015 | Chimps in Polos?!

TW: This episode discusses animals mutilating humans, and severe cruelty to animals. Listen with caution.

Hey Rebels, this week Abbi is coming to you with the notorious and very tragic story of Travis the Chimpanzee. We discuss the problems with wild animal "ownership." And this episode is going to bring us into discussions about some other problematic people in Travis' short life.

Let us know what you think.

Here is our news article of the week about the Tigers.

Seventy two tigers die in Thailand as virus exposes captivity risk

And don't forget to follow us on Instagram @RescueRebelsPod

Stay safe and leave chimps in the wild.

Special Thanks to Nick Panek for music sourced through Pixabay.Com

This episode is intended to be for educational purposes and personal opinions only. The content herein does not reflect on organizations mentioned within the episode.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey guys, it's Elle, and it's Abby, and welcome to Rescue Rebels. I have I have like zero energy, and I have been deep cleaning my house, so all of the dust has made it so that I think I have a sinus infection.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Dust will do that. But it works out really well because Abby's come in with an episode.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

I got a long one hope, hopefully, not too long. I I ended up not timing myself because I was like, this needs to be sent.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Well, we can break it into two parts if we have to, I think it'll be fine. But yeah, so you said you have some news or you had something you wanted to share with me. Yeah. And then I'll get into my news.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

So what's what's going on in your life? So Abby? This is not sponsored, right? We say that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

We have to.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

Face moji keyboard. And you can make a fun keyboard to text people on.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

That looks kind of cute.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Do they got like gothy ones? So you can download, like like I downloaded this picture. So it's freaking cute. I'm gonna pull up my text and then look.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Oh, I see.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

So you can make it like as whatever you want.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Well.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Yeah, but just like play around with it. It's free.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

I'll have to check it out, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

And each different like key set you pick makes a jingle when you do it. So like make sure that you have your keyboard setting off because it's kind of annoying.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Yeah, it would drive me insane. I can't even stand the stand the standard clicking of an Apple phone.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

But it's worth the cute keyboard.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Oh yeah. Well, I mean, I always have it on I mean, I have my phone on sale notoriously, anyways, all the time. Because it's overstimulating. Yeah. It's funny how like in the early 2000s we went from like downloading ringtones and having to have the coolest like theme song ringtone that was popular at that time to now being so averse to a ringtone that I have to have my phone on silence.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Like I used to have to pick up. Or like the ring back tones that would play a song when you called somebody, and now it's pointless because you never call anybody. Yes. Yeah. I have not heard a ring back tone in so long. And I think that if I called somebody and I heard a ring back tone, I probably would hang up.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

No, I wouldn't think that I transported back to the early 2000s. Like I just time out. I would be tripping.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

I'd be like, Lord, what's happening? So I have news and I haven't told anybody except for the person that I've decided to share my life with. I am going for my EMT and firefighters course.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

And I am going to apply for my local volunteer fire department. And there's financial assistance through my local fire department because I live in county. Wow. And I live in the district that I want to serve in.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

That's so great. Things you're gonna learn.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Yeah, new adventure in my life. A lot of schooling and a lot of work to put in. But with that said, there's a lot of life changes going on for me right now. And so I'm not I'm not worried about the amount of like dedication and time that the schooling's gonna take because things are kind of winding down in other areas of my life. So I'm feeling really I'm feeling good about it. And I've been thinking about doing this for a really long time.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

It's definitely something I see you being good at. Thank you. A lot of people have said that. Yeah, like I'd be like, I want her to make like saving my life.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah, we'll see. You know, seeing that I do have like a little bit of fear of fire, that's I think gonna be the hardest thing for me to overcome. But I think that I can.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

You can. I I think I can, and I think that and maybe this is the way of like, and here I'm preaching, the Lord pushing you in this direction to help you overcome some overcome some of your things that still give you fear.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah, so I think I'm excited. It's gonna be interesting. You know, I'm going for my TLAER operator certification in April, and that kind of just aligns with doing that portion of technical animal rescue. TLAER, for those that aren't aware, I'm gonna get on my soapbox for a minute, is the mechanics behind encrapment, rescue, and crisis situations. So it's not the type of rescue that we think about when we're talking about emaciation cases, cruelty cases, things like that.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

Girl, what are you barking in?

