TV Chimp attacks & gravely injures woman.

[cheko1]

I wasn't ignoring the subject. I was offering my condolences to someone who did the right thing unlike the woman from CT.

No, this didn't have to happen. The state is also responsible for allowing the woman to have the chimp in the first place.
Did you hear the woman say that Travis often stole the keys and took her car for a drive on several occassions yet did nothing about it? Not only do I think she should be held responsible, but I also believe the state is responsible if it continued to allow this type of behavior to occur.

Yes LE or whoever chased him down should also be held accountable. But they will not be.....

 

[cheko1]

Well, I know you will always keep his memories close to your heart and cherish them forever. He will always be in your heart - always. When we take in animals, they become part of us - they become our family, our little fur children. We look at them as little innocent creatures who need us. It's natural to want to shower them with all our love and affection, and at times, spoil them. I know it's hard for us humans to understand that while animals have the capability to feel and to love us back, it's not the same type of love. There's also going to be a bit of wild in them - all of them. You and your family are one heck of a strong family to make the choice you had to make. I know it was painful as heck, but I admire you. Not many could put their own feelings aside and do what had to be done. You did this for your family's safety, and for others. You did everything you could - even tried to place him somewhere before making the dreaded decision. I still can't imagine how sad you must have felt, and my heart just breaks for you. I look at my sweet kitten and think of your situation and it just tears me up. If I were in your shoes...could I have gone through with putting my beloved pet down - even knowing it had to be done? Would I have tried to sweep the problem under the carpet until something really bad happened? I don't know. I commend you however. You did the right thing in order to save your family from possible tragedy. When you get sad about this, I hope you pull out those wonderful memories and silly moments you had with Cheko and remember the good times. :blowkiss:

Its not a easy decision but the point I was trying to make here... is we may not like some of the things we have to do in life but if it is for the safety & welfare of people we have GOT to do it. I think of the crazy funny things he did & don't often dwell on the bad.

Sandra could of made that choice too. She knew in her heart it was only a matter of time before Travis did something to harm a human. I've stated before he had to of shown signs.Sanctuaries would of taken a chimp, it would of cost her but brought her peace of mind. Today she has to live with the fact of what she allowed the chimp to totally disfigure her friend.... why because she was being selfish! God bless the poor friend...she will have to endure so many operations. It makes me ill!

 

[cheko1]

cheko,

I opened this thread for the first time and read your story. wow, thank you so much for sharing. It gives us a much better understanding. I smile, greive and agree with you. It brought back a childhood memory of a pet store around the block from where I grew up and a coata monday? in a smal cage. No larger than 4'x3' maybe a little bigger (5x?) from my memory but it was small. We used to go see him... and were 'enthralled' as kids the pet store had a monkey! At times he was calm to a kid, but now I see it as sad, lethargic.... later when we'd go see him, he would run around and beat himself in the cage.

It's amazing people still do this... I am sure you were fooled as you mentioned, but Checko had a good life with you and knew he was loved.

Did you ever report the seller? or were they ever busted?

thanks for sharing your story.

Cubby

Hi Ya Cubby!

The seller still sells as far as I know / its legal in Indiana. I've thwarted many monkey sales, I let would be buyers know what they're in for. It is not illegal to buy a primate... you could probably google search & find a chimp for 8 -10 grand. I live in Wis & its not illegal to own one in our county or state.

We go to Gainesville Fl &they have a sanctuary. Its called Jungle Friends. They have new world monkeys & can hardly keep up. They tried to help me place Cheko in a sanctuary / he was an old world monkey & all were full to the max. Sanctuary's are run by donations. We'll go donate some time next yr when we go down. That is rewarding.

Most chimps & monkeys live in deplorable conditions from owners. They out grow cages/ being left in them & then get sold to anyone who will take them for a few bucks. Banging there heads/ biting themselves out of sheer boredom is normal for monkeys who are ignored & have nothing to do.They get disfigured from never being taken out of there cage. They get sores that never heal... its horrid what happens to them. Some monkeys & chimps have 25 owners. They go blind from living in darkness they're ignored & treated horrible. The cages are hosed down with the monkeys inside them. Sad & lethargic for sure.

Sandra had to of known Travis would be mistreated & would mourn her loss. But she should of had him put to sleep / yes it would be hard. But look what she has to go thru now.....worse yet the lady he attacked will never live a normal life again.

