Inquisitive Labrador Gets Bees-ness End of Hive

Robert Coe and his wife Sandra of Santee, Calif., thought they had seen the last of the bees buzzing around their home after exterminators sprayed a hive in their yard. That is until later that night when Sandra noticed the family’s 1-year-old Labrador retriever wasn’t acting like herself.

“My wife saw Ellie throw up several times,” said Robert. “There were hundreds of dead bees in each pile.”

Unbeknownst to the Coes, Ellie had discovered and eaten the beehive after the exterminators had left. Frightened by the volume of dead bees Ellie was vomiting, Sandra decided the dog needed to go to the veterinary hospital.

The emergency veterinarian on duty examined Ellie and determined she had most likely only ingested dead bees and hadn’t been stung. Additionally, Poison Control indicated the pesticide did not pose a significant risk of toxicity. After a dose of anti-nausea medication and a few hours of observation, Ellie was on her way back home.

For the next week, the Coes administered over-the-counter antacid tablets and put Ellie on a diet of plain white rice and chicken. “She was eating better than we were,” joked Robert. “She acted just fine that week, really, but every time she went to the bathroom, she pooped bees. Thousands of bees. I don’t know where they all came from – the hive wasn’t that large.”

The Coe’s claim for Ellie’s beehive incident was one of more than 80,000 claims received in the month of April by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest pet health insurance company. The Coe’s claim was considered along with other uncommon medical claims submitted in April and selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.