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Yeah, the dog's barking. It is, it's you know, a barn catches on fire and collapses on top of 30 horses. How are you going to deal with that? It has to do with a lot of that stuff. Horse falls into a cistern, how do you get the horse out? And so a lot of first responders take these courses, and so it's really just aligning with what I'm doing in that aspect of my life and still wanting to help people and help animals because I'm very passionate about that. So I'm really excited for it. I'll keep you guys updated as it goes because obviously there's schooling involved. I'm gonna have to take some schooling, and then I'm gonna have to see if I pass the test.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

So I'll keep you guys a test taker.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

Neither I'm like, I'm just gonna be doing whatever I can to get by, whether that's being marrying a man that can okay for everything and doing little odd jobs that are just fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Yeah, yeah. So yeah, that's my big news. I feel like I've not ever really had much big news. Big news I can talk about right now, anyway. So yeah, that's what's going on in my life right now. And I'm wallpapering my cabinets. Which when I started that project, I thought to myself, man, this feels kind of tacky.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

But I think it's actually turning out really cute. I like it. Yeah, like even if you got like ended up getting like different door like knobs. Yeah, I think I might be.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

It's birds, guys.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

It's so cool. We love birds, like any bird print we see, we're like, we gotta have it.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Yeah, you and I are bird people, which is so interesting because like we didn't grow up like that.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

We didn't, I mean, there was there was some enjoyed there was a vulture, vulture flying in the sky today, and I was just watching it.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Did I tell you about my tattoo? My you're the other side of my neck, I'm gonna do that.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

Didn't you get something done right here? Yeah, I got it.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

I got finally healed. But I'm getting I'm getting a vulture on my neck. It's gonna be like the the head's gonna be here, it's gonna come down, the body is gonna be here, and then wing and wing.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Girl.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

I know. I'm super excited.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

You ready to get tore up like that again on your chest? Yep. Oh no. You gotta put me out.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

I'm excited.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

I don't know. I I haven't been tattooed on my chest yet. Maybe I'll be able to handle it. I don't know. I heard that it hurts. I think it's it's it's gonna be funny. You're weird though, because you're just like the pain is good. Which I in some ways I feel the same. Yeah, I'm I'm excited. What's your animal news? You got any animal news?

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Yeah, so this one's not great.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

We have nothing good to share.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah, yeah. This episode's gonna be hard, but it's really interesting.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

And maybe we'll try to do something fun.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Yeah, maybe we'll see. So 72 tigers die in Thailand as virus exposes captivity risk.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

So authorities confirm a virus outbreak at Tiger Kingdom as the deaths of 72 tigers raise serious concerns about captive wildlife welfare and tourism practices. So this is from worldanimalprotection.org, which is where we get all of our breaking animal news angrily monkey pointing from Family Guy. You remember the monkey that sits in Chris's closet and goes, Well, that's what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

The lily, but she was about to get the oh, I punched the mic. She was about to get the cat. Bob's up here, and she loves Chase and Bob.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

So if you hear a loud, we all get wrapped up in the table. Yeah, it'll be so yeah, that's pretty sad. I think a lot of people don't realize that as we progress as a society, viruses are mutating and they are starting to cross species. However, it does say in this article that they were able to rule out avian influenza, but it seems like it was a mycoplasma and canine distemper virus. So it, you know, so far to my knowledge, canine distemper can't jump species. However, if you're going to a captive tiger exhibit where you are handling pubs, which is a thing, and it's huge in places like Thailand and you can transfer things so you can take that home to your animals. So we really need to think about what we're doing. And not only are we exposing our animals, we could be taking things from our animals into these zoos. Yeah. And so we really need to start thinking about the practices of like biosecurity measures in these places. I mean, we shouldn't be putting these animals on display, period. But when it comes to those types of animal tourism acts, we need to really be thinking about the biosecurity measures because these are just they're just going to keep getting worse. And these animals that live in these confined situations are not out in the wild experiencing natural viruses, healing from them, breeding that resiliency into the the gene pool. And so it's making it harder for them to fight them off, which is why we're seeing such mass death.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

So that's and two, they're probably not taking the proper sanitary cautions either. Property. Thailand, yeah, definitely not.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

So that's that's pretty sad. So yeah, we need to we need to end captive tiger exhibits and all that is happening with that. That's it's pretty sad. 72 is a lot.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

That is a lot.

unknown 11:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

Like that's probably wiping out all their yeah. That's really I mean, you know, yeah, they're make you second guess this career choice.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

You shouldn't be doing it in the first place.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

For sure. Well, with that, we'll segue into your episode if you're ready.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

So I just wanna I just want to shout out real quick, our live audience from last week was at the sanctuary this week, and I kind of gave her a teaser and we were chatting, and I was like, she wrote it, and she's like, I'm so excited, I'm so proud of her.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Oh my gosh, I was I this is like one, two, this is like six hours of work.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

I believe in it, and I think it's gonna be great. So let's go.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

So we're back at it again with another crazy one. Disclaimer there will be talk of animals attacking humans in horrific ways without giving too much a way off.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Mutilation.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