 

[cheko1]

Cheko1, I am sorry it took me a while to naviagate back to this page. I actually had trouble finding it again :blushing:

You have been through a heartbreaking trauma and I am so sorry. You gave Cheko such a good life and you also gave him a gentle death, much better than he would have experienced in the wild. I don't have to tell you how brutal "mother nature" really is. I am glad you are an advocate for animals and you speak for them whan they can't speak for themselves. I am an animal welfare volunteer advocate and it often seems that the problem is too big to even make a dent in it. Bless you. :hug:

I have wondered if people who keep primates as pets have them spayed and neutered? It seems it would make them more comfortable. (I work in a middle school and I wish we could spay/neuter our students temporarily sometimes :biggrin: )

Thank you for sharing your hard earned wisdom.

I gave hiim a much gentler death than he would of given someone & nobody got injured or disfigured for life.

We could of had him neutered BUT was advised not to by the Vet. In the primate community if a primate is neutered the others will kill them. How do they know ????? Don't have the answer to that.
I am sure Travis wasn't either for that very reason. You never know if you may have to get rid of them to a sanctuary.

 

[Lovejac]

Oh Checko, your story made me cry! Thank you for sharing, I know it was hard to re-live it. Thank you, also, for being a responsible pet owner.

 

[lizzybeth]

I gave hiim a much gentler death than he would of given someone & nobody got injured or disfigured for life.

We could of had him neutered BUT was advised not to by the Vet. In the primate community if a primate is neutered the others will kill them. How do they know ????? Don't have the answer to that.
I am sure Travis wasn't either for that very reason. You never know if you may have to get rid of them to a sanctuary.

I think a neutered male might give off a different smell. I'm not sure. I don't know if chimps are like dogs in that they smell each other to determine sex, etc.

I don't even like to think of this case anymore. I get so angry at Travis' owner. She was so selfish. Selfish to make Travis live like that (I'm sure she thought she was giving him a wonderful life) and selfish to involve her friend when she knew that Travis was already agitated.

 

[wildTrose]

While I see this as a terrible tragedy for all three involved...I honestly do not think the owner purposely would have put her friend into any danger...she knew ths chimp better then anyone...and yes he was agitated, but im sure he had been agitated before and she or they had been able to settle him down without any incidents...why else would she have called her friend over to help? do you think her friend would have went to help after being called had she thought she would have been in any danger?
if you would all step out of the box for a minute and put yourself in her shoes...she lost her daughter and husband...holding onto travis was possible what kept her going and now its probably whats going to kill her...with a brokenheart for travis and her friend
Again this is a terrible terrible tragedy, Travis lost his life, the friend is fighting for her life and the owner has to live with this nightmare for the rest of hers.
I just hope that this story being so publicized will wake other primate owners up before this happens again to someone else.
I feel sorry for ALL three involved in this story and their families.

 

[colomom]

Thank you for fixing the link, I don't know what I did wrong, but I appreciate your help.

Anytime scrabble....:blowkiss:

It was just the last part (782.story) that was left off.

 

[colomom]

Anyone else feel that Sandra should now be responsible for Charla's care (and her hospital bills) for the rest of her life? Has anybody read about Charla's family? Is she married? Kids? I haven't seen much written about her other than her injuries and treatment.

 

[DBinMA]

I'm a vet tech and have out of necessity developed a certain "tolerance" (and that's not really the word I want, I just really can't find the appropriate word) to euthanasia for purposes of keeping the general public safe. I've seen a lot of it since I live near the city and often dogs are trained to be dangerous to protect areas, buildings etc.
I'm not sure how I would handle euthanizing a primate (which is why I'm all for a ban on owning them- don't even allow it to become an issue). I remember when I had my first baby taking him to the nursery at the local zoo to see the baby chimps and being in AWE of how similar they were.
I almost see this situation as closer to a parent not turning in a child with psychotic tendencies more so than say an owner not euthanizing a known vicious dog. I'm sure this is just a ramble but I'm amazed at how sad this situation is. I can't imagine the the level of pain involved for any of these people.

