When I was a teenager some friends and I found our friends dog dead on the back-porch with a small wound in it's side. Later, my friend came over with a bug in a jar and said that's what had killed his dog. I vaguely remember him saying that it had burrowed into the dog or something?? When telling people this story my friends and I had always referred to the bug as a "cow killer", but after doing some initial research on the Velvet Ant (aka Cow Killer) I see that it is the sting of that insect which is harmful and it doesn't seem to burrow. Does anyone have any idea what this killer bug could have been? Or was my friend pulling my chain...although he did seem pretty serious! I live in SE Texas, if that's any help.
2007-09-23 03:59:36 · 10 answers · asked by Katy J 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
They are pulling your chain. If a bug was trying to burrow into the side of a dog, the dog would quickly whip around and bite it. There are some tiny animals that could "burow" into a dog and kill it, but these are all microscopic and don't burrow through the skin. I'm thinking of things like the malaria parasite and other mosquito or tick diseases. I have a degree in medical science and grew up on a farm.
West Nile is a recent disease, and I'm not sure it affects dogs. Symptoms would appear to be like a cold, not a hole. A "cow killer" is the velvet ant. It's really a wingless wasp, and doesn't actually kill a cow, it's just very painful. A snake would be more likely to bite a leg or paw, not the side. My guess would be the hole was from a bullet.
Kent in SD
2007-09-23 04:04:40 · answer #1 · answered by duckgrabber 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh, yeah. Sure, a bug is just like a dog or cat.... Dogs and cats are domesticated animals that we have in our homes as loved pets. Bugs have no personality and don't have the capacity to care about humans at all. They are two totally different things. If your point is that it's okay to kill bugs, but no larger animals at all, eg. sheep, cattle, etc. for eating, then I still disagree. Unless you are a vegetarian who uses NO animal products of any type, you are in no position to say all animals are the same and worthy of living. If you eat meat or use any animal product, you are no better than the person who kills the animal you eat. It's just that someone else does the killing. Personally, that is not an issue for me, as I don't pretend that every animal is the same and needs to live. I don't go out of my way to kill bugs, but I would certainly be more upset if I accidentally ran over a dog than if I squashed a bug.
2016-05-21 07:51:24 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry about the dog.
We have Red Velvet Ants here in Mississippi and I've never heard of anyone's dog being harmed by them.
If there was a visible wound, it may have been a rattlesnake or cottonmouth, since the toxin destroys tissue.
A black widow spider could kill a smaller dog, but the wound would not be evident and the dog would suffer for a while as the neurotoxin worked its body. The symptoms would have been obvious.
2007-09-23 04:50:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A velvet ant is a type of wasp...it does not burrow into the skin, but it can sting. I suppose if the dog was allergic and went into anaphylactic shock , and was not taken to a vet for treatment..this could have been the cause of it's death. The same reaction can happen with a bee sting.
2007-09-23 15:00:45 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
A paralysis tick will kill a dog in 24 hours. There is an antivenom if you get the dog to the vet quickly enough. My dog recovered from a bite with antivenom and two nights in hospital but I know many dogs that have died due to paralysis ticks.
I don't know if you get paralysis ticks in Texas but they are a major threat to dogs in Australia.
2007-09-23 09:38:46 · answer #5 · answered by tentofield 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How would he have obtained the bug that burrowed into the dog? I think that it is more likely that it was a snake bite. Lots of rattlesnakes in your neck of the woods. It will probably remain one of those UNSOLVED MYSTERIES! You could always tell people that it was the chupacabra! (smiles)
2007-09-23 04:03:32 · answer #6 · answered by Sabrina 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Other than a VW "bug", I have no idea what kind of bug could kill a dog. But they can and do do of worm infestation and the mange. Hope someone helps you with this.
2007-09-23 04:07:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
a insect that kills dogs well thats new mayb a scorpion or a spider or a snake or a microsopic bacteria or bug i have never seen one :) . poor dog RIP (rest in peace)
2007-09-23 04:02:04 · answer #8 · answered by Dat one girl 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Paralysis or Bush ticks can kill anything.
2007-09-23 04:03:07 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
was it west nile? thats probably what happened. but im not sure about a "burrow"
2007-09-23 04:03:45 · answer #10 · answered by Sabrina Devareoux 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