So, listeners, that's your warning. I'm not holding back any details. So here it is people owning chimpanzees and that's right, like living as one of the family members, joining the family for Sunday roast, enjoying that red wine and a stemmed glass, to even retire on the couch in the evening to watch your favorite sitcom on cable television.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

I would lose my shit if I walked into somebody's house and there was a chimpanzee sitting in the wine glass with a wine glass wearing a fucking polo. I would turn around and be like, and I would leave. I would be like, I don't care who you are. Aunt, uncle, brother, like, no. We are not talking anymore. So here. Good day.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

So I said, Did I paint the picture for you? You did absolutely wild, insane cuckoo bananas. No pun intended. No pun intended. So before we get into the story, I chose for this pod, which was hard to choose as there were a long list of similar situations, which is so horrible. I'm glad. I'm going, I'm glad. I am glad, and I'm going to share 10 quick facts about chimps so we can better understand the species that is so closely related to us as humans. Who knows? That fact alone may have even made it into the minds of these people who thought that it was okay to own these amazing creatures.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Try to get candid photos. Keep going.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

Oh, okay. So when clearly it is not okay at all. So, fact number one: chimps and humans share mostly 99% of our DNA. Fact two, chimps have either black or brown coarse hair covering their entire body except for face, hands, and feet. Fact three, male chimps can weigh up to 250 pounds, females can weigh up to 150 pounds, and both can come in height at about five feet tall. And that's when they're standing. Fact four, chimps inhabit tropical forests, savannas, and woodlands in parts of Africa. Fact five, chimps live in communities up to 150 individuals. Fact six, those communities always are led by an alpha male. Yes. And it also said that he will have other males that like help to keep damn. Yeah, like they're patriarchy. They're like a little gang. Yeah. So fact seven, chimps are omnivores, which everyone should know that. Fact eight, chimps will use and make tools. Fact nine, mothers stay pregnant for eight months, wean their babies for babies around three years old, and the babies won't leave the mothers for many years. That fact is important. Lastly, fact ten, chimps are classified as endangered. Yes. And you can look online at that specific number, I don't remember. So I feel that it's only fitting for us to understand the whole story. We need to start at the beginning, and that's with Sandra. Sandra Harold. She was born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1938. She was an only child to a Jewish Italian family. Jerome was her third husband. I'll mention his name his name again later in the story. Sandra had her daughter, she, Susan, she had with her second husband. Jerome raised Susan as if she was her own, and the family owned their own businesses, making them pretty wealthy. The three lived together with Sandra's parents, so they seemed to be a very close family. The family owned horses and expensive breeds of dogs. Sandra competed in barrel racing, and her husband and daughter would travel with her.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Why is it? I just have a question. Horse people are weirdos? Not only that. Sorry, sons, why is it always that the the the word I'm looking for, the exotic animal owners have such a history of like the biggest, best, flashiest animals? Like they like there is an obsession behind the most novel animal they can find. Like it it's a theme. It is a legit a theme.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

Yeah. It's and that's what it was like when I was reading about more about the family online, and when I when it comes to the actual story of what happens, each thing, each resource I looked up had a little bit different of a story. That's that's technically with like the news and blah blah blah. So I just tried my best to blend them all together.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Yeah, and you're you're you know, if somebody does their own research, they're gonna find something different, and that's so, but like with the family, it was pretty spot on.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

Like it said that they were essentially millionaires, but they didn't flock it other than the horses and the dogs, yeah. Is where they put all their money in.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

But they had like a decent house and a decent neighborhood.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

Yeah, well, and that's how you stay a millionaire. Yeah, you know what I mean? That's how you stay rich, is by living under your means.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Mm-hmm. So Sandra met Sharla in the 70s at one of those rodeos that they quickly became good friends. There was one night Sandra and Charla both had an experience with a chimpanzee. Loretta Lynn's traveling rodeo was at play to entertain an air quote the crowd with a young chimp who was dressed in western attire riding a horse around the arena. Sandra and Charla got to meet the chimp backstage. It was said Sandra got to feed the chimp gummy bears. And when the chimp had to go back out to entertain Sandy, their names are so so and Charla took their seats in the sand in the stands. Sandra and Charla method. In the stands. So they took their seats back in the stands. And the chimp yet again came out riding the horse. As soon as he recognized what Sandra that Sandra was in the audience, he dismounted and climbed up into her lap. This experience alone was probably what fueled her obsession with chimpanzees.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

