Attack Chimp Was On Xanax
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 14th, 2009
The chimp Travis in his playpen in 2003. Photo: Stamford Advocate.
A chimpanzee that mauled a Connecticut woman had the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in its system, toxicology test results show, reports the Associated Press. But investigators haven’t determined whether the drug played a role in the attack, a prosecutor said Wednesday, May 12, 2009.
Authorities are still weighing whether to file criminal charges against the chimpanzee’s owner, Sandra Herold, said Stamford State’s Attorney David Cohen.
The 200-pound chimp, named Travis, attacked Stamford resident Charla Nash on February 16, 2009. She lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids in the attack. Doctors at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic say she is blind and faces two years of surgical procedures.
Nash’s family has sued Herold for $50 million. The suit alleges, among other things, that she had given Travis medication that further upset the animal.
Herold has made conflicting public statements about whether she gave Travis Xanax the day of the attack. Police say the drug was not prescribed for the animal.
Telephone messages left for attorneys representing Herold and Nash’s family were not immediately returned.
The agreement between Herold’s and Nash’s lawyers places a claim on the assets in case Nash’s family wins the lawsuit. It includes six Stamford properties owned by Herold, including her house and a tow truck business, and her interest in her late husband’s estate, reported Fox News.
Herold’s attorneys have said there was no way to predict the 200-pound chimp named Travis would attack Nash. One of the lawyers, Robert Golger, downplayed the significance of placing a claim on assets.
On the day of the attack, Herold called Nash to her home to help lure the animal back into her house. Herold has speculated that the chimp was trying to protect her and attacked Nash because she had changed her hairstyle, was driving a different car and was holding a stuffed toy in front of her face to get Travis’ attention.
The attack lasted about 12 minutes, and ended when police fatally shot Travis as he attempted to open a police cruiser’s door.
Herold owned the 14-year-old chimp nearly all its life, dressed the animal and fed it human foods. 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.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
I find this story incredibly sad.
I remember that first article that was posted here a while back, it mentioned that the owner had been giving the chimp xanax regularly. I don’t know if it is considered a crime to give an animal a controlled substance, but it is illegal for humans to have/take them without prescription. This article mentions determining whether or not the xanax played a role in the attack, but I don’t see how that can be proven, one way or the other. It will be interesting to find out why the chimp was on such a strong anti-anxiety drug to begin with though, and I think what is important to consider and probably more pertinent to the case is if there was some underlying issue or history of problems that led the owner to conclude that Travis was in need of a strong drug to tranquilize him and calm him down.
Controlled substances are regulated just as with human medicine, and are limited to use by or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. This allows vets to medicate animals themselves or to prescribe medicines for the animals’ owners to dispense.
Just as with human medicine, there are gray areas; vets can and do prescribe medicine “off-label”. That is, for purposes other than that for which the medicine is labeled. It’s a common practice because new, valid uses are often found for medicines after they are introduced.
It is illegal to dispense a controlled substance to anyone other than the person or animal to which it was prescribed. Xanax is sometimes used in veterinary medicine but should not be given to an animal for which it was not specifically prescribed. It can cause unpredictable behavioral changes.
Very Sad, yes. It was a good thing that some child or mailman or Fuller brush salesman did not happen by while this cute pet; drugged 200-POUND wild animal; was roaming the area trying to “protect” this “owner”. This woman needs to be in jail! If it had been a 200-lbs drugged dog running around, she would still be in jail. WILD ANIMAL ARE NOT PETS.
This story brings me to tears.
That poor lady.
And, just what kinds of human foods was the owner given to the chimp. He looks incredibly overweight in that picture.
Stupid people should not breath, or house wild animals. Just plain dumb….and sad.