On September 5, 2016, Stinger, a 10-month-old Pit Bull Terrier, was brought to
an emergency animal hospital in Southwest Michigan in a dire condition caused by
a severe skin rash and hives. The poor animal had been stung by hundreds of
bees.
Stinger.
Stinger, as he was named after that horrific ordeal, was a Pit Bull-Terrier
mix, a very active and playful dog, who was unfortunately born deaf and was
only 10 months old when he suffered the brutal attack.
The attack.
On that fateful September 5, Stinger was out for a walk on the streets of
Michigan, in the United States, with his owners, when, finding himself in the
wrong place at the wrong time, the dog lay down and rolled around in a patch
of ground swarming with hundreds of bees (some sources say there were actually
more than a thousand), which attacked him viciously, triggering a severe
allergic reaction in the animal’s body.
The poor puppy was quickly taken to an emergency veterinary clinic in
Southwest Michigan by his “family,” who, upon receiving the diagnosis and
seeing the numerous blisters all over his body, decided to abandon him and
never come back for him.
Stinger had a severe rash and hives.
Complications.
The clinic’s veterinarian gave Stinger medication to stop the allergic
reaction, but his condition did not improve. That’s when they contacted Carri
Shipaila, founder of the LuvNPupz shelter, who helped arrange for Stinger to
be transferred to the Allegan Veterinary Clinic, where he would be named
Stinger.
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| Carri Shipaila. |
After being transferred, the dog was treated by Dr. JoAnna Kane. She sent a
skin biopsy for testing, which revealed an infection and mites. Stinger was
given new medications to treat the infection and kill the parasitic mites. His
skin condition began to improve.
Once he was looking and feeling better, the dog was neutered. Unfortunately,
five days after his surgery, Stinger’s skin lesions reappeared. Two days
later, Stinger’s condition was worse than it had been at the start, with
increased irritation, redness, and scabbing over most of his body, and he was
also in a state of depression.
Following this, blood tests were performed, which revealed three findings
consistent with ongoing skin problems: extremely low blood protein levels, an
abnormally high white blood cell count, and mild anemia. At that point,
Stinger was referred to the MSU Veterinary Medical Center.
At MSU, Stinger was examined by Dr. Andrea Hasbach, a physician in the
hospital’s Dermatology Department. During the examination, she found that
Stinger’s lesions and scabs were most severe on his head, back, and forelimbs.
Additional tests to examine the skin for parasites, fungal infections, or
autoimmune diseases revealed that, while Stinger tested negative for parasitic
and fungal organisms, his biopsy findings were consistent with an autoimmune
disease called pemphigus foliaceus, a condition that causes blisters on the
skin and mucous membranes such as the eyes, mouth, nose, and throat, and which
requires lifelong medication.
The veterinarians considered putting Stinger down, but he was very resilient,
and they took special care of him during his recovery.
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| Dr. Andrea Hasbach. |
Given that Stinger's condition was very serious, Hasbach recommended
discontinuing all other medications and starting him on a high dose of the
oral steroid prednisone. Because autoimmune diseases result from an overactive
immune system, their treatment is based on suppressing the immune response
with immunosuppressive medications, such as steroids or cyclosporine. Since he
also had a bacterial skin infection that was taking advantage of his
autoimmune disease, Hasbach prescribed daily baths in diluted bleach to
control the surface bacteria.
Recovery.
Stinger returned to LuvNPupz to recover while Hasbach continued to monitor his
case. After a few days, Stinger hadn’t improved, but he wasn’t getting any
worse either. Hasbach suspected that the prednisone wasn’t being absorbed
through his intestinal tract because he wasn’t showing any symptoms typical of
steroid use, such as increased appetite, thirst, or urination. Hasbach
switched Stinger to an injectable steroid called dexamethasone and recommended
an evaluation of his digestive system’s absorption. Stinger was beginning to
respond after the switch to the injectable steroid, and additional tests
supported poor stomach absorption due to low vitamin B12. Hasbach recommended
weekly B12 supplementation and made long-term recommendations for the
management of Stinger’s autoimmune disease.
Despite his suffering and hardships, the dog never gave up. He remained strong
throughout his treatments and despite the intense pain he felt all over his
body from the bites and scabies.
A new life.
Fortunately, even though no one wanted to adopt him at first, Stinger’s
playful personality helped him find a forever home where he was showered with
love and given all the care he needed to manage his illness. In 2017, he was
adopted by a man named Derek in Wyoming, United States, who even learned to
communicate with Stinger through sign language because the dog was deaf.
In his new home, the charming Pitbull followed a special diet in addition to
taking his medication for pemphigus. Furthermore, Stinger became an advocate
for animals in need, proving that his owners had been wrong to abandon him.
After nearly eight years of living surrounded by love and care, the LuvnPupz
shelter announced that Stinger had passed away in early August 2024.
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