He didn't want you, bitch. He wanted the gummy bears.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Oh my god. So the years go by, rodeo shows rodeo shows slowing down with age, running their business, raising their young daughter in the town she grew up in. Life seemed pretty great for the Harold family. And like all things, time goes on. People get older, kids grow up, move away, and start their own family. Sandra's parents pass away. The home that was once filled with what seemed to be a happy family was now empty and sad. To Sandra. Oh. So it's the early 90s. Sandra and Jerome have funds available to finally make Sandra's dream come true. It's October 1995. Sandra gets a call. She's been waiting for like she is a legit adoptive mother, waiting for a baby to be born. It's Connie Casey telling her. Who's Connie Casey? Look up these names. Like the Loretta Lynn. No, I know about Loretta Lynn's traveling review. We need to do one on her. We need to do one on Connie Casey. Like, you don't even know. This is opening.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

All right. I'm gonna write this down. Keep going.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

I'm lost my place. Connie Casey and Loretta. So it's Connie Casey calling, telling her she has a three-day old baby boy ready for her to come pick up and purchase. So three days old. Oh my god. Yeah. So just wait, it gets worse. I thought the bear bile. Oh, just wait. Oh god, I can't even center my energy. Hold on. This begins. Are you ready? Are you ready?

SPEAKER_01 21:18

No. Just go. Just get traumatized.

SPEAKER_02 21:21

And this begins the story of Travis. Travis was born October 21st, 1995. He was a year older than me. He was a year younger than me. Math Abby too math. Two. A mother named Susie and a father named Coco. And I don't know if it's the famous Coco or not. The Coco that did sign language and told us to take a look at the city. I doubt it. Yeah, I doubt that. Travis was bred by Mike and Connie Casey. The compound they owned was then known as Kim Hardy. What the f yeah. Later remote. Renamed Missouri Champ Champ Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Travis was taken from his mother only. Oh wait.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Okay, keep going. You know what? We're we're gonna go on so many rabbit trails. Just keep going.

SPEAKER_02 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

I just want to know how a breeding facility became a sanctuary, but keep going.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

No, it's because she was getting in trouble. And that's why she went into being a sanctuary, but she was probably still low-key breeding them, even though she just changed the name. Yeah, that's why we're gonna do one on her. I told her this open up when I was, and that's probably why I was on the computer for so long. Because I kept getting led into all these other trails. Okay, keep going. Ready?

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Um I told you. And the red light is not helping.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Like, I'm it's red light therapy. It's supposed to help.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

No, no, just keep going, keep going, because we're gonna be here for an hour.

SPEAKER_02 22:58

So he Travis was taken from his mother, only three days old. The mother had to be tracked for them to remove the baby from Susie. Imagining falling asleep with your baby in your arms and then waking up with your baby missing. I'm gonna vomit. How can people do this? Travis's purchase amount was fifty thousand dollars. So that blows my mind. I'm not laughing because it's it's fucked up.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

What else can you do? Like rocking in my chair.

SPEAKER_02 23:30

No, like I haven't slept in a week. Like, for real. Like, I'm so ready to put this behind me. Like, I don't know how many more traumatizing ones I can read with my mental state. Like, I've been praying hard. Like every night I go to bed. Like, I don't know if I've prayed that hard and long. Prayed for the chips. Lord Jesus, the chips. Am I sleeping my sanity? Oh god. Okay, so Travis is now in the hands of Sandra and Jerome. It is literally that easy to save the money, wait for a phone call to go pick up your new bouncing baby boy and bring him home. At the same time, at the time in Connecticut, there was no laws in place to stop the Heralds from having Travis as a pet, which is another crazy thing. Paperwork to actually adopt a human child, then you need to when it come when it came to playing pretend with a chimp. This stuff is crazy. So as Travis is just days old at this time, the care he needs is not much different from a human infant. He needs everything done for himself. The bottle, they bottle fed him, diaper, cloth clothed, and bathed him. At just months old, he began to roll around and shortly after that began crawling.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

I mean, this this really gives to like mental illness on on her part, because like you she is s imposing human characteristics onto which out of all the animals in the animal kingdom, the chimp would be very easy to because they're so human-like.

SPEAKER_02 25:13

Yes. And I think that played a big role.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

And then think about it too, she's you know, and I'm not saying anything against menopausal women. Please don't take that incorrectly. Oh, just wait. You and I will both be menopausal at some point.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

But I wonder if that yeah, because she's in her 50s. Yeah. And I go through this right now. Ready? Travis had his own room with a crib, baby toys, a wardrobe full of clothes. The room was told to have ropes and tires for him to climb and swing on for enrichment.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

I guess a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 25:44

And if you think about Sandra and Jerome, they were in their late 50s, taking on essentially another child. This is a mid-life crisis, if I haven't ever seen one before. The Heralds Just get a Harley. Yeah, like what the heck? The Heralds were very well known in the town they lived in. They owned a couple businesses, let alone Sandra being raised in the town since she was born. The Heralds treated Travis as if he was not a pet. They would take him everywhere they went, like any other devoted parents would be doing, showing off their child. Especially one that was as special as Travis. Taking him to their work, out for walks, to the shops and restaurants as well. And soon the community as a whole was as mesmerized as the heralds were.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

And you know, I don't get that. Like I obviously take my animals, like I take my dogs out in public because I want them to be able to function in public, right? But I don't let people swarm them and like who and ah and coo and I be like.

