Two Dachshund puppies that belonged to a woman who was stung by Africanised bees on Thursday afternoon died at the vet after receiving over 100 stings from the deadly insects.
Deon Burnette of Second Street, Liliendaal spoke to this newspaper in tears about her beloved dogs who succumbed to their injuries.
Burnette’s Dachshunds never left the vet and she was told by the doctor that they were stung over 100 times. The bees attacked after their nest on an empty lot next to Burnette’s home was disturbed. She was bitten along with contractors working for Digicel. Ministry of Agriculture workers later removed the bees which had their nest underground.
Burnette told Stabroek News on Thursday that Digicel had rented the plot of land at Lot 41, next door to her home, to install a tower and she had warned the contractors when she saw them looking around in the bushes that she had seen bees in the area.
The woman related that she was on her steps when she saw the workers running around with bees like a blanket covering their bodies and she ran into her house. Burnette said she did not get to safety fast enough as the bees attacked her. The woman broke down in tears as she recalled the bees stinging her about the head and face. She said she was upstairs when she heard her dogs whining, but could do nothing to help them.
An ambulance later took Burnette and a Digicel contractor to the Georgetown Public Hospital. The contractor, this newspaper was told, had thrown himself into a trench and remained submerged until he felt it was safe to come out. Another man in the area ran onto the road and lay down. Burnette’s brother, who was driving home at the time, had to wind up the vehicle’s windows and stay in the car during the attack. He later took the dogs that were left under her house to the vet.
Burnette said Digicel’s Public Relations representative had contacted her yesterday.
She is distraught over the death of her dogs. Two others survived the attack.
