SAXTON B. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
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FEBRUARY 18, 2009
So glad it wasn’t the drugs or the alcohol…

Okay, I consider myself to be very fond of animals and consider them close friends. I talk to them. I read to them.  I once sent my cat for radiation therapy. It worked and she lived many long, healthy years after that. I recently invested in plug-in sound wave mice repellent to save my furry friends, discussed in this very blog.    But I don’t understand giving a 200 lb chimpanzee Xanax and letting him drink wine from stemmed glasses.

 Making national news this week, was a story from Stamford, CT about Travis, a 15 year old chimp,  who went on attack, mauling a 70* year old family friend. A long story short, the chimp was shot by police as it ripped off the squad car’s mirror and opened the door for the police officers. The family friend is in the hospital. The owners grieving.
 
Travis, who was reported to be moody, was also said to be like a child for his owners.  He liked to watch TV, search the net, and yes, drank wine from long stemmed glasses with dinner.  Before the attack, he was given tea with Xanax, because he seemed upset.
 
As it turns out, I remember the chimp, as many of you might, from Old Navy ads. He was the cute little guy who appeared in the arms of Morgan Fairchild.   Local residents may remember his celebrity from an incident in 2003. In that case, he jumped out of his owners SUV taking over a major intersection and holding police at bay for two hours, allegedly because he wanted to play. 
 
I have no doubt Travis’s family is grieving a serious loss. I also feel bad that Travis’s life ended in such a violent and tragic nature. However, I don’t understand why no one is questioning Travis’s “adoptive parents”.  If a child sent a neighbor to the ICU, wouldn’t we be questioning the responsible adult? When pit bulls do the unthinkingable, their owners are held responsible. 
 
The last I heard, the police Captain was blaming Travis’s behavior on Lyme Disease.  
 
*edit:  Recent reports have said a 50 year old woman.
 
Want to read more unique animal stories? Try…

   The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs

 

  Animal underworld : inside America's black market for rare and exotic species  by  Alan Green and the Center for Public Integrity.

 


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Comments

carol said, on Feb. 18 at 4:34PM
I hope Travis's vicious attack and subsequent death don't hurt fellow chimp Cheetah's chances for reclaimed fame. Cheetah, in case you all forgot, was once the biggest animal star around; the top banana so to speak. Alongside Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller), he rose to fame and added comic relief to that long running series. Born in 1932 in the jungles of Liberia, he was taken from his parents in infancy, brought to Hollywood and owned by Tony Gentry. Cheetah, who started out as Jiggs, is now retired and lives with Gentry's nephew, Dan Westfall. He is possibly the oldest living chimp, 76 this year. Most chimps in captivity live between 45 and 60 years. Cheetah spends his days like most retirees. He sleeps late,he eats, he watches tv, he has his own myspace account and he even paints. Those painting are going for $125 each! Next February Harper Collins plans to publish Cheetah's biography, Me Cheetah. As cute as he his, Westfall cautions everyone to keep a safe distance when dealing with Cheetah. After all, he is at heart, a wild animal, one with five times the strength of the average human. Chimpanzees are capable of unpredictable violence and have been known to cause some horrible injuries as evidenced in this most recent horror story in Stamford. You can read more about Cheetah in an article, It's Hard Out There for a Chimp, written by Joss Rottenberg, published by Entertainment Weekly, Oct 17, 2008 which can be found by doing a search in General Info Onefile on Iconn for the the article title. Sorry, I can't publish the exact link in my comment due to spam filters.

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Mercedes said, on Feb. 23 at 9:09AM
We've been questioning the lack of "common sense" on the part of the owners of Travis. There are reasons why we're not allowed to keep "wild" animals as pets. Certainly, chimps are cute but they can be unpredictable and are still very strong animals. It's a curious world out there.

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Shubham said, on Aug. 9 at 9:30PM
I personally don't think she shulod have kept a chimp as a pet. Yes, she's had him since he was a few days old, but he's still an animal and he belongs in the wild. Chimps aren't domesticated pets like say, a dog, would be. And police officers have said that they knew she was keeping him as a pet and that it was against ordinance to do so, but they looked the other way since she had had him for so long.In my opinion she shulod have at least been prepared for him to act out one day and at least have had a taser or tranquilizer to subdue him. I believe I read that a 120lb. chimp is stronger than 3 grown men and Travis was around 200lbs.I definitely think the owner shulod face some sort of legal ramifications, but I doubt she will.

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CarolK said, on Aug. 10 at 5:29AM
The owner of the Travis, Sandra Herold, passed away May 25th, 2010. This tragic incident is still in litigation and making news this week in The Hartford Courant.

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