SPEAKER_02 26:56

Well, because you just don't know how your dog will react.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Not only that, but I can't stand it. Like I don't want people to do that over my kid. I don't want people to do that over my animals. Like you're just not a people person either. You don't want people coming into your bubble. But but I just, I'm just, I'm like, it makes my skin crawl to think about just like parading this living, excuse me, this living being around. Yeah. And just having people like flock to you just for fucking. So even the cops liked Travis.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

Of course they did. Yeah. Travis was said to be growing into a young and well-mannered chimp. At some point, Susan, the human daughter of the Heralds, moved back to town, and she had a son that was the same age as Travis. They would even play well together. And don't forget Charla. Apparently, she would bring her daughter over to play dates as well. So I kid you not, everyone seemed to have blinders on and was treating Travis as if he was human and not a chimpanzee. As Travis got older, like we all do, the Heralds taught Travis how to bathe himself, dress himself, among other things as well. Like teaching your own child independence. The Heralds didn't did have a place to restrain Travis in times when Travis would start to show signs of distress. They would copse Travis into his cage that Sandra called his safe place. As he was getting older and bigger, it was obviously harder for them to control him. In 2003, Travis escaped from their vehicle, causing traffic disturbances. Animal control officers told the Heralds keeping Travis was not safe. Clearly, they completely dismissed that warning. Okay. Witnesses did report the Heralds having hard times with Travis, like struggling with him public and stuff when he was.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

I mean, we struggle with our kids out in public sometimes. Imagine that being a big old angry chimpanzee.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

So Susan would medicate Travis to sedate him.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

That sounds familiar.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

So the Harold's daughter, Susan, died in a car crash in 2000. And Jerome lost his battle with cancer in 2004. Clearly, the losses of Sandra's daughter and husband would take an emotional toll on her. And I believe that too took a toll on Travis as well. Like being in a home that's like sad. Like Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

I mean the animal can pick up on the Oh yeah. 100%. I mean, even animals that aren't as and when I say intelligent, I'm using that term loosely because all animals have their own version of intelligence, right? But an animal as emotionally intelligent and attuned to humans as a chimpanzee.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Obviously.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Yeah. So Travis is now in his double digits and weighing close to 200 pounds. It was clear to everyone that Sandra was in over her head. It is not noted anywhere that I could find during my research that Charla would come over at other times to help restrain Travis. However, with how close she was with the family and being around to watch Travis grow up, I'm sure she was at least around at times to witness or at least assist in putting Travis in his cage. So we're at the date here. February 16th, 2009, the day of the attack. And I was too young to remember this, but this was something that like ever all I don't remember it either. And I was older than you. So like this was something that was like people would bring this up like years later. Like there's people still talk like when I was doing my research, there's still new articles being made. Like this one was just made in January.

SPEAKER_01 30:52

Yeah. And it's just like it's one of the most notorious attacks. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

So I read on two different accounts. One said that Charla was visiting the home, and the other was told that Sandra called Charla over to help her get Travis in the cage. I don't think that little detail is all that important. She was there, and the horrific attack happened to Charla. It all started with Travis's behavior becoming all becoming, well, to say the least, increasingly more erratic. At some point in the day, Sandra did drug Travis to see if that would help with his mood a little. Little for little did she know they would both know how quickly and how horrible this day was going to end for really all three of them.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Yeah, I mean, medication, especially tranquilizers, lose their effectiveness over time. And I'm gonna tell you the drug that they gave him. Oh, yes. So just let's go. I'm gonna pick this apart. So do it.

SPEAKER_02 31:51

I did a little bit of what doctors were commenting on why this wasn't a good option. So Travix escaped outside with the car keys and allure, yeah. Like he wanted to go for a car ride, and they were telling him no. That's like me telling David. And someday, Dave, like I'm witnessing my own child. Like, oh my god, he's gonna choke slam me. Like, because he's not gonna want no, yeah, he's gonna be well behaved. He's gonna be well behaved. Yeah. So where was I?

SPEAKER_01 32:17

She's she's like, I'm witnessing my future. No, I'm joking.

