AN ATHLONE Park resident, Rosemary Roche is devastated after her much-loved pet, a Rottweiler ‘Thyia’ died after being stung by thousands of bees on Wednesday, 4 February.
The incident happened at about 9.30am, minutes after Rosemary left her home in Ramble Road. “I received a frantic call from my son, David that my dogs, two boerboels, a pug and Thyia were being stung by bees.”
Before she got home, David had coaxed the boerboels and pug into the house, however they had been stung numerous times. “They were convulsing due to the stings.”
“The bees followed Thyia and she became trapped near the domestic worker’s quarters. They continued to attack her. David was eventually able to cover himself and help her out.”
Rosemary rushed all the dogs to the vet. “I picked up my boerboels and pug later the same evening. After Thyia had been treated, I received a call from the vet’s office about two hours later that she had died.”
They were able to get hold of a bee expert, Gavin who rushed from Durban to help clear out the bees from the property. “He was extremely helpful and has shown so much compassion. He called to check up on the dogs and refused to accept payment.”
According to Rosemary and unbeknown to her at the time, the bees were housed in two hives on a neighbouring property. They have since being removed.
