A 6-year-old beagle/bassett hound mix named Lucy -- rescued from a Maryland shelter as a pup -- died outside her Weston home on Tuesday in a bee-swarm attack.

Not long after her morning walk, she made it clear to owner Jorge Brathwaite that she wanted more time in the sunshine.

``She came into my office staring at me,'' said the retired banker, who runs an educational outreach mission in his native Panama. ``That's usually an indication that she wants to go outside.''

So he clipped her to a seven-foot chain just by the front door, put out a pan of water and went back to his computer. As was her habit, Lucy stretched out on the walkway.

About 10 minutes later, Brathwaite, who lives with his wife, Mozelle, in the 2500 block of South Jardin Lane, said he heard a large royal Palm frond crash onto the roof above his office.

He looked through the window and saw the 32-pound Lucy beset by ``a zillion bees.''

Apparently, he said, the falling frond disturbed a hive in the same tree, knocking part of it to the ground.

``I jumped up to get hold of her,'' he said. ``I was spraying insecticide, trying to create a barrier'' to no avail. A few bees followed him into the house, where he grabbed a cell phone and called 911.

He ran back outside, grabbed a garden hose and began spraying Lucy, hoping to drive off the bees. But they stayed on her, even as she sought shelter in a hedge.

Fire-Rescue officers showed up, donned protective gear and pulled Lucy from the hedge, but Brathwaite said it was too late.

``This appears to be a tragic accident and the family lost a beloved pet,'' said Mike Jachles, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman.

Brathwaite said Lucy loved watching the world go by from the walkway. He called her ``a celebrity'' who finagled treats from neighbors and school kids.

He said that one of his two adults son, then living in Delaware, found Lucy at an animal shelter just across the state line in Maryland and ``fell in love with her.''

A stray, she had been picked up on an Interstate 95 median.

``She was my wife's pride and joy,'' Brathwaite said.

Dr. Michael Schaer, a professor of medicine at the University of Florida's veterinary school, believes Lucy succumbed to anaphylaxis: a deadly allergic reaction.

``Protein in the bee venom gets into the system and the body will have a reaction to that which unleashes a whole bunch of chemicals that affect blood pressure and circulation,'' Schaer said.

The blood pressure plummets, organs swell, the heart stops -- within moments. People with sting allergies often carry epinephrine-injection ``pens'' for exactly this situation, he noted.

While no one can be sure until the bees are examined in a lab, they're probably Africanized ``killer'' honey bees, said Florida Department of Agriculture spokesman Mark Fagan.

``They're smaller than European bees to the untrained eye,'' he said. ``A European bee is not going to be quite as aggressive in protecting its nest. This sounds typical of an Africanized bee attack.''

For Lucy, there was no escape, chain or no chain, Fagan indicated.

``Those bees will go a quarter-of-a-mile chasing you, and if you jump in the water, they'll hover over the pool.''

Tuesday afternoon, the Brathwaites were expecting a beehive removal service. Neighbors dropped by to console a weeping Mozelle. And Lucy's body awaited cremation at Broward County's Animal Care and Regulation shelter.

Jorge Brathwaite said he had no idea that the royal palm hid the lethal swarm.

``I like to sit out there in the evenings having a glass of wine,'' he said. ``I've never seen a bee.''

Read Ellie Brecher's Crazy for Critters blog at MiamiHerald.com.

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