SPEAKER_02 32:21

And to lure him back in the house, Charla went out there with his favorite toy, a tickle meat elmo of all things. Popular. And before anyone could react, Travis started attacking Charla. The attack began sometime after three o'clock and lasted for about 12 minutes. That was brutal that Travis was brutally attacking Charla's face and hands, ripping off her nose and other parts of her face, essentially all of it. And attempts to block the attacks with her hands, like a natural reflex, those two got severely damaged. Sandra's attempt to stop the attack by attempted to stop the attack by hitting him with a shovel and stabbing him with a butcher knife. When she couldn't get him to stop, was when she c went in to call 911. And this is where it got a little hazy because how long did she stand there and try to hit him with the shovel and he didn't stop? And then it said that she went in and got a butcher knife, but not the phone, and then stabbed him with a butcher knife. And then she went back in to grab the phone and just just let's hear it. I I try to fix it in the back and in the next page here. So who really knows when the attack started? The call to 911 came in at 340. The town of Stanford, the lives of Charla, Sandra, and Travis, and the witnesses and first responders would change forever. Again, after the attempts to stop Travis failed, with the carnage still going on around them, Sandra saw that she thought her around them. Sandra saw what she thought was her lifeless beloved friend still being ripped apart by essentially her son. Which at that moment only Sandra knows what was going on in her head. Sandra thought Charlotte was dead, fearful that Travis might turn on her next. She locked herself in the car, and from there is where the 911 call came in from. So from a cell phone? In the car.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

I mean, you gotta protect yourself.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

So like obviously I'm not saying she's a good person. When did the attack really start?

SPEAKER_01 34:35

And like Well, yeah, because it's saying after 3 p.m.

SPEAKER_02 34:38

Well, I said the call came in at 3 40.

SPEAKER_01 34:41

3 40, but you're still after 3 p.m. So that's when they said that the attack like started at 340 because that's when the yeah, I would say that that's the official because there's a timestamp for it. And I'm sure I think it started way before then. Yeah, like nobody's checking their cell phone. Like, oh, a chimp is attacking my friend. Let me screenshot my phone, you know, time.

SPEAKER_02 35:04

So she could have been being attacked for more than 12 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Man, I would have to think though, that if like like 40, you would have maybe she wouldn't have died. I mean, there was that lady that got decapitated and freaking held her head back on get back onto the highway. So yeah, I guess, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

I mean, they said it was a miracle, a medical miracle that she did survive. Yeah, I mean, so so spoiler alert, she does live. But I'm sure everybody heard the story. Yeah, she locked herself in the car.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

So, like I said, this attack on Charla could have gone on a lot longer than what it was recorded online. And it's amazing she did survive. We all batcher picked up Sandra frantically yelling into the phone, he's killing my friend. Dispatcher says, Who? Who is Sandra replies, my chimpanzee? He ripped her apart and and continued to plea for police to come with guns and shoot him.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

I mean, that's the only way you're probably gonna stop him. Stop him for real.

SPEAKER_02 36:03

Honestly, and and I'm not I'm not condoning that choice, but as soon as you would say that to the dispatcher, they're like, damn, that's the Harold's chimp. Like, because they're in a town where they all know him, like we were all waiting for this day, and who was it gonna be? Is that messed up? No, they're like, oh that's the Harold's gym. Harold's gym. Tearing up Charlotte in the wants to go shoot trappings, rock paper, and scissors. That's my go-to forever. I'm trying to like not want to do it.

SPEAKER_00 36:36

Hey man, you want to go shoot this gym? No, man. I don't want to do it. I just had donuts with him last week. You you gonna do it, I guess for real?

SPEAKER_02 36:43

And they said they said the cops liked them, and then they haven't got shoot them. Like that's so sad.

SPEAKER_01 36:49

Well, I mean, sometimes you gotta shoot people you like too, but okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:52

Okay, ready? The dispatcher could hear the erratic screams or grunts from Travis through the phone. It took I've actually heard the 911 call. Oh, I did not. It there was an option for me to. I did not because it was already bad stressing me out. And the pictures that would pop up of poor Charlotte, the healing.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

Like she's over here, like dry even.

SPEAKER_02 37:15

It was bad. Okay, poor Charla. Poor Charlotte. I'm so happy, and she's still alive today, so you you keep getting it. All right. So the police, it took the police six minutes to arrive on scene. On scene, radio, the police radio in saying there's a man down and he doesn't look good, referring to Charla's mangled body lying lifeless on the ground. He states, we've got to get this guy out of here. He's got no face. At some point before the police arrive, Travis stopped his attack and was roaming around the property. Police, yeah, police are looking for his mom. Sorry, that was because his mom was just like stabbing him and hitting him with the shovel, and he's like, Don't get you, mommy!

