I wasn't going to post this on RTF but my cousin encouraged me to. The purpose is to benefit dog owners in Northeast Texas and South Oklahoma. I could post what happened in one paragraph but I feel the whole story needs to be told. So here goes and sorry for the length.
As many of my RTF friends know it has been an eventful year in the Bockmon house hold. We were blessed with our first grandbaby, Little Mac, last June. Soon followed Christina's marriage and Lindsay's marriage this year in April. So as you can imagine the last couple of years have all been about family celebrations that Leslie and I were blessed to have had.
With this weekends holiday we really wanted to share a weekend just for us. We decided to go to the lease on Red River we share with friends carry my two labs and her stray that someone dumped. Our plans were to let the dogs romp, fish for crappie, grill, and do absolutely nothing productive and unwind.
On our arrival we let the dogs out to air, turned the ac on, and unloaded our supplies. Leslie had gone inside but came out to get her dog about that time I got stung by a honey bee. Leslie said look they are going in that hole by the garage door. I said put Xena in the house and we'll go get some spray. She went in and I crated Gracie and Star.
Our lease house is in the middle of nowhere literally and when we left a truck came up the dirt road and Leslie being Leslie worrying about her dog said do you think they will steal the dogs? So worried about that stray. I laughed.
Its a 15 minute round trip to the store. We got the spray and returned. About 200 ft from the house my old dog Gracie is coming up the rode. Leslie said oh no do you think they tried to steal them I said no Gracie would get in the vehicle with anyone. Gracie followed us back to the house.
We got there and I noticed her crate was moved about ten foot but Stars was in the same place. I said oh no I hope this hasn't anything to do with the bees. As we got closer I noticed bees so I whip in and park thinking honey bees I'll get a few stings but I have to get Star out of the crate. I jumped out headed to Stars crate as fast as I could. A few feet from it I knew it was to late she was already dead and covered with bees about that time they started hitting me. I turned and yelled to Leslie to run, run, run Stars dead.
When I yelled I was enveloped I knew my only option was to run. I ran about 100 yards and at that moment I was sure I wasn't going to make it. They were relentless I kept running raking them off of me at about 300 yards I realised they weren't chasing me anymore the only ones were the ones still on me and on Gracie. Gracie had followed me back to the crates. I pulled off my shirt got them off Gracie and me and then the worst realization of horror hit me, Leslie had run the other way.
Gracie and I went back to find Leslie. I've never been so afraid of what I was going to find. We were to spent to run but we walked as fast as we could past the house and got attacked again but nothing like the first wave. Thank God Leslie was ok. We walked back towards the house but at about 100 ft guard bees would attack.
At this point Gracie was fading and I knew we had to get her to water. I knew where there was a pond about a quarter mile away and we got her to it. I left her and Leslie and tried to get back to the truck and our phones but you just couldn't do it . If you got withing 100 ft they attacked. I walked back to them and told them I was going for help I knew the farm manager was about 3 miles away but there was no choice but to leave them.
I found Donnie and he called his vet and since it is a working farm he had what was needed to treat Gracie. I gave her the shots and luckily he had a suit that the bees couldn't sting through so we were able to get Leslies dog, our stuff out of the house, the truck and poor Star.
I can't explain it but somehow Gracie had gotten out of the vari kennel and the door was still shut, I guess she squeezed through. We headed back home but I knew that Gracie was in bad shape. I called my vet, who was out of town, but knowing me and my farm background he provided me the meds to treat Gracie until he got back. We met at his clinic yesterday and tried everything we could to restart her kidneys and get the toxins out of her liver but we lost her this morning too.
For the first time in 30 years I don't have a lab and for the firs time in 20 years I don't have a descendant of Sarah sharing my cabin. Right about now I would be airing Gracie and she would come in the cabin door jump in my recliner and grin at me. I would point at her recliner she would grin jump in it look at me and lay her head on the arm rest sigh and go to sleep. That is the memory I will keep not this horror story.
