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Once again there is another animal attack in the news. This time it is another chimpanzee attack and a woman is in the hospital in critical condition–and the chimpanzee, Travis is dead.

News commentators mistakenly refer to Travis the chimpanzee as a “monkey” (chimpanzees are apes) and reports that Travis was “fully domesticated” are erroneous.

Wild animals are just that–wild animals. They may have been trained but are not tame critters.

Domestic animals have been selectively bred for traits that keep them amiable for life with humans over multiple generations and thousands of years.

Chimpanzees are an endangered species and wild animals in captivity have few captive bred generations.

Because of the media and ads such as those on Career Builder, people think that chimpanzees are amiable and cooperative creatures. (A travesty that suggests they are humanlike and amiable.)

They are not.

Fortunately the chimps got their pinks slips but the ads were very popular.

Chimpanzees have been portrayed as human-like in a variety of situations since the 1930s when Cheeta made appearances in Tarzan.

Ham and Enos, the astrochimps, were famous for their trips into space.

And then of course there are the chimps that communicate such as Washoe (who passed away in 2007 but whose story is found in Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees) or Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human.

But those of us who have worked with such creatures know how dangerous they really are and don’t take such potential lightly.

Chimps: The Dark Side is just one documentary that reveals the other side of chimpanzees.

I also remember one called, Chimp Wars (or something similar) but have not been able to find the reference. (Leave a comment below if you can help me on this).

The Travis the chimp incident is a tragedy but the distorted views of privately owned chimpanzees by people such as Herold, or those who are show in commercials such as the Career Builder series of ads, is a travesty (undignified or trivializing treatment of a chimpanzee and a gross parody of the real animal).

Anyway, there is speculation that the hair color changes of the victim (or that perhaps the influence of lyme disease) might have influenced the chimps behavior.

Uh let me clear something up here–Travis, even though he was trained, was a large, adult chimpanzee.

Testosterone + strength + natural behavior (chimps can be volatile) + lack of control = bad behavior (in this case an animal attack).

The News Times reported:

Many Stamford residents know Travis for an incident in October 2003, when the chimp jumped out of an SUV in which he was riding with Herold and her late husband, Jerome.

The incident occurred after a young man threw something at the SUV that went through a half-open window and struck Travis while they were stopped at a traffic light. Startled, Travis unbuckled his seat belt, opened the SUV door and went after the man, but did not catch him.

Travis then played at the busy Tresser Boulevard intersection for about two hours. Each time they lured him into the SUV, he got back out by opening the door before they could lock it. The same thing happened when they tried to get Travis into the back of a police cruiser. At one point the chimp chased officers around a police car parked on Tresser Boulevard. Police finally forced him back into the SUV.

Excuse me–played?

Somehow people mistakenly think that wild animals can be good pets but this chimp was misbehaving (or behaving like a normal chimpanzee) not “playing innocently.”

In the past it was possible to obtain wild animals and keep them as pets but this practice has been severely curtailed in many states such as California.

Even so, people somehow manage to have wild animals as pets.

From the same article I quoted from before:

It is not illegal to own an exotic pet in Connecticut, but a law requires new owners to have permits. The law was not retroactive and did not apply to the Herolds…

Permits are required and are governed by the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection)

Connecticut Sec. 26-40a states: Possession of potentially dangerous animals. For the purposes of this section, the following shall be considered as potentially dangerous animals: the felidae, including the lion, leopard cheetah, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi cat, puma, lynx and bobcat; the canidae, including the wolf and coyote and the ursidae, including the black bear, grizzly bear and brown bear. No person shall possess a potentially dangerous animal. Any such animal illegally possessed may be disposed of as determined by the commissioner of environmental protection. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars for each offense. the provisions of this section shall not apply to municipal parks, zoos and nature centers, or museums laboratories and research facilities maintained by scientific or educational institutions or to persons possessing animals legally on or before May 23, 1983.

Did I read that right? The fine is only one hundred bucks? Plus the dangerous animal list is lacking a few species.

Someone needs a spanking…

USDA requires permits for those holding wild animals but who else monitors private exotic pet ownership in Connecticut? (I am waiting to hear back on this issue.)

Another one of my questions is why did they not have proper holding facilities for this animal?

Clearly they didn’t have good behavioral control over him as evidenced by the previous reported incident.

Need I mention that there did not seem to be any contingency plans for capturing or restraining this animal?

Charla Nash, the friend who Sandra Herold called to help her “coax the chimp” back into the house, is currently in critical condition.