SPEAKER_01 38:01

Oh my god. I'm sorry, like no, I you gotta laugh about it because like it's just so fucking horrible. Like, what else? What else is there to do? Okay, and we're not, I'm sorry, we're not making fun of Sandra, we're not making fun of Charlotte. This is very serious and it's very horrible, but like this is just how we cope is morbid humor. So there we are. Keep going.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

Like us or don't.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 38:27

Police are on scene setting up for security for medics to come treat the critically injured woman. With all the commotion going on in the area, Travis returned and went after several of the officers who were now retreating into their cars. So they were like, nah, nah, dog. I'm good. Another an officer that shot Travis several several times after he opened the door to his cruiser and started to get in. Travis was hit with a shovel, stabbed, and shot on each account multiple times. With his new wounds from the police officer, Travis retreated into the home, leaving a trail of blood where he succumbed to his injuries near his bed. And that is so sad, makes me cry. Like when I was like typing it out, I was like, oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 39:18

Poor baby.

SPEAKER_02 39:19

You should have just left him and his mom alone.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

You really should have tried for a headshot here, Bug. Like it it's yeah, but what do you do? I mean, I don't think any officer is trained before they enter the force to deal with a chimp. Yeah. And I mean adrenaline and hormones and what was likely a severe reaction to sedatives makes it even harder. I mean, you look at people that do like bath salts as an example. Yeah, and they and people try they try to shoot them to get them under control and they just keep raging.

SPEAKER_02 39:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:59

I mean, that's essentially oh, that's so heartbreaking.

SPEAKER_02 40:03

So Travis was 14 years old and 200 pounds at the time of his death, and a coropsy was done on Travis's body. The doctor found that he was being treated for Lyme disease and had Xanax in his system.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

Lyme disease causes emotional outbursts because it affects your neurological systems and your brain. Woo.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

So he had Xanax in his system as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:31

And that too.

SPEAKER_02 40:31

And that's not good either. So, which we already know, Sandra would sedate Travis, thinking that it would make him more manageable. One doctor commented on the report saying the drug could have had an inverse reaction with Travis, and how that can very well could have played a role in Travis's mood. Since the drug is known to cause side effects with humans like hallucinations and drug dependency, among other things. Yep. After the exam and report was finished, Travis's body was cremated. So Charla suffered the loss of her nose, lips, eyelids, and hands, along with significant brain injuries and blood loss. She was in medically induced coma for weeks. I would I would think they would have to, yeah. This attack left her blind and disfigured, requiring years of reconstruct reconstructive surgeries. In 2011, she underwent a 20-hour-long full face transplant.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Yeah, I remember that, and I remember how like that was like huge.

SPEAKER_02 41:37

And it wasn't like I was trying to find the word and I couldn't refine it. It wasn't like it was new.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

It was very experimental.

SPEAKER_02 41:44

Very experimental.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

They made no promises that it was gonna work.

SPEAKER_02 41:47

Yeah. So and for her to like just even be like, yes, like I want to do anything I can, you know, to look remotely like human again, you know.

SPEAKER_01 41:58

Yeah. I mean, being that disfigured is very difficult.

SPEAKER_02 42:01

And I don't have the pictures because I don't like to look at them, but you can look at them. Go ahead. You if you want to go look at them, you can go look at them. I've seen them. So anyone else listening? Go right on ahead. They're out there for you to see. Shortly after the face transplant, she went in for a hand transplant, which, if I didn't mention Travis, completely removed one of Charlotte's hands and almost all of the other. So she needed fixing in those areas as well. Sadly, her new hands had to be removed due to complication.

SPEAKER_01 42:32

Imagine how much force it would take to dismember someone like that. No tools, no knife, no nothing. Like brute force. I mean, I'm sure he probably was using his mouth too, but like Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

That's just like there was even an account where like she would like one of the news articles was saying that she was saying that she's eating him. He's eating her. So it's like, who knows? Like, what the heck really like happened. Sandra Harold died on May 24th, 2010, at the age of 72 due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm. She passed away 15 months after her pet chimpanzee Travis obviously mauled Charla. 15 months. She was 72. She was 72.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

I don't care how strong you are, a 72-year-old trying to fight off an adult male at almost 200 pounds.

SPEAKER_02 43:38

Yeah, cruel.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

There's no way. There's no way. I'm thinking of a stepmother, but I'm thinking of our stepmother trying to do there, ain't no way. No, and she's a little. I I don't know how little Sam I'm just saying. I'm just thinking of somebody of that age trying to there's no way.

SPEAKER_02 43:56

Yeah, and Charla was the same age. Mm-hmm. In her seven like they were in their seventies when this happened. And they're just two old ladies trying to tame this chimp out there.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Well, I mean, they took him on. What other option is there other than to maybe put him in a sanctuary? But if that's survived, she's probably thinking at that old age. Yeah, she's probably thinking of her own personal emotions and not what's best for the situation. You know what I mean? That's probably why she wouldn't give him up to a sanctuary.

