RIP KW

[kingwilly]

A FORMER TV star chimpanzee was shot dead by US police after it went on an unexplained rampage, seriously injuring a woman.Travis, a 15-year-old chimpanzee who has appeared in TV commercials and a talk show, badly injured a woman and attacked the police before an officer cornered in his car was forced to shoot the simian, the Associated Press reports.

The woman, who is in a serious condition in hospital, was visiting Sandra Herold at her Stamford, Connecticut home when long-time family pet Travis lept on her as soon as she emerged from the car and made a savage attack to the face.

Ms Herold ran inside to call police and fetch a weapon after she failed to wrestle the chimpanzee off her friend.

"She retrieved a large butcher knife and stabbed her longtime pet numerous times in an effort to save her friend, who was really being brutally attacked," Stamford police Lieutenant Richard Conklin said.

Travis finally retreated but was still on the Herold property when police arrived and surrounded the woman so medics could treat her.

The enraged chimpanzee charged at officers who retreated to their cars.

Two police officers are reported to have unspecifed injuries.

Travis opened the door to one of the police vehicles forcing the cornered officer to shoot several times.

Leaving a trail of blood Travis ran off to his quarters, where he died.

Travis had appeared in TV ads for Old Navy clothing stores and Coca-Cola.

He had also been a guest on the Maury Povich talk show and performed in TV pilot, The Advocate.
Though he has previously run away and obstinately refused to lured back, until the violent outburst Travis was mostly a docile pet.

Travis was well known locally for riding in trucks belonging to his Herolds' towing company.

"He's been raised almost like a child by this family," Lt Conklin told AP.

"He rides in a car every day, he opens doors, he's a very unique animal in that aspect. We have no indication of what provoked this behaviour at all."

There is speculation a recent bout of Lyme disease could have affected the chimpanzee's temperament.

His owners have previously told police that Travis was toilet trained, dressed himself, took his own baths, ate at the table, brushed his teeth and drank from a wineglass, AP reported.

He also used a remote control to watch TV and could log onto a computer to look at pictures.

[The Fresh Prince]

Sad story, goes to show that he never really belonged in that environment.

drank from a wineglass

Maybe he's been hitting the sauce whilst she was out.

[Rural Surin]

Travis was well known locally for trolling

He also used a remote control....

....hmmmm

[Cujo]

I'm surprised it's allowed to keep chimps as pets in the states.
Imagine if a female and male escaped into the wild and started breeding. Before long you'd have introduced an exotic species to the environment. Who knows what havoc a forestfull of KWs could wreak.

[keda]

No problem, as long they were kept away from keyboards.

[good2bhappy]

I thought you were anouncing your departure?

[filch]

I'm still waiting for KW to do his sig, so then I can truly become a part of the TD 'society'

[barbaro]

A big chimp as a domestic pet?

Somebody be smokin' crack.

[Jarvis]

I thought KW was dead by the thread title

[kingwilly]

I thought KW was dead by the thread title

I'd be annoucing my own death?

would have to be a bit premature!

[Nawty]

Your old fiance said you was.

[kingwilly]

Your old fiance said you was.

she said i was dead?

when ?

[Rural Surin]

Technically, 'it' wouldn't be a fiancee....

[kingwilly]

SHe's still a she in my mind !

[Nawty]

premature

[The Fresh Prince]

I'd be annoucing my own death?

You cant change the future.

[Rural Surin]

premature

...yes, I suppose that could present itself when uncounsciously shagging a LB-wife. PE is such a psychological problem.

[Rural Surin]

I'd be annoucing my own death?

You cant change the future.

Only if Willy is posting from the future....endless variety of delayed threads he could create.

[keda]

I thought you were anouncing your departure?

Huh? - yes I did depart, from Pty.

[Jarvis]

I think someones got the dead KW's user name and password. RIP KW and this bladdy imposter should let the memory of KW rest in peace

[kingwilly]

I think someones got the dead KW's user name and password. RIP KW and this bladdy imposter should let the memory of KW rest in peace

oh i see,

sorry to cause you distress.

[S Landreth]

Owner now says she never gave slain chimp Xanax

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - As authorities considered criminal charges against the woman whose 200-pound domesticated chimpanzee went berserk and mauled a friend, she backtracked Wednesday on whether she gave the animal the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. Sandra Herold told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she never gave the drug to her 14-year-old chimp, Travis, who was shot dead by Stamford police Monday after he grievously wounded Herold's friend Charla Nash.

However, Herold said in an interview aired Wednesday morning on NBC's "Today" show that she gave Travis the drug in some tea less than five minutes before he attacked Nash - she even showed a reporter the mug. Police have said Herold told them that she gave Travis Xanax that had not been prescribed for him earlier on Monday to calm him because he was agitated.


In humans, Xanax can lead to aggression in people who are unstable to begin with, said Dr. Emil Coccaro, chief of psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical Center.


"Xanax could have made him worse," if human studies are any indication, Coccaro said.


