One-Legged Man and His Dog Swarmed by 1,000 Killer Bees, Stung 250 Times, Saved by Firefighters
Unfortunately, the dog is allergic to bee stings.
Did you know that you are twice as likely to be struck by lightening than stung by a bee? According to a risk analysis by the Harvard School of Public Health, your chance of being stung by a bee is about 6 million to one. Despite the low odds about 500,000 people end up in U.S. hospitals every year and around 62 people die from hornet, wasp, and bee stings annually, per the CDC. This week a 60-year-old one-legged man and his dog were swarmed by bees and stung multiple times before being rescued by firefighters.
John Fisher was out with his dog, Pippin, riding a wheelchair-exercise bike, when he was swarmed by thousands of bees. He was stung a whopping 250 times while the pup, who was tied to the front of his wheel chair, suffered 50 stings.
"Next thing I know, there were bees all over me and all over the dog," Fisher told KPHO. "I tried to get across the street, but I couldn't see because they were going towards my eyes, and they're all over my face."
His wheel chair flipped over, and his dog, who's allergic to bee stings, was able to escape, says a GoFundMe page set up for their bills. "I crawled my way for a period of time to try to get far away from where they were, but they just followed me," Fisher told KPHO.
Pippin, who was "still stung, many many times" is also allergic to bee stings. "He ran off and the neighborhood rallied and was able to find him. He did not make it to the emergency vet until 3 hours later. He stayed overnight and was discharged," the GoFundMe page, which has raised over $5,800, reads.
"However, we thought he was getting better, and it seemed to be so until we took him in this afternoon to the vet(Johnson Ranch Animal Clinic). He is unfortunately, back in critical condition. Looks to be reactions to the bee sting toxins. We don't have all the details at this time, but hospitalization for at least a few more days is going to happen. He is back in the danger zone. We are already at 4 thousand dollars we put for the emergency vet and we are looking at a lot more," the post says.
Two days after the attack on May 22, a beekeeper located the "agitated hive" and sprayed it, per a May 23 Facebook post by the Florence Fire Department. Officials also helped repair Fisher's wheelchair.
