The story of Travis, a 200-pound pet chimpanzee from Connecticut, who snapped one day and attacked his owner’s friend, stands as a stark reminder of why wild animals should never be kept as pets. A desperate 911 call from Tavis’s owner, Sandra Herold, captured the horror as it unfolded. The chimpanzee had brutally attacked and mauled her best friend, Charla Nash, until police saved her. 

Before the fatal attack, Travis had become an irreplaceable part of Sandra’s life. She and her husband, Jerome, raised him like a human son after losing their own biological child. Travis was born in 1995 and taken from his mother when he was just three days old. The couple reportedly purchased him for $50,000. 

Travis lived an eerily similar life to humans. He rode in tow trucks with the couple, reportedly starred in television commercials for brands like Old Navy and Pepsi, and dressed himself. At home, he sat at the dinner table, drank wine, knew how to use the toilet, played on the computer, and watched TV. 

However, the mask would soon fall. On the afternoon of February 16, 2009, an agitated Travis took Sandra Herold’s car keys and let himself outside. Sandra happened to be on the phone with her friend Charla Nash at the time; unable to get Travis back indoors, Nash offered to come over and help. 

When Charla arrived and held up one of Travis’s favorite toys, an Elmo doll, the chimpanzee snapped. Experts later speculated that Charla’s new hairstyle or unfamiliar rental car may have triggered the explosion of violence. 

Travis jumped at Charla, threw her against a car, and for about 12 agonizing minutes, mauled her, tearing at her face and hands with his teeth and immense strength. 

In a desperate attempt to save her friend, Sandra struck Travis with a shovel. But it didn’t stop him. Unable to pull him off of her, she called 911 and urged to send someone with a gun. 

Upon arrival the police saw a sight they would never forget. Officers initially thought Nash was dead until she moved a limb. 

Travis was far from being done. Covered in blood, he approached a police cruiser, smashed the side-view mirror, and ripped open the driver-side door while bearing his teeth. Officer Frank Chiafari fired his service weapon multiple times at close range. 

Despite being shot multiple times, the chimpanzee retreated into the house, leaving a trail of blood before finally collapsing and dying inside his cage. 

Charla survived the ambush but sustained life-altering injuries. Travis had severed her hands, torn away her eyelids, nose, lips, and jaw, and fractured nearly every bone in her face. Doctors were later forced to remove her eyes due to a severe infection, leaving her permanently blind. 

A toxicology report later revealed the presence of Xanax in Travis’s system. Sandra Herold admitted she had given the chimpanzee tea laced with the anti-anxiety medication earlier that morning, which experts believe contributed to his aggression. 

Charla’s family filed a $50 million negligence lawsuit against Sandra Herold. The case was eventually settled for roughly $4 million from Herold’s estate. Sandra, herself, never faced a full trial. She passed away from an aneurysm in 2010. 

Travis’s story still sends shivers down our spine. However, it could have been prevented. Years before the attack, in October 2003, Travis made national headlines after he escaped a vehicle in downtown Stamford, leading police on a two-hour chase. Despite warnings from animal control, no action was taken to remove him. 

Following the escape, the Herolds isolated Travis at home, where he spent his days eating junk food and watching television, eventually becoming obese. 

The incident also prompted Connecticut lawmakers to pass a law limiting pet primates to 50 pounds and requiring an ownership permit. However, Travis was specifically exempted, as the Herolds had already owned him for so long.

Disclaimer: Inquisitr individually could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public record.