 

[Sassygerl]

Cheko thank you for sharing your story. I was so touched it made me cry I could feel how much you loved him. I'm sorry it ended the way it did, but you did the best thing for sure. It's amazing, as I was reading everything you did for him and how he reacted at times I thought, "wow, what brats those monkeys can be"

The story about Travis is horrifying. And the thing is you never know who might just own one close by. I always think about tigers/lions living close by and suddenly getting out. OMG I can't even imagine!

 

[BeavisMom62]

How very sad. And to think the owner (keeper) called a friend to help her calm the chimp-- she should have gotten out of the house and called 911 and asked for animal control specialists. And the poor friend should have known better.

A young man named Michael who once did some work from my husband had a large white dog that was part wolf (I believe half wolf-- this is up here in Canada). Michael would not allow anyone to feed the dog other than himself and since he did not have much income, the dog was always hungry. The dog got along okay with our dogs, but my husband never trusted her.

My husband (who was Native American) said that the dog still had wolf in its blood and could not be truly domesticated. He finally told Michael not to bring the dog around for fear it could harm our stepdaughter and any guests we might have.

A couple of years later Michael told us that he gave the dog back to the person who bred it. He did this because he began having nightmares in which the dog turned on him and killed him by ripping his throat out! My husband was glad that Michael listened to his dreams and got rid of the animal before something bad happened.

I think in this day and age some of us are so removed from nature that we forget that wild animals are just that and can be dangerous. My stepdaughter's mother used to tell her daughter that since she was Native American and the daughter of a "Medicine Man," she did not have to be afraid if she saw a bear! When my stepdaughter moved up to Canada for a year and a half to live with us, my husband had to sit her down and tell her to NEVER approach a bear or other wild animal because they WERE dangerous. Years later, my stepdaughter admitted that she was glad her Dad had talked so frankly to her that day, because if she had seen a bear priot to that discussion (and we do have black bears on our property in the fall), she would have tried to pet it!!

What ever became of that wolf, Penelope, do you know? I love dogs (as pets) and I love wolves (as wildlife) but I totally disagree that people keep hybrids as pets. Just because they can and do mate and have offspring is no reason to keep one. Sure, they have beautiful babies, but at what cost to them? Wolves are wild and shouldn't be kept in captivity. DH wanted to by one a while ago, because they are "cool". Uh, NO! I'm sure there are many success stories of people keeping hybrids, but I just think its wrong. I needed to by a crate for our new puppy and found one on Craig's list. I went to pick it up and the lady that was selling it told me that she bought it for a hybrid but couldn't crate train it and it was wild so they had to give it away. And you should see what it did to the crate! Its usable and it was cheap, so I bought it. Its a strong wire type crate and it was bent so much by the hybrid's teeth, that you can't take it apart or collapse it and the bottom tray was pretty chewed up. Poor thing! I just think that that is wrong.

 

[BeavisMom62]

OMG! You'd think the chimp would have known that woman by her scent. How ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING! I can't imagine such a thing happening to me or a person I loved and/or cared about. It's almost unimaginable to survive such injuries and have to go on. And if something like this happened before -- what Laura08 said about Travis once trying to pull a woman out of a car, then the Chimp was a walking time bomb. (IMHO, people can be so blind about the bad behavior of their children and their pets.) My prayers go to everyone involved, including the Chimp.

I thought about this before and your comment about her scent reminded me. Maybe if she "just" had her hair done, she smelled like hair color or perm solution or something. She might have smelled different than her usual scent.

 

[BeavisMom62]

A stun gun wouldn't have been a bad idea.

I had heard on the radio, not sure how true it is, that when the police were called and tried to subdue it before they shot it, they did try to taser the poor thing, which obviously had no affect. I don't even want to imagine how that poor thing suffered, stabbed, hit with a shovel, tasered and finally shot before it succumbed to its injuries.

 

[BeavisMom62]

Oh my gosh that was such a tradegy that was a wicked story as well...very graphic for those who read it

OMG! What a terrible story. How sad.

 

[BeavisMom62]

My granddaughter & I was surfing the net & came across baby monkeys. The people selling them had them dressed cuter than cute....little girls all in ruffles & lace & the little fellas in cute little onsies. Some had cowboy hats on . I started reading up on them, always hearing they were a danger to humans. Sure weren't cheap the males were $3200. & the females 4 grand. I contacted probably 50 people who owned them, nobody ever had any problems with them if you got them a few days old. I was told the Moms would reject them & they were left to die. I talked mostly to people in Indiana they can breed & raise them there. The lady I talked to had ( so she said) 11 living in the house. Each family member had there own monkeys. They even slept with them.

