Bluff family’s dog succumbs to bee stings after hive disturbed
The bees surrounded her home and started attacking her
A BLUFF family is mourning the loss of their adopted two-year-old dog, Sharky after swarming bees descended from a disturbed tree and attacked a mother and son and their three dogs on Friday, 28 September.
On the day of a fun event at Grosvenor Girls High, Doris-Dee Hoffman was at home, when she heard a loud bang outside her property which is adjacent to the school.
“When my son and I went to see what happened, there were thousands of bees surrounding the tree which had been struck by a firetruck. The bees had obviously built a hive inside the tree and a branch was torn off during the collision,” said Doris-Dee.
The bees surrounded her home and started attacking her, her teenage son and their three dogs. “I was stung multiple times on the head and back and I ran inside my house to throw water in my hair. My son was stung as well, as he tried to save the dogs from the bees. They were already covered in them,” she added.
READ: Where will we be without bees?
He managed to grab one of the dogs, whose face was swollen from stings and then went back for the other two. However he was chased by more bees and locked himself in the garage for safety. In the meantime the frantic mother tried to get the attention of the firefighters, one of whom came but he ran from the property when he was also stung. “I was banging on the windows to get more attention from the people outside, and that’s when I saw my little Sharky lying motionless on the ground. “He was stung so many times, he died. Sharky was a year-old puppy and we only adopted him in February. He was just getting used to the family and we had grown so close to him. He has been such a blessing to us. He was such a lovable dog,” she cried.
READ: The buzz of a swarming infestation
Bee removal expert, Chris Botha said once a person is stung, it is best to remove the bee sting by scraping it using the blunt edge of a butter knife or credit card.
“If you grab it with tweezers, you will push the poison further into your body. After you get the stinger out, apply an antihistamine cream to the sting site. It is important to remove the stinger as soon as possible,” he said.
The school removed the hive from the tree the following Thursday, 4 October.
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