Pet Lab Fried by NStar “Hotspot”

Thirteen-year-old
Elizabeth Morton woke up this morning to a quiet household, absent the
playful noises of her beloved dog Oscar, a 115-pound yellow
Labrador she had groomed from puppydom.

As Elizabeth and her father walked him in the rain around 8 p.m. Tuesday,
the 6-year-old dog started yelping and writhing and collapsed on the sidewalk
at Warren and Winthrop streets in Charlestown. He appeared to have been
electrocuted.

Neighbors quickly gathered, and people who tried to lift Oscar felt small
electrical jolts.
.
NStar officials were repairing what they labeled a "hot spot," a
portion of the corner that was alive with 100 volts of electricity, according
to a troubleshooter at the site, who declined to be named.

from the Boston Globe