Dog dies after suffering more than 300 bee stings

THE danger of angered bees is not to be challenged, warns the distraught owner of a Boston terrier that died after being stung more than 300 times by disturbed bees.

On Thursday, 25 October a beekeeper had been called in to remove a hive on a property some two units from where the dog lived.

“My daughter resides in a complex in Amanzimtoti, and had a little three-year-old Boston terrier named Oscar,” explained Dawn Bester. “The bees had nested in a retaining wall two units from my daughter’s.”

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Dawn explained that just after 3pm the horrific incident took place and has left a gaping hole in the family, who warn exactly how dangerous bees are.

“Oscar was home alone when he was attacked and stung by a swarm of enraged bees and died a painful traumatic death, due to the poisons left in his little body during the hours following this event. His little body was covered in beestings and as the vet explained, he was in absolute distress when he was rushed in to be taken care of.

“Can you imagine what you would feel like being stung by in excess of 300 bees? Having just a single bee sting, what we as humans go through, never mind being stung by a swarm,” said Dawn.

Dawn explained that they first received word of the swarming bees on the complex’s WhatsApp group.

“My daughter was 15 minutes away from the complex and rushed home. She could see the bees all around the entrance to her unit. Down in the laundry area, little Oscar had tried to get away from the bees,” she said.

“The sight seen in the laundry – urine, faeces and paw prints on the walls – was horrific evidence of just how he was attempting to get away from the bees that were following him. With bees still swarming around him, despite the gate having been covered with shadow netting and only a doggy hatch left open for Oscar to enter this area, he fought bravely. His riddled body collapsing on the staircase as he eventually got inside once my daughter had opened the laundry door.”

Read also: Pet dog killed by swarming bees

Oscar was rushed to the veterinarian and assistants who immediately started attending to him. The vet and nurses tried to manually remove the beestings and reported that there must be some 300 stings. The dog was put onto an intravenous drip with cortisone, histamine and antibiotics to counteract the poison in his body.

Oscar had come out of theatre when Dawn visited him. Scuff marks on his face and legs showed that Oscar desperately tried to escape the bees.

Dawn and her daughter were told the following day that Oscar had died during the night.
“The vet said that he was vomiting up bees and most likely died of organ failure. His kidneys were probably the first to fail, after having to clean so much poison from his blood,” said Dawn.

Dawn explained that while fully aware that bees are an endangered species and that its vital to conserve them, people need to be aware of the detrimental harm that they are capable of when enraged or even disturbed.

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