Duncan dog dies in bee attack

By Diane Saunders
Staff Writer
Published on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 10:01 AM MST

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.

Mary Hanlin mourns the death of Shadow with her surviving Siberian husky, Cheyenne, in her Duncan home. Photo by Diane Saunders

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.

Copyright © 2008 Eastern Arizona Courier

Comments

18 comment(s)

    Dennis wrote on Jun 2, 2008 9:34 AM:

    " The attack on the dog is an opportunity to review how the emergency response system might respond to human bee attacks. Elected officials should be reviewing their emergency response and 911 manual for indications of policy updates. Lets see this as a learning experience. "

    someone wrote on Jun 2, 2008 1:40 AM:

    " well cliff its not like your the goverment people are allowed to chain ther pets as long as ther is food lots of water and a nice cool place for them to lie down but if you dont do that then its inhumane and you should feel the dogs pain but still ya dont own every boddy i have two beautiful labradors and i love them very much but i wont bring them inside because even if we clean them an hour later they are full of grass and dirt fron our fruit trees so we dont bring them "

    someone wrote on Jun 2, 2008 1:34 AM:

    " it is the police and the fire departments faultthey didnt respond and the dogs were probably chained because they were getting ou tof the yard alot so she had to chain them in my own opinion im with the pet owner its not her fault because i havre a lab andhe constintally gets out of the yard so we have to chain her up... dont blame the owner blame the police that they didnt respond... "

    bazil wrote on Jun 1, 2008 7:21 PM:

    " It is a tragic story but the police or dispatch are not to blame the responsibility lies in the hands of the pet owner those dogs should not have been chained. This community is notorious for chaining pets it is cruel especially in this heat. Go to http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org to read the stats. "

    Randy Pagel wrote on Jun 1, 2008 8:39 AM:

    " The fire department should have responded first and sprayed foam on the bees. This is their job. Regards Randy "

    wow wrote on May 31, 2008 10:11 PM:

    " Ok yes there should have been a response. But it should have been the Greenlee county Animal control. The Sheriffs dept. is NOT animal contol nor are they responsible for Bee removal. It is actually the property owners responsiblity to take care of pest on their land. So Hanlins shame on you for killing your own dog and blaming it the Sheriff. "

    steve wrote on May 31, 2008 9:20 AM:

    " Way to go steve tucker your leadership shines through again. Oh wait what leadership. "

    cliff wrote on May 30, 2008 11:11 AM:

    " It might be legal to have your dog chained up, but it is very cruel, I don't care how long a chain you have, all statisics show that chained animals are 10 times more aggressive and territoral and much more likely to bite than unchained dogs. And like I said before, had these dogs been free, they could have escaped the bee attack. "

    Love my Lab wrote on May 30, 2008 5:49 AM:

    " If you have this kind of problems with first responders I'm not sure I want to visit your area again. Whats wrong with 911????? Seems like they are not doing the job they are getting paid to do. "

    Love my Lab wrote on May 30, 2008 5:46 AM:

    " I'm very sorry for the dog. Why would you have such dogs in the heat of AZ. and not have them in the house with you? They get very hot with all that fur. My Lab. is loved like one of my boys and lives in the house in NE. with us where its cool with the air conditioner running. Become more responsible for your pets they have feelings also. "

    Clear Voice wrote on May 29, 2008 9:04 PM:

    " There is no law against putting a dog on a chain. If it is long enough, with water and food adequate for the conditions, it is perfectly legal.
    It is a shame that there wasn't anyone who could help in this situation, but as they said it could be that it was dispatched wrong.
    Duncan Fire along with others in the state is a Volunteer Position run by people who have real jobs and families to support. I am grateful that this is any emergency help for humans in Duncan, let alone animals. "

    ILUVDOGS wrote on May 29, 2008 2:21 PM:

    " There is nothing worse than feeling helpless while a life is being taken. Dog or human, they are still live beings with spirits. Someone from the Sheriff's office should have gone out to their home immediately. What ashamed. "

    ILOVE DOGS wrote on May 29, 2008 2:12 PM:

    " I agree with Cliff, those dogs shouldn't have been tied up.I believe that it is against the law to have your dogs tied up in Arizona and the ASPCA should be called. I am sorry for the loss of the dog and I am also outraged at the police for not responding to a 911 call. No matter what the reason was, the sheriff should have shown up. My father died because 911 kept hanging up on us when we called baecause he was having a heart attack. I am from Clifton. "

    Sylvia F wrote on May 29, 2008 10:13 AM:

    " Wait a minute, maybe we don't have both sides of the story here. We used to live in Duncan, and whenever I had to call for emergency crews, they were there promptly, and were very professional. My husband might not be alive today if not for them. Remember these crews are for humans, not animals. Sad to say, emergencies exist for animals and there are no emergency services available in Greenlee OR Graham Counties for them. We now live in Safford, and lost a beloved dog due to the lack of services. Sad but true. "

    angela wrote on May 28, 2008 10:02 PM:

    " Emergency crew is a joke there. Had they responded faster, my little brother would probably be alive. Sad for such a small town i used to call home. looks like nothing has changed. Poor Dog.:( "

    Cliff wrote on May 28, 2008 7:44 PM:

    " Its a shame about these dogs, but I blame the owner. If these dogs weren't chained up they could have escaped the bees. No dog, especially in the heat of AZ should be chained up and if thats your only option, then you shouldn't own the dogs in the first place. "

    GO DOGS wrote on May 28, 2008 3:49 PM:

    " THAT IS A SHAME THAT NO EMERGENCY CREW WOULD RESPOND DUNCAN SUXS! "

    DOG LOVER wrote on May 28, 2008 3:49 PM:

    " AWW POOR DOG! "

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