A small dog being walked along a downtown sidewalk yesterday was apparently electrocuted moments after crossing an icy manhole cover, according to a veterinarian who examined the animal after a dog-walker brought him in.

The police quickly cordoned off the sidewalk where the dog died, on Rector Street near Greenwich Street. A crew from Consolidated Edison began testing the area for stray voltage, but Con Ed officials could not immediately confirm that the manhole cover or another metal object in the area had been electrified.

The dog, a 1-year-old 16-pound Boston terrier named Bob, was crossing the manhole cover when he suddenly lifted his paws, yelped in pain and went limp in the dog walker’s arms, according to Seth Edelstein, owner of Walkee Doggie, the TriBeCa dog-walking company that employs the walker.

If the cause of Bob’s death is determined to be electrocution, his death would be the latest in a string of episodes in which pet owners or their pets were harmed by stray voltage in metal plates or other objects on the city’s streets and sidewalks.