A strange electrical shock killed a family dog outside a Northwest D.C. apartment building Monday night, and her family wants answers about what happened and how to keep it from happening again.
Lakai, a loyal, loving shepherd mix, has been Pamela Kelly's best friend since she adopted her eight years ago. Monday night, Kelly took Lakai out to the courtyard of her building on Van Ness Street for a walk.
"All of a sudden she kind of yelped, and it looked like she almost slipped on the ice, but I didn't see any ice. It was wet," Kelly said. "And she actually went off of all fours on to her right side and ended up over by a wall.
"Unfortunately, she bit me a couple times because she was being shocked and so she was in a lot of pain," Kelly said tearfully.
During the frightening chaos, a neighbor ran to tell Kelly's son Skyler that she needed help.
"As soon as I got down there, I was shocked immediately ... grabbing her," he said.
Now the courtyard area is closed off as a hazard.
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In a statement to News4, a spokesman for Equity Residential, which manages the building, expressed condolences to Kelly and said: "We regret that this incident occurred, which was tied to a very unusual electrical issue. Note that there was not an exposed wire. Rather, a licensed electrician identified a wire inside the concrete that was the issue."
Kelly said other residents have told her their dogs have shied away from that area for months, a point several tried to make Monday night as they gathered around her and Lakai.
