Coco’s Stinging Encounter

By Kay Hisano | Dated August 20, 2024

Sweet Coco’s owners gave us a ring as they noticed Coco’s beautiful face had swollen up after coming back home from a walk. By the time Coco had arrived at Gordon Vet Hospital, her lips were twice the size of what they usually are and she could barely keep her eyes open.

Here is a picture of what poor Coco looked like when she came in.

As soon as we saw her face we knew that she was showing an allergic reaction to something that she had come into contact with on her walk. After having a good, close look at her face we were able to find the culprit. It was a bee sting!

See if you can spot the orange stinger on her upper lip.

 After removing the stinger Coco was given an antihistamine injection and a steroid injection to help reduce the adverse reactions caused by the bee sting. After a couple of hours, the swelling around her face had significantly subsided but it took a solid 24 hours for her usual beautiful face to reappear.

With spring around the corner we are expecting a lot more cases like this. Without treatment some dogs can develop severe airway obstruction so if this happens to your pet make sure you get in contact immediately!