the beagle and the bee

trixie just had a bath. so we let her outside and, of course, she does the "ohmygodistink" roll in the dirt to wash off the clean smell. she was excited and happy, jumping and rolling and barking when something small caught her attention.

pounce!

tail wagging, nose sniffing, ears perking.

pounce! she did it again, tail in the air, pawing and snuffling at the ground. she was teasing the bees again. she pounces and chews at them and they buzz in her nose as she jumps away just in time. she gave two short barks, pouncing again and then leapt four feet into the air, taking off into a full run when she landed. we laughed, jeering at her, "see, they don't like it when you tick them off, silly girl!"

she barked and ran around the yard, sniffing the places in the fence where the rabbits leak in from other yards. we took her back inside so i could get started grilling.

i plopped the frozen burger patties over the flames, turning them to sear and sprinkling seasonings and minced onions on top. i went back inside and saw the trixter on the steps. she obviously wanted out to go play where it smelled reeeeeally good. then i did a double take. the left side of her muzzle was swollen up and puffy. she must have been stung!

tad googled "dog nose bee sting" and we did some quick reading. i grabbed a credit card and tried like hell to scrape across her muzzle to dislodge the stinger. but, uh, how do you find a stinger in a face full of fur that won't hold still for first aid?? next we made a baking soda & water paste and tried smearing it on ner nose. she very resolutely kept licking it off. next. i saw an entry suggesting benadryl, then cross checked it with four other veterinary sites. 1 mg of benadryl per pound of dog. the swelling was spreading up to her eye now. she was 30 pounds at her last vet visit......we have 25 mg tabs.....i went for it.

i gave her a pill stuffed in a bit of hot dog and she swallowed it down. the burgers burned while we dithered around, but i managed to scrape the charcoal off the one side, leaving them dry, but edible. i sat and held an ice pack on her wee nosie for as long as she let me, cooing and telling her how dumb she was for bee-teasing the whole time.

an hour later her nose was almost normal sized again and she was begging for a walk. i think the pain and the benadryl kept her from noticing as many rabbits as usual, and that was fine by me. this morning the swelling is completely gone. i'm just glad the little dork is feeling better. hope she learned that time.