🐝 BZZZ! 🐝
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| Raging Yellow Jacket by Elaine |
Tyler tried to catch bees … in his mouth. i became alarmed at this habit, fearful that the little guy would get stung.
Oh, did I mention that Tyler was our young Sheltie?
Or that this was a daily event that summer. Tyler was a playful intelligent dog. Loving to a fault. He adored my husband Lou and followed him everywhere.
But I worried about Tyler’s apparent stupidity when it came to bees! Puzzling.
So, I called Tyler’s vet and asked what I should do to solve the problem. She suggested I keep a bottle of liquid Benadryl on hand. Then, if Tyler got stung in his mouth, I was to pour the Benadryl liberally down his throat. Liquid Benadryl, you see, is faster acting than the pill form
Trouble came a few weeks later.
That day Tyler came to the sliding door in a frenzy of barking and jumping.” Oh, no,” I thought. “He’s been stung!”
I grabbed the bottle of Benadryl and ran to the door just as Lou staggered in with Tyler.
“I’ve been stung, he said. “And I don’t feel goo.”
He never finished the word. He collapsed in my arms, and we both went down. I never dropped the bottle.
I struggled to open the safety cap as Lou’s lips went purple and he gasped for air.
I opened his mouth and poured the liquid slowly as he gulped it down. Grabbing a pillow for his legs and a throw blanket to keep him warm, I got the phone.
It took almost twenty minutes for the EMTs to arrive. By then Lou was breathing better.
I explained what happened and what I did to help him.
“Well, M’am, what you did for your husband saved his life.”
Lou was taken to the hospital where he received IV fluids and a thorough exam.
“Did you know your husband was allergic to bee stings”, the doctor asked. “Anaphylaxis kills.”
Lou replied, surprised. “I’ve been stung many times in my life, and this never happened before.”
“Allergic reactions like this can come and go, but from now on you’ll carry one of these with you.” He held up an Epipen, “it will save your life …in case you don’t have liquid Benadryl on hand.” He smiled at me.
When we came home later that evening, Tyler greeted us happily. Lou knelt down for doggy kisses. “Tyler, you are a wonder dog,” he said. “And your mom is Wonder Woman,” he rose, laughing.
About a month later, we went to a neighbor’s picnic. Again, Tyler began snapping at bees. Lou ran to stop him.
You guessed it. Lou got stung. This time I jabbed his thigh with the Epipen. Moments later, Lou was fine and Tyler the Wonder Dog was at his side, wagging his
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| Lou and Tyler the Wonderdog |
I began to read about dogs that save people’s lives in many unusual ways, like alerting their owners that a seizure was coming.
Maybe Tyler was trying to catch bees so they wouldn’t sting Lou or to alert him of the hazard! Did he sense somehow that Lou was allergic to bees? Or was he just a foolish bee chasing dog?
Lessons: Keep liquid Benadryl in the house. If you use an Epipen, don’t leave it in the kitchen drawer when you are away from home. And always listen to your dog’s signals. It could save your life!
NOTE. I will be taking a hiatus from the blog as I revise the website. See you when I get back in about two weeks! You’ll be hearing from me!
Etlainie92@gmail.com