Dog stung 700 times by bee swarm after neighbor tries to remove hive, CA owner says

A dog was rushed to the vet after being stung over 700 times by a swarm of bees in California, the owner and a neighbor told news outlets.

Chance, a pit bull and mastiff mix, received a blood transfusion after being attacked by the bee colony, according to KTLA.

Tommy Baker, who lives next to Chance’s owner, said he was prepping his yard in Lake Mathews to remove an old fence when he saw a hive, according to KABC.

Baker reached out to companies that specialize in removing beehives and didn’t get a call back, according to FOX 11. After researching how to do it, Baker decided to remove it on his own.

“It got very intense,” Baker told KABC. “It got to the point I could not see very far in front of me there were so many bees just swirling around.”

Part of “the swarm broke off making a beeline for his neighbor’s yard and dog,” according to KABC.

Chance was surrounded by the bees and stung hundreds of times, FOX 11 reported. A neighbor eventually got the dog into a garage to escape the swarm, and he was rushed to an emergency animal clinic.

“They’re going to do some blood transfusions to try and up his platelet counts,” Chance’s owner told FOX 11. “He’s a lovable dog. He’s never been an aggressive dog. He’s always been just a happy-go-lucky guy, and it’s extremely hard on our family because he’s part of our family.”

As of May 21, Chance showed signs of improvement by wagging his tail and being more alert, according to a GoFundMe page. He is being monitored to see if a second transfusion is necessary.

Lake Mathews is about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published May 22, 2023 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Dog stung 700 times by bee swarm after neighbor tries to remove hive, CA owner says."