The very sad fact is that Sandra Herold said she would do it all over again. What does that say for her relationship with a so-called friend, Charla Nash? (that she states in one of the media videos here on this blog)
December 6, 2009
Dear Ollie,
A few weeks ago when I was TV channel surfing two women dominated the airways. Sarah Palin and Charla Nash were everywhere including separate appearances on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." They are a study in contrasts. Former vice presidential candidate and recent author Sarah Palin charmed and engaged audiences while saying absolutely nothing. Charla Nash brought millions of viewers to tears when she told her account of the ferocious chimp attack last February that left her faceless, hand less and blind. Her message was clear: Do not adopt exotic pets, it is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Palin is promoting her new book, and Nash is returning to the Cleveland Clinic where she must endure the painful process of picking up the pieces of her life and hoping for a successful face transplant.
I'm writing you today about Nash's message. Nash is warning the public that owning exotic animals is cruel and dangerous. They do not make suitable pets and pose a danger to their owners and others who come in contact with them.
Sandra Herold, owner of the 15-year-old chimp named Travis that attacked Nash, witnessed this horrific attack. Her dear friend Charla's life, as she knew it, was destroyed, and Travis, her "surrogate son," was shot dead by Stamford, Conn., police. What a terrible, terrible tragedy.
Still, when I drive down U.S. 30 in Porter County, I often see the signs posted for "Exotic Animal Swaps." Don't people get it?
Concerned Animal Owner
Dear Concerned Animal Owner,
The horrific attack you describe in Stamford, Conn., was a perfect storm. The elements were all there: a 200-pound adolescent chimpanzee named Travis afflicted with Lyme disease; an irresponsible owner who had created this "humanoid"; the presence of Xanax, a human drug, in the chimp's system; and no one on the property that could subdue the chimp. Adult chimpanzees are totally beyond unarmed human control. This giant chimpanzee, like most of his kind, had the strength of 10 men. He was raised with a human family and since the husband had died of cancer and the son had died in an automobile accident, he was the alpha male on the property.
Travis the chimp was socialized by his handler, but like every wild animal he could never be domesticated. He watched television, acted in TV commercials, operated a remote control, rode in cars, took baths, slept in a human bed and ate at the dining room table. Still, he was a wild animal that snapped and viciously tore Charla Nash apart.
Chimpanzees, by their nature, are not the docile, childlike creatures portrayed on TV. They are highly territorial and have been known to attack and kill other chimps. Pet chimpanzees can also pass infections like yellow fever to their human keepers. And they should never be given drugs prescribed for humans because there is no body of research in this area, said Greg Keeker, veterinarian at the Hobart Animal Clinic. "I caution all my pet owners about this," he said.
The exotic animals, including chimps, arrive in America as babies sold by poachers to importers for use in zoos, research labs for drug testing and disease treatment experiments, and for ill-informed people to buy as pets. Jamie Huss, assistant director of the Michigan City Zoo is on record saying, "No matter how much you try to make them human, they're unpredictable wild animals and they will attack even if unprovoked."
Betty Clayton, executive director of the Humane Society of Northwest Indiana said, "Chimps, like people, need to be with their own kind. A sexually mature chimp is a danger especially if he or she does not have a mate. Michael Jackson had to remove his chimpanzee, Bubbles, when he outgrew his cuteness and became an adolescent. Bubbles lives at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Calif.
"Chimps belong in the wild. Anyone who takes in a wild animal has a time-bomb ticking. It's an accident waiting to happen. Wild animals are not little humans in feathers or fur coats. Wild and /or exotic animals are not meant to be possessed," she said, "they are like us in that they need to be with their own kind living in their own environment."
Puppy mills and owning monkeys or chimpanzees are legal in the state of Indiana. Go figure.
I say, stick with dogs and cats, especially black and white Shih Tzus. They make great pets and have been domesticated for 10,000 years or more.
No comments:
Post a Comment