She said she had 1 pregnant, but rarely did a mom reject her baby but if she did she'd let me know. Well like a moron out of the blue I got a phone call & if interested she'd meet me in Chicago to look at it. If I wanted him it was $3200. cash. Like a fool I met her bought him & we named him Cheko... he was adorable. Fit in the palm of my hand & cute as can be. He was a java had a little mohawk & the apple of our eye.

He required alot of care...nothing cheap about raising an exotic animal. He would jump on your lap / he loved ice cream, snickers candy bars & blondes. He wore diapers, took a bottle with a baby formula base. He was awesome. If he seen a animal he'd scream bloody murder to warn you something shouldn't be there, was. Hubby is in the fencing business so a cage was so problem. He had his own TV, any toy imaginable. Everyone loved Cheko. I took him to the vet had his incisor teeth pulled / blood tests to make sure he was not a carrier of any disease every 6 months $800.00 each visit.

We noticed Cheko getting possesive when he was about 3-4 yrs old, if someone went to hand us something or hug us good bye. He'd make a strange noise, & slap at them. That passed... we would take him to the lake & he'd just play up a storm. But we had him on a leash.

I was the one who taught Cheko right from wrong. Since he was a male I had to stand up to him. A male monkey dominates the low life females. I took him to the lake without hubby he didn't want to go with me & was MAD. He banged on his cage all the way there. I got him out of his cage & he was po'd. He pranced back & forth & would not come near me. When at the lake he could climb trees & sit in them. But he had a chain so he could not get loose.It was getting dark & I went to bring him in & he bit me. To show his dislike he'd show his teeth & chatter at you. I scolded him severely for it. He hung his head & offered me some of his dilly bar... he had one every night before bed time.

He would be terrified if one of the teen girls was in a swimsuit or in shorts, he'd close to loose his mind. He'd try grabbing them, to show he never liked it. But later when they had pj's on he'd love them up & be so sorry for what he did it was pathetic. He'd hang his little head in shame. The kids were his best friends. He'd hug them, kiss them & pat them on the back.

Hubby was Cheko's very favorite ....he knew I slept with hubby & he started resenting me. I cleaned his cage several times a day.He had a bathe everynight & loved aftershave lotion & would make sure you smelled him. He'd stand like a statue until you told him how good he smelled. He was a hoot....

If he decided he wanted something it was his. If not the war started. He got into my makeup & I went to get it from him & the war was on. I called hubby in & Cheko went right to him handed me the makeup & as I took it he growled at me. A wild animal never forgets when someone wrongs them. Cheko started holding grudges against me. As time went on it wasn't just against me but anyone who told him no.

Cheko was almost 6 yrs old & getting to be in his sexual prime. That is when most wild animals start changing. Hubby had Cheko out in his garage with him, Cheko got into his pop cooler & opened a case of pop. He called him a bad boy & told him no. Cheko had already drank 4 cans of pepsi & decided nobody was telling him anything. Hubby came in the house bit all up. He whopped Cheko good. We decided then & there that was enough. We had to get rid of him.

I contacted everywhere in the USA that has sanctuaries for monkeys, nobody would take him. We offered to pay 10 grand & then support him / we offered to leave him in our will everything to no avail. Nobody wanted a spoiled monkey...we went to one place & the conditions were filthy. Hubbie & Cheko were getting along good again & hubbie was changing his mind. We dearly loved him but Cheko refused to have anything to do with me. Hubby was cleaning his work truck out & was finished working for the day & said come on Cheko lets go have supper & Cheko ignored him, he apparently wanted to go for a car ride. Hubby said come on buddy lets go in the house & get your treats....Cheko jumped at him & bit the holy heck out of him, scratched him...hubby came in covered in blood & said call the vet he is being put to sleep.

I made arrangements & we did take him to the vet 2 days later & he was put to sleep. I held him down to get the needle in the heart. To this day we're heartsick over it but had no other choice. He WOULD of hurt someone else, it was only a matter of time.