Rest of the article: Excite News - Owner now says she never gave slain chimp Xanax

[kingwilly]

Chimp attack horror laid bare in triple-0 call


05:00 AEST Thu Feb 19 2009
3 hours 53 minutes ago



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Travis the chimp was shot dead by police. (AAP)

Victim Charla Nash is in a critical condition. (AAP)

The attack made headlines across the globe. (AAP)
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Chimp owner begs police to stop attackFeb 19, 2009





The frantic owner of a 90kg chimpanzee that went berserk in Connecticut pleaded with police over the phone to help her stop the animal from mauling her friend, begging them to "Hurry, please! He ripped her face off."
Police in Stamford released tapes of Sandra Herold's desperate call to police on Monday as her 15-year-old chimp, Travis, was attacking 55-year-old Charla Nash.
PHOTOS: When animals attack
The chimp can be heard grunting at times on the tape, as Herold cries, "He's killing my friend!"
The dispatcher says, "Who's killing your friend?"
Herold replies, "My chimpanzee! He ripped her apart! Shoot him, shoot him!"
After police arrive, one officer radios back: "There's a man down. He doesn't look good," he says, referring to the disfigured Nash. "We've got to get this guy out of here. He's got no face."
The chimp attacked Nash as Herold, 70, frantically stabbed her beloved pet with a butcher knife and pounded him with a shovel.
"He looked at me like, 'Mom, what did you do?'" Herold told NBC's Today Show in an interview aired on Wednesday.
"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."
Nash remained was in critical condition early on Wednesday with major injuries to her face and hands.
Police said they are looking into the possibility of criminal charges. A pet owner can be held criminally responsible if he or she knew or should have known that an animal was a danger to others.
Police said that the chimp was agitated earlier on Monday and that Herold had given him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in some tea.
Police said the drug had not been prescribed for the 14-year-old chimp.
In humans, Xanax can cause memory loss, lack of coordination, reduced sex drive and other side effects.
It can also lead to aggression in people who were unstable to begin with, said Dr Emil Coccaro, chief of psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical Centre.
"Xanax could have made him worse," if human studies are any indication, Coccaro said.
Investigators said they were also told that Travis had Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness with flu-like symptoms that can lead to arthritis and meningitis in humans.
"Maybe from the medications he was out of sorts," Stamford police Captain Richard Conklin said.
Nash had gone to Herold's home in Stamford on Monday to help her coax the chimp back into the house after he got out, police said.
After the animal lunged at Nash when she got out of her car, Herold ran inside to call the police emergency line and returned with a knife.
After the initial attack, Travis ran away and started roaming Herold's property until police arrived, setting up security so medics could reach the critically injured woman, Conklin said.
But the chimpanzee returned and went after several of the officers, who retreated into their cars, Conklin said.
An officer shot Travis several times after the animal opened the door to his cruiser and started to get in.
The wounded chimpanzee fled into the house and retreated to his living quarters, where he died.
Herold, a widow whose daughter was killed in a car accident several years ago, told the Today Show that the incident was "a freak thing."
She said Travis "couldn't have been more my son than if I gave birth to him," and rejected criticism that chimpanzees are inappropriate pets.
"It's a horrible thing, but I'm not a horrible person and he's not a horrible chimp." she said.
The unexplained attack was uncharacteristic of Travis, a veteran of TV commercials who could eat at the table, drink wine from a stemmed glass, use the toilet, and dress and bathe himself.
Don Mecca, a family friend from Colchester, New York, said Herold fed the chimp steak, lobster, ice cream and Italian food.
Travis brushed his teeth with a Water Pik, logged on to a computer to look at photos and channel-surfed television with the remote control.
Colleen McCann, a primatologist at the Bronx Zoo, said chimpanzees are unpredictable and dangerous even after living among humans for years.
"I don't know the effects of Lyme disease on chimpanzees, but I will say that it's deceiving to think that if any animal is, quote-unquote, well-behaved around humans that means there is no risk involved to humans for potential outbursts of behaviour," she said.
"They are unpredictable, and in instances like this you cannot control that behaviour or prevent it from happening if it is in a private home."
When he was younger, Travis starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola, made an appearance on the Maury Povich Show and took part in a television pilot, according to a 2003 story in The Advocate newspaper of Stamford.

[Muadib]

Hmm, just waiting for someone to chime in demanding justice as the Chimp's rights were violated because he was not read his Miranda Rights prior to being pumped full of lead... I can hear a PETA celeb warming up in the wings... Wait for it...

[barbaro]

Here is a link. If someone wants to cut and past it, go ahead.

This lady fed the chimp lobster and steak, and even had the chimp sleep in the bed with her.

Idiot.

She's also planning a funeral for her dead chimp, as her friend is disfigured and in critical condition.

Now, the state of CT is discussing a law banning large primates as pets.

What an idiot.

She is now backtracking on her previous claim that she gave the chimp xanax. I'm sure the coming lawsuits and potential criminal charges are a reason.

Click for more details on stupidity:
Chimp Owner: 'I'm Hollow, I Have Nothing Left' - wcbstv.com