THE owner of a 14-stone chimpanzee that was shot dead after mauling a woman in the United States called the incident "a freak thing" yesterday and insisted that her pet was not a "horrible" animal.
Sandra Herold, 70, told NBC's Today Show that Travis, her 14-year-old chimp, had been like a son to her, despite the fact it nearly killed her friend, Charla Nash, 55, in a frenzied attack on Monday.
As Travis attacked Ms Nash, his owner frant
ically stabbed her beloved pet with a butcher's knife and hit him with a shovel.
"He looked at me like, 'Mom, what did you do?'," Ms Herold told NBC. "It was horrific what happened, and I had to do what I had to do but, still, I'll miss him for the rest of my life."
Ms Nash remained in a critical condition yesterday, with major injuries to her face and hands. Police are looking into the possibility of criminal charges. A pet owner in Ms Herold's home state, Connecticut, can be held criminally responsible if he or she knew, or should have known, an animal was a danger to others.
Connecticut law requires anyone who owns a primate heavier than 50lbs to obtain a state permit. But Ms Herold was exempted from the law.
Dennis Schain, of the state's department of environmental protection, explained: "Given that the family owned Travis before this law was put on the books, and the fact that over the years the animal did not appear to present a public safety risk, their possession of the chimpanzee was allowed to continue."
Ms Herold, a widow whose daughter died in a car accident several years ago, said
Travis "couldn't have been more my son than if I gave birth to him", and she rejected claims chimpanzees were inappropriate pets.
"It's a horrible thing, but I'm not a horrible person and he's not a horrible chimp," she said.
Police said Travis, who appeared in TV commercials when he was younger, had been agitated earlier on Monday and that Ms Herold had given him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in some tea. Police said the drug had not been prescribed for the chimp.
In humans, Xanax can cause memory loss, lack of co-ordination, reduced sex drive and other side-effects.
Dr Emil Coccaro, the head of psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical Centre, said it could also lead to aggression in people who were unstable to begin with. He said if human studies were any indication, "Xanax could have made him worse".
Investigators said they were also told Travis had Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness with flu-like symptoms that can lead to arthritis and meningitis in humans.
Ms Nash had gone to her friend's home in Stamford on Monday to help her coax the chimp back into the house after he got out. After the animal attacked Ms Nash when she got out of her car, Ms Herold ran to get the knife and stabbed him.
Travis ran away and started roaming Ms Herold's property until police arrived. He then went after several of the officers, one of whom shot Travis several times after the chimp opened the door to his police car and started to get in.
Owner's frantic call to policeTHE transcript of the emergency call made by Sandra Herold reveals the fear and confusion as the chimpanzee went berserk at her Connecticut home:
HEROLD: Send the police!
OPERATOR: What's the problem there?
H: The chimp killed my friend.
O: What's the problem with your friend; I need to know.
H: Send the police, with a gun, with a gun. He ripped her face off.
O: He ripped her face off?
H: He tried to attack me. Please, please hurry.
O: OK, I need you to calm down a little bit. They're on the way.
H: Please hurry up, he's killing my girlfriend…
O: (Address], they're saying someone has a gun and is trying to kill somebody…
H: Hurry up!
O: They are on their way.
H: Hurry up!
O: They are on their way but I need you to give me some more information… who is doing this?
H: With guns…
O: Who has the gun?
H: No, bring the guns. You've have got to kill my chimp.
O: What is the problem there?
H: Hurry up…
O: I need you to talk to me ... I need you to calm down… why do you need somebody there?
H: What… please, God…
O: What is the problem?
H: He is killing my friend.
O: Who's killing your friend?
H: My chimpanzee! She's dead, she's dead.
O: Why are you saying she's dead?
H: She's dead, he ripped her apart.
O: He ripped what apart, her face?
H: Everything.
