Chris "The Bee Buster" Harvison

"Bees badly sting man, kill four dogs"

The following article appeared in the July 11, 2006 edition of The Palm Beach Post. It was accompanied by a photo of Chris "The Bee Buster" Harvison removing these problem bees.

By Hector Florin Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

PALM BEACH - All Bernard Morrison wanted to do was move the backyard doghouse.

But when he tipped it over, a swarm of bees came out, stinging Morrison about 20 times, by his own estimate. They got him on his neck, back and head.

After an emergency room visit to Good Sa­maritanMedical Center, Morrison, 57, was back at godsister Juletha Bradley's house on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, revisiting, the terrifying episode.

"I couldn't take it. I had to run," Morrison said. "I took my shirt off and tried to wave them off me."

He ran to neighbors' houses asking for help.

"He was covered in bees," next-door neighbor Bobby Con­yac said.

West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue arrived to treat Morrison and take him to the hospital. By the after­noon Morrison felt better, even though the hospital IV made him queasy.

Rescue officials also treated Bradley's six dogs, all a mix of Shar-Pei and chow. One of them, a 2-month old, died as a result of the bee stings on the way to the veterinarian office.

Bradley said, "We were 30 feet away from the vet," Bradley said. "She took her last breath."

Two older dogs, Princess and Blue, later died at the vets office, as did one of the other puppies. The two remaining puppies were fighting for their lives, Monday evening.

The home is under repair, and Bradley said she kept the dogs there and visited daily to feed them. Morrison was in charge of that chore Monday.

Bud Grant, an agriculture and cpnsumer pro­tection specialist for the state Department of Ag­riculture, placed a sample of about 50 to 60 bees in a baby food jar. The bees will be shipped to Gainesville to determine what kind they are, he said.

"I didn't see any violent traits in them," Grant said."

There was still honey on the comb stuck to the side of the doghouse, Grant said, estimating the bees must have been there for a few months.

A "bee professional" from Miami-Dade County was set to arrive at the house Monday, Grant said.

When Bradley returned home, she was shocked at the sight of thousands of bees buzzing in her back yard.

"Oh my God," she said. "I have never seen anything like that in my life."