SPEAKER_02 44:26

Yeah, so they were saying that she was getting prosecuted for what was what happened. Good. And they were saying that, you know, all the stress of losing her family members and Travis and the the thought of being prosecuted was was her to have the aneurysm.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

You should have thought about that before you got the chimp. Yep. And that's why we were telling you guys this story because we don't want you all to be disillusioned with the idea of having a literal dangerous wild animal in your home. Yes. Any exotic. It is dangerous unless you are equipped, you are a sanctuary, and you have multiple safety measures in place to ensure that people do not come in contact with that animal.

SPEAKER_02 45:13

Yeah. That's the only time it's acceptable. I'm in my closing. So okay. So in closing, in 2009, Mark Kirk co-sponsored the Captive Primates Safety Act, which was supported by the Humane Society of the United States and Wildlife Conservation Society. The bill would have prohibited apes, monkeys, and lemurs from being sold as pets, but it died in Senate. Struggling to get therapy for depression and anxiety caused by shooting Traviser, Officer Frank Chiafari experience experience led to a 2010 bill that called for mental health care to be covered for police officers who were forced to kill an animal. Travis's attack on Charla sparked a long road of discussion over the ownership of exotic pets, one that continues today. And that's we're here. That's why we're here. This is what it's all about.

SPEAKER_01 46:13

You know, I've known about Travis's story. It's very popular, but gosh, having all those little details just spelled out is wild. And it just never, it never ceases to astound me at the level of like cognitive dissonance people put upon themselves when they want to do something. And they feel like they're special in some way for having this bond with this wild animal. It's like you're not fucking Snow White.

SPEAKER_02 46:40

So this is Charlotte.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 46:43

And she was beautiful. That was when he was just probably like years old. Yeah. So like she has been in the family with him.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

Yep. Yeah. That's just so sad. I graduated in two nine 2009. Well, this was a really good story. Make sure that you leave a comment. You guys, we need to know what you think. And thank you so much for listening. Yeah. And we're gonna cut it up real quick. We well, yeah. I mean, it's fine. We're still under an hour. So, you know, thank you all for leaving reviews, for following us and for listening. If you want to check us out on Instagram, it's Rescue Rebels Pod. And if you want to send us an email, especially with a screenshot, or you know, just say you gave us a rating. You don't really have to send us a screenshot. But let us know that you rated us. Don't lie about it, though. Yeah, don't lie about it. And send us your address. We'll mail you a free sticker. Yeah, I got stickers, right? Yeah, we got stickers, bro. And be sure to share with your friends.

SPEAKER_02 47:44

And I got stamps and envelopes.

SPEAKER_01 47:46

Talk about Travis. This is not his fault.

SPEAKER_02 47:50

No.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

He is he is just as much a victim as Charlotte Nash. What happened to him was not his fault. And it's absolutely unreal that unless we start to do something about this, it's just gonna continue to happen.

SPEAKER_02 48:05

You know, and yeah, there were multiple.

SPEAKER_01 48:07

He deserved to find sanctuary somewhere. He really did. And he was not afforded that ability because he died.

SPEAKER_02 48:15

His mom ended up getting out of the sanctuary too. Well, the whatever it was at that time.

SPEAKER_01 48:22

Chim Party.

SPEAKER_02 48:23

Yeah. Whatever the label was at that time, and they couldn't get her to stop, and they had to shoot her. So she ended up getting in in the own facility like that.

SPEAKER_01 48:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

She was probably still looking for her baby.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

Well, maybe that's our next episode. Here we come, Chim Party. We're coming for you.

SPEAKER_02 48:40

Yeah, there are something. So I don't even know if there still are a thing.

SPEAKER_01 48:44

Probably not, but we're gonna do a deep dive in that one. I wanna dissect that.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

So that's my that then whatever we should do too.

SPEAKER_01 48:50

Oh god. All right. Well, thank you guys so much for listening.

SPEAKER_02 48:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:55

We hope you come back and tune in next week.

SPEAKER_02 48:57

And remember I have something funny to say.

SPEAKER_01 49:00

Oh god, what?

SPEAKER_02 49:01

Grandpa had our grandpa father. He doesn't, he's not a religious man at all. No. And he was having one of his dementia talks. Okay. And he says, My Lord loves me. And me and Grandma looked at each other. And I started tearing up, and I said, The Lord does love you. Oh. And it was very cute. Amen. So Grandpa. The Lord loves you.

SPEAKER_01 49:25

The Lord loves you. The Lord loves you. Don't own chimps. And remember that rescue is rebellion.

SPEAKER_02 49:31

Goodbye.