Duncan dog dies in bee attack
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If emergency agencies had responded to Mary Hanlin’s frantic calls for help, her family may not be mourning the death of a beloved pet.
A Duncan resident, Hanlin loves dogs, and she is heartbroken over the death of Shadow, her 2-year-old Siberian husky, who died after suffering multiple bee stings May 17.
Hanlin believes Shadow died because no emergency agency in Greenlee County would respond to her frantic calls for help.
Shadow’s ordeal began around 2 p.m. when he and his companion, Cheyenne, an 8-year-old Siberian husky, were attacked in Hanlin’s back yard. The dogs were chained and could not run away.
Hanlin called 911 because she is allergic to bee stings and could die if one of the attacking bees stung her. The 911 operator gave her the phone number of R.J. Freeman — a person who could remove a beehive.
Freeman told her the attack sounded like killer bees and advised her to call 911 again. Hanlin said she called 911 again and was told by the emergency dispatcher that the Duncan Fire Department could not respond. The dispatcher also said she called Clifton and Morenci fire departments.
Meanwhile, her dogs were still under attack by the bees. Frantic efforts by friends and neighbors to free the animals were unsuccessful because the would-be rescuers were also attacked.
“I wanted to go out there, but they wouldn’t let me,” said Julia Hanlin, Mary’s daughter, who also is allergic to bees.
Finally, shortly after 3 p.m., Freeman arrived at Hanlin’s home dressed in a bee net. He and one of Julia’s friends freed the dogs and brought them into the house. Both animals were ill, and Hanlin unsuccessfully tried to find a veterinarian to care for them. Shadow died about two hours later, and Cheyenne eventually recovered.
Shortly after the dogs were brought into the house, Morenci Fire and Ambulance called Mary for more information and indicated the agency would respond. After arriving around 3:35 p.m., firefighters destroyed the hive, which was inside the wall of an adjacent rental unit on Hanlin’s property. The Hanlins were not previously aware there was a beehive on their property.
The radio log from the Morenci Fire and Ambulance service sheds some light on what might have happened. The log states that a dispatcher from the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Department reported a “swarm of bees” at Hanlin’s home. The log does not indicate that a bee attack was in progress.
The log shows the dispatcher attempted to send Duncan and Clifton fire departments to the scene, but she was told they could not respond.
Jack Hanlin, Mary’s husband, believes the lack of immediate response comes down to dollars and cents.
“The rumor is that it wasn’t in their (Duncan Fire Department) budget to come out for bees,” he said.
He said no officials from Duncan or Greenlee County came to the Hanlins’ home or called to make sure the bee situation was handled.
“With a 911 call, the sheriff should at least show up,” Jack said. “This is a safety issue to the community.”
Duncan Town Manager Alan Baker agreed, saying the town has an intergovernmental agreement with the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Department for police protection.
“When there’s an emergency call, someone should respond,” Baker said on Friday. He added that he suggested the Hanlins file a complaint with the Duncan Town Council.
Greenlee County Sheriff Steve Tucker could not be reached before deadline on Tuesday afternoon.
