Swarming bees kill family dog

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TORRANCE, Calif., May 3 (UPI) -- A dog belonging to a Southern California family died after being stung by hundreds of bees from a hive built under the eaves of the family home, officials said.

When Joe Park and his family returned to their Torrance home from church Sunday, they found Inu, the family dog, lying in a corner of the home's back yard convulsing from the effect of hundreds of bee stings, mostly on her face and head, The Daily News in Los Angeles reported Tuesday.

The 40-pound, 6-year-old Jindo dog died within 15 to 30 minutes, Park said, as the family administered Benadryl and tried to remove the stingers.

The dog died before they could take her to an emergency veterinary clinic, he said.

A pest removal team went to the home Monday and removed the hive from under the eaves.

"I had no idea it was there," Park said of the hive bee removal expert Don Sorenson said may have been there for about a year.

The hive could have contained as many as 25,000 bees, Sorensen said.

"The dog was probably barking and it aggravated the bees," he said. "And it was hot (on Sunday). They don't like hot weather either; they like nice weather."