I don't call myself a bad person for owning Cheko. Cheko never once got away from us. He'd be down by the lake & would wave at boaters going by, he went fishing with us & was scared to death of fish worms. If he stole something he'd put it is his pouch & torment you. I thought I'd honestly checked it out very well.

I knew I was no match for him & never ever wanted him to hurt anyone. When he was good he was awesome / but when he was bad he was horrible. It should be against the law for anyone to own a primate of any kind they are very strong. Your so shocked by the attack you can hardly get away. Cheko has been gone for 5 yrs now. We had 6 wonderful yrs with him & no monkey could of had the life Cheko had. I have no regrets...

They are afraid of any changes of any type. I could see Travis freaking over the lady having a new haircut / driving a different car & also & mostly from having her hair colored. Them things drive a primate insane.The lady from Indiana lied to me...she ripped him away from his mom. No monkey refuses there babies. Its a vicious cycle....primates should not be bred for babies at all in captivity. The lady I got mine from sells hers to labs......God bless all primates in captivity / it should never EVER be allowed.

OMG Cheko! I am so sorry for your loss. I know you are heartbroken over the decision that you had to make. You know it was the right one but that doesn't make it any easier to bear. Thank you so much for sharing. Gotta admit, I hate that lady breeder that you are talking about! She should be shut down.

 

[BeavisMom62]

cheko,

I opened this thread for the first time and read your story. wow, thank you so much for sharing. It gives us a much better understanding. I smile, greive and agree with you. It brought back a childhood memory of a pet store around the block from where I grew up and a coata monday? in a smal cage. No larger than 4'x3' maybe a little bigger (5x?) from my memory but it was small. We used to go see him... and were 'enthralled' as kids the pet store had a monkey! At times he was calm to a kid, but now I see it as sad, lethargic.... later when we'd go see him, he would run around and beat himself in the cage.

It's amazing people still do this... I am sure you were fooled as you mentioned, but Checko had a good life with you and knew he was loved.

Did you ever report the seller? or were they ever busted?

thanks for sharing your story.

Cubby

Cubby, we used to have a pet store around here that had a coatimundi. Oh, they are beautiful. But it is so sad to see them in cages. any wild animal.

 

[Penelope]

What ever became of that wolf, Penelope, do you know? I love dogs (as pets) and I love wolves (as wildlife) but I totally disagree that people keep hybrids as pets. Just because they can and do mate and have offspring is no reason to keep one. Sure, they have beautiful babies, but at what cost to them? Wolves are wild and shouldn't be kept in captivity. DH wanted to by one a while ago, because they are "cool". Uh, NO! I'm sure there are many success stories of people keeping hybrids, but I just think its wrong. I needed to by a crate for our new puppy and found one on Craig's list. I went to pick it up and the lady that was selling it told me that she bought it for a hybrid but couldn't crate train it and it was wild so they had to give it away. And you should see what it did to the crate! Its usable and it was cheap, so I bought it. Its a strong wire type crate and it was bent so much by the hybrid's teeth, that you can't take it apart or collapse it and the bottom tray was pretty chewed up. Poor thing! I just think that that is wrong.

Michael brought the hybrid wolf/dog back to British Columbia and gave him back to the people who originally bred him. They have lots of property and have experience dealing with hybrids. Last I heard the animal was doing fine and Michael had gotten a new dog-- a German Shephard -- from a shelter.

 

[BeavisMom62]

Michael brought the hybrid wolf/dog back to British Columbia and gave him back to the people who originally bred him. They have lots of property and have experience dealing with hybrids. Last I heard the animal was doing fine and Michael had gotten a new dog-- a German Shephard -- from a shelter.

Yay! thats good to know. Yep, shelter dogs, can't beat 'em! Got four rescued dogs, two from the shelter, one from a rescue and one was a stray - they're the best.

 

[Tricia]

Originally Posted by cheko1

*snip*

The lady from Indiana lied to me...she ripped him away from his mom. No monkey refuses there babies. Its a vicious cycle....primates should not be bred for babies at all in captivity. The lady I got mine from sells hers to labs......God bless all primates in captivity / it should never EVER be allowed.

Cheko1,

Your story is so heartbreaking. You did the right thing. You were duped in the beginning and you did the right thing by putting him down. It wasn't his fault, wasn't your fault, but the damn breeder's fault.

Thank you so much for sharing.