Swarm enemy: rescue dog Dante goes to hell and back after bee attack

A police rescue dog, who was in a “life or death” situation after he was stung by bees on Saturday, was released from a Durban veterinary hospital on Monday afternoon.

Westville Veterinary Hospital nurse Timika Deyzel told Sunday Times Daily on Tuesday she was still in awe over the teamwork that saved Dante’s life.

“Dante went into anaphylactic shock. The symptoms that his handler and partner Clinton Odayar described over the phone on Saturday were concerning. We have seen quite a few bee stings in Westville, so I knew the symptoms and the red flags,” said Deyzel.

Dante, Odayar and a family member of a missing person were attacked by a swarm of bees while searching for a body in Nongoma on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.

“It was a tricky situation. I asked Clinton if he had any Allergex on him and he did. He administered it. There were lots calls between us and then I was informed that they were heading by helicopter to us. I then asked the paramedics to put Dante on a drip.

“In that moment, it doesn’t matter if you are a veterinary paramedic or not because you have to decide whether the patient is going to die or not, so it does not matter if it’s a human or dog,” said Deyzel.

Dante was airlifted to the hospital for emergency treatment.

“Dante has responded well to treatment and was discharged. He is doing fine. These rescue dogs are something else. They are strong and simply amazing,” said Deyzel.

Deyzel built friendships with the dogs and their partners when she attended to the canines at the flood rescue base in Virginia, north of Durban.

“I think that’s why he was flown to us. We developed friendships, and Clinton remembered me as soon as Dante was stung,” she said.

Westville vet Dr Steve Wimberley said he wasn’t directly involved. However, he gave the authorisation for treatment at no charge.

“Our hospital is so happy to help these heroes,” he said.