 2000 by so-called stray voltage.

A boxer, Cassius, was killed in Allston in March, a Labrador retriever Oscar, was killed in Charlestown in February 2004, and Laszlo, a red Vizsla, died when he walked over an electrified manhole cover in the South End in February 2000.

City and utility officials also have investigated numerous reports of dogs being shocked, including a December 2003 episode in Mission Hill that dog owner John Toner said left him with $11,000 in hospital bills for treatment of injuries he suffered.

After incidents last year, the city and NStar set up a Joint Task Force on Electrical Safety in April and produced a report in July. They came up with 15 recommendations, the biggest of which was to test all electrical areas throughout the city. NStar and the city tested all 120,000 infrastructure pieces and found only 62 had problems.

Many of the problems were caused by accidents, where vehicles damaged equipment or by corrosion because of weather conditions, officials said.

All repairs had been made, and at the Joint Task Force's recommendation, they are doing a second round of testing, Hunt said.

The city is also using new composite plate covers that will not conduct electricity. Those plate covers are being manufactured now.

''One instance of stray voltage is one too many," Hunt said.

Raja Mishra of the Globe staff contributed to this report.