The unfortunate part of this story is that because of owner error a few people were injured and a captive wild animal lost his life.

Most of you know that I do not support the private ownership of wild animal pets.

In this case the woman had no business housing or transporting such an animal–much less asking for help from a friend to contain a large captive chimpanzee.

This is a tragedy but it also shows how irresponsible animal ownership can go bad.

Here is the Sandra Herold 911 call during the chimp attack on Charla Nash:

Wayne Pacelle at HSUS wrote:

The U.S. House passed the Captive Primate Safety Act to ban the interstate transport of primates for the pet trade, by a vote of 302-96 (with all of the “no” votes coming from Republican lawmakers). Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and a few other anti-animal lawmakers made fun of this attempt to stop the abuse of primates in the pet trade and to protect people and communities, but fortunately, their efforts fell short in the House. But in the Senate, despite repeated efforts by bill co-authors Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and David Vitter (R-La.) to get the legislation over the finish line and sent to President Bush for his signature, Sen.Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) blocked consideration of the bill. But for Coburn, a medical doctor, we’d now have a federal law banning the interstate transport of dangerous primates as pets.

There will be more commentary in the days and weeks to come.

Read More:

• My musings on Moe the Chimp’s Escape
• More thoughts (and links) on the Animal Haven Chimp Attack
• The Travis Xanax Story (Puh-lease tell me this isn’t true!)
• More updates on past bad behavior of Travis
• Legal commentary on Travis the chimp begins
• Born Free’s Summaries of State Laws Governing Private Possession of Exotic Animals
• Jane Goodall’s Opinion on Chimpanzee Pets
• Davis Chimp Attack Survivor Comments
• Travis the Chimp’s Mother Shot While Aggressive
• Dolittler on Chimp’s Xanax

Want another opinion on this? Watch the video below.

There are all types of winter hazards pets face and particularly hazardous are snow and ice melting products.

Ice melts might be encountered on walks during the winter months.

Risks to pets can come from product that has spilled out of bags, that is applied to sidewalks or streets, or that has been improperly stored.

Dry, sore, and cracked paw pads are one problem but the ingestion of such products is a bigger danger.

When a pet walks or rolls over surfaces that have been treated with ice melt products it can collect onto the bottom of their paws and then is ingested when the pet licks those areas.

So, the first thing to do is be aware that when you return with you pet after outside winter activities and take steps to wash your pet’s paws and legs–and if you pet rolled in suspect areas it might be a good idea to bathe him or her.

The most common signs of ingestion of non-friendly ice melt products are vomiting, diarrhea, excess salivation, lethargy, loss of appetite, disorientation, increased drinking, seizures, and even death.

There are many types of de-icing products available but most common contain these hazardous ingredients:

• Sodium Chloride
• Potassium Chloride
• Magnesium Chloride
• Calcium Carbonate and Calcium Magnesium Acetate
• Urea

Sodium Chloride
Ingesting large amounts of sodium levels can be lethal in dogs leading to sodium toxicity which comes up quickly and is mainly neurological. Most common symptoms include increased urination and digestive upset. These can lead to dehydration and increased risk to the animal.

Potassium Chloride
Ingestion of potassium chloride can cause bowel strictures and ulcerations. Symptoms include muscle weakness, gastrointestinal upset and cardiac function issues.

Magnesium Chloride
Elevated magnesium can drop the blood pressure drastically and cause cardiac abnormalities, weakness, and neurological issues.

Calcium Carbonate and Calcium Magnesium Acetate
These products cause vomiting and eye irritation.

Urea
Urea is a bio-degradable chemical that is most commonly used in fertilizers. Ingestion usually triggers hyper salivation, gastrointestinal upsets, and abdominal pain.

Inducing vomiting is controversial and not a good idea with many of these ingredients and activated charcoal does not absorb the salts in ice melts.

Sand or clay cat litter are safer options to use instead of ice melts but new pet friendly ice melts are now also on the market.

Users report good success with most of these products except for complaints about the “snow cone” color of the granules in some of the products.

In my area the roads are not salted but cindered (volcanic cinders) instead–so the issues arise in areas where people are using salt on private or business property.

Below are some of the most popular products (just click on the image or link).

Paw Thaw and the Petco proprietary brands are two other products on the market but not highlighted here.

Safe Paw Ice Melter

Safe Paw Ice Melter (35 Lbs)

Ice Melt (8 lbs)

Ice Melt (28 lbs)

Howard Johnson’s Petguard Icemelt (20 lbs)

Earth Friendly Products Ice Melt (6.5 lbs Pack of 4)

Finally, if you suspect that you pet has ingested a de-icing snow melt product get your animal to the veterinarian immediately and keep the animal poison hotline number on your fridge and in your cell phone.

