I'm guessing the xanax didn't work...

[tekmom]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29227429?GT1=43001

I'll never understand people that forget (ignore) that an animal is Just That...they don't want to watch tv, water the plants or surf the net. Sometimes they get, oh I don't know...animalistic, perhaps?

Prayers for the woman's recovery.

 

[Jenvenza]

It was Xanax they gave him??? I feel horrible for the woman and the chimp in this situation.

I don't think people realize how extremely strong these animals are and while they are cute and cuddly when they are babies, they grow up and are not meant to be pets. If this chimp couldnt be released back into the wild, he should have been in a sanctuary. So sad all around.

 

[tekmom]

Yes, the owner stated he was very agitated earlier in the day (so she gave him Xanax) and he took her keys "demanding" a car ride. She called her friend to come over and help corral him back in the house.

By the way the owner is 70 years old. I'm not knocking her age but a teenaged person could run rings around her...I can only imagine a high strung boozing 200lb chimp...yes, he drinks, too.

 

[Jenvenza]

This whole situation could have been avoided and it really saddens me. Alcohol and Xanax? Wow - seriously, what in the world was this woman thinking?

 

[tekmom]

I don't get it, either. It horrific and just sad..after he was stabbed and shot he went back inside to his quarters and died.

 

[JessicaR]

I don't get it, either. It horrific and just sad..after he was stabbed and shot he went back inside to his quarters and died.

This just breaks my heart.

 

[Jenvenza]

I don't get it, either. It horrific and just sad..after he was stabbed and shot he went back inside to his quarters and died.

I hate reading about it. I wish the police would have used a tranquilizer instead of a gun. I feel awful for the woman who was attacked, too, don't get me wrong, I just have such a soft side for animals and kids.

 

[Jenvenza]

This just breaks my heart.

Mine, too. I started to tear up and I had to stop myself because I am at work!

No crying at work - only Dis Boards!

 

[wvjules]

I hate reading about it. I wish the police would have used a tranquilizer instead of a gun. I feel awful for the woman who was attacked, too, don't get me wrong, I just have such a soft side for animals and kids.

Do police often carry tranquilizer guns?

What if it were a human that was coming after the officer? Would you want a tranquilizer used then too?

If some big crazed animal is coming at me my instinct is going to be shoot to kill.

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

Animals are inherently wild. I don't trust any of them however adorable. Here's the story of a poodle biting off her owner's nose while sleeping in her bed.http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267435
I can only imagine the complexity of keeping a chimp entertained and hopefully non-aggressive.

 

[tekmom]

Do police often carry tranquilizer guns?

What if it were a human that was coming after the officer? Would you want a tranquilizer used then too?

If some big crazed animal is coming at me my instinct is going to be shoot to kill.

I'm thinking the owner should have had one...she certainly had a butcher knife. I understand that the officer's life was in danger and I would have done the same thing, I'm angry at the stupidity of the owners.

 

[tekmom]

There was another chimp a couple of years ago that did the same thing to his owners while they were visiting him (I think) at a sanctuary. Don't know if the man survived or not. They say if you can live through the mauling, it's infection you have to worry about.

 

[Jenvenza]

Do police often carry tranquilizer guns?

What if it were a human that was coming after the officer? Would you want a tranquilizer used then too?

If some big crazed animal is coming at me my instinct is going to be shoot to kill.

You are trying to compare a wild animal coming at you in the wild and the police showing up to a call about a chimp gone wild. Completely different situations.

They knew the situation coming into it. It wasnt like they showed up thinking they were there for a robbery and a wild chimp suddenly attacked them. The police werent the right people to call. I am sure animal control could have been better prepared for it.

And to answer your other question, I do think the police use excessive force with humans, too. We have had quite a few shootings here in Houston in the news lately about cops shooting mentally ill people or people standing in their driveways doing nothing wrong.

 

[Jenvenza]

I'm thinking the owner should have had one...she certainly had a butcher knife. I understand that the officer's life was in danger and I would have done the same thing, I'm angry at the stupidity of the owners.

I am, too. I also understand the police did what they had to do, but I dont think they were the right people to call. I completely blame the owner for this as well.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

The article says, "Chimp was given Xanax for anxiety" when it should read, "Chimp was given Xanax for being a chimp". They are making excuses for a wild animal acting like a wild animal. They have instincts and behaviors that cannot be overcome by putting them in diapers and giving them a knife and fork.

 

[tekmom]

When you get to the point that you're giving Xanax to a wild animal to calm down, it surely must make you question your domestication skills.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

This just breaks my heart.

Me too.

How was this woman able to keep a wild animal in her home like that?? Isn't that illegal???

And he had escaped before:

Police have dealt with him in the past, including an incident in 2003 when he escaped from his owners' vehicle in downtown Stamford for two hours. Officers used cookies, macadamia treats and ice cream in an attempt to lure him, but subdued him only after he became too tired to resist.

The whole situation with him attacking that woman never should have happened.

 

[dcentity2000]

Such a terrible story



Rich::

 

[DawnCt1]

I don't get it, either. It horrific and just sad..after he was stabbed and shot he went back inside to his quarters and died.

That made me sad too.

 

[DawnCt1]

A little OT, well a lot OT, so I am wondering if our 'resident vet' is here, but it seems that a 14 year old adult chimp would be well past puberty and if he had been neutered, would that have made him more managable? I wonder how much testosterone and the desire to find a mate played into the aggressiveness that he had seemed to display recently. The neighbors blamed it on "lyme disease" but maybe it was just "nature".