Warning there are Africanised bees on the Texas OK border.
Tim
As many of my RTF friends know it has been an eventful year in the Bockmon house hold. We were blessed with our first grandbaby, Little Mac, last June. Soon followed Christina's marriage and Lindsay's marriage this year in April. So as you can imagine the last couple of years have all been about family celebrations that Leslie and I were blessed to have had.
With this weekends holiday we really wanted to share a weekend just for us. We decided to go to the lease on Red River we share with friends carry my two labs and her stray that someone dumped. Our plans were to let the dogs romp, fish for crappie, grill, and do absolutely nothing productive and unwind.
On our arrival we let the dogs out to air, turned the ac on, and unloaded our supplies. Leslie had gone inside but came out to get her dog about that time I got stung by a honey bee. Leslie said look they are going in that hole by the garage door. I said put Xena in the house and we'll go get some spray. She went in and I crated Gracie and Star.
Our lease house is in the middle of nowhere literally and when we left a truck came up the dirt road and Leslie being Leslie worrying about her dog said do you think they will steal the dogs? So worried about that stray. I laughed.
Its a 15 minute round trip to the store. We got the spray and returned. About 200 ft from the house my old dog Gracie is coming up the rode. Leslie said oh no do you think they tried to steal them I said no Gracie would get in the vehicle with anyone. Gracie followed us back to the house.
We got there and I noticed her crate was moved about ten foot but Stars was in the same place. I said oh no I hope this hasn't anything to do with the bees. As we got closer I noticed bees so I whip in and park thinking honey bees I'll get a few stings but I have to get Star out of the crate. I jumped out headed to Stars crate as fast as I could. A few feet from it I knew it was to late she was already dead and covered with bees about that time they started hitting me. I turned and yelled to Leslie to run, run, run Stars dead.
When I yelled I was enveloped I knew my only option was to run. I ran about 100 yards and at that moment I was sure I wasn't going to make it. They were relentless I kept running raking them off of me at about 300 yards I realised they weren't chasing me anymore the only ones were the ones still on me and on Gracie. Gracie had followed me back to the crates. I pulled off my shirt got them off Gracie and me and then the worst realization of horror hit me, Leslie had run the other way.
Gracie and I went back to find Leslie. I've never been so afraid of what I was going to find. We were to spent to run but we walked as fast as we could past the house and got attacked again but nothing like the first wave. Thank God Leslie was ok. We walked back towards the house but at about 100 ft guard bees would attack.
At this point Gracie was fading and I knew we had to get her to water. I knew where there was a pond about a quarter mile away and we got her to it. I left her and Leslie and tried to get back to the truck and our phones but you just couldn't do it . If you got withing 100 ft they attacked. I walked back to them and told them I was going for help I knew the farm manager was about 3 miles away but there was no choice but to leave them.
I found Donnie and he called his vet and since it is a working farm he had what was needed to treat Gracie. I gave her the shots and luckily he had a suit that the bees couldn't sting through so we were able to get Leslies dog, our stuff out of the house, the truck and poor Star.
I can't explain it but somehow Gracie had gotten out of the vari kennel and the door was still shut, I guess she squeezed through. We headed back home but I knew that Gracie was in bad shape. I called my vet, who was out of town, but knowing me and my farm background he provided me the meds to treat Gracie until he got back. We met at his clinic yesterday and tried everything we could to restart her kidneys and get the toxins out of her liver but we lost her this morning too.
For the first time in 30 years I don't have a lab and for the firs time in 20 years I don't have a descendant of Sarah sharing my cabin. Right about now I would be airing Gracie and she would come in the cabin door jump in my recliner and grin at me. I would point at her recliner she would grin jump in it look at me and lay her head on the arm rest sigh and go to sleep. That is the memory I will keep not this horror story.
Warning there are Africanised bees on the Texas OK border.
Tim