Many people are not aware that in the summer of 1996, the ASPCA acquired the National Animal Poison Control from the University of Illinois.

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center remains an Allied Agency of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and you can reach the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center hotline at 1-888-426-4435.

I’d be interested in what your preferences are for pet safe ice melters–if you have used these products. Drop me a line in the comments and let me know.

The Environment, and global warming in particular, are important topics these days and as a result there’s an awful lot of talk out there about measuring your “carbon footprint”.

Many dog owners have been concerned about their pet’s “Carbon Paw Print” as well, and are looking for ways to raise their pet in an environmentally-conscious fashion.

The good thing is, in the past few years, we’ve seen many emerging pet product manufacturers take a more earth-friendly approach by using recycled and organic materials.

But while it is common to find eco friendly dog toys and cat scratchers, deciding on the right bed can be a bit trickier.

So, what makes a pet bed eco friendly? We’re going to tackle five common questions that a prospective pooch bed buyer might have:

Does it have Synthetic or Natural Fibers?

Earth friendly dog beds are being made today with natural fibers (such as cotton and hemp) as well as synthetic fibers (like polyester and nylon) so a lot of it actually depends on consumer preference.

Beds made with Natural Fibers, particularly ones that are certified Organic, are the most environmentally conscious during the production process by utilizing nontoxic dyes and hypoallergenic, chemical-free materials.

However, beds with Synthetic materials, such as polyester and nylon, tend to last longer. In addition to being more cost effective, this also eliminates the increase in trash and consumption created by throwing out the old bed and buying a replacement.

Is the Bed Machine Washable?

Nearly all “green” pet beds have a washable exterior and some allow you to wash the interior filling separately.

Not only does this make the bed easier to clean but it also prolongs the life of the bed as well.

While many non-washable beds have to be thrown out and replaced due to odor and durability issues, machine washable beds usually last the life of the pet.

What Type of Material is the Cover Made of?

Nylon and Polyester fleeces remain the most common types of synthetic covers because they are durable and easy to maintain.

But lately manufacturers have been coming out with materials (such as Dog Gone Smart Bed’s Nanosphere finish) that have been more stain resistant while maintaining strict environment and pet safety standards.

The most popular type of natural fiber for eco-friendly pet beds is cotton, due to its breathability and easy maintenance, although hemp covers have recently become more popular due to its durability.

What Type of Interior should I be Looking for?

Many manufacturers have recently begun using recycled polyester materials for the cushioning of their pet beds.

The most common way of doing so involves an innovative process that melts and reforms post consumer plastic materials (think recycled bottles) into polyester fibers, which creates a durable cushion while at the same time helping in cutting down on landfill waste.

The only disadvantage is that the process of converting plastic into polyester can be labor intensive.

More recently, some companies, most notably Big Shrimpy, have been incorporating recycled pre-consumer polyester materials into their bed filling, a process which uses less energy than other recycling methods.

It should be noted that beds made with recycled polyester materials tend to be more firm, so if you think your pet needs a plusher bed it would be best to look at a bed that incorporates an organic natural fill rather than recycled material.

Does it have any Certifications? And What Kind of Certifications Should I be Looking for Anyway?

Many pet beds have recently begun adhering to Organic standards, particularly ones that use natural materials.

In order to be certified organic, a pet bed manufacturer has to use cotton or any other natural material that is grown without the use of pesticides and are not genetically modified.

Harry Barker and West Paw are two popular dog bed companies that adhere to Organic guidelines for their products.

Beds using synthetic fibers cannot be rated as Organic, but they do have their own standards in place to ensure that they are safe and earth-friendly.

One of the most rigorous independent standards is run by Bluesign Technologies.

In order to be verified by Bluesign, the materials and chemicals to be used in the bed are put under strict testing for safety and environmental impact. (Dog Gone Smart Bed’s Nanosphere covers are Bluesign verified.)

Eco Friendly pet beds will continue to remain popular despite the fact that they are more expensive then other types of beds not only because consumers are becoming more environmentally aware but also because many earth friendly dog beds are of a better quality and are longer lasting, which can help save money as well as the environment.

About the Author: Emily Curtis is a pet product specialist for AllPetFurniture, a part of CSN Stores. With a BA in English from Colby College, Emily currently resides in Brookline, Massachusetts with her pet spaniel Porkchop and Henry, a five-year old Siamese cat.