Comments on: Attack Chimp Was On Xanax

By: squatchwatcher

squatchwatcher — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:19:52 +0000

Stupid people should not breath, or house wild animals. Just plain dumb….and sad.

By: red_pill_junkie

red_pill_junkie — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:28:19 +0000

That poor lady.

And, just what kinds of human foods was the owner given to the chimp. He looks incredibly overweight in that picture.

By: coelacanth1938

coelacanth1938 — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:25:22 +0000

This story brings me to tears.

By: gkingdano

gkingdano — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:13:30 +0000

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.

By: kittenz

kittenz — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:17:14 +0000

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.

By: cliff

cliff — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:31:50 +0000

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.

By: Bast

Bast — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:21:13 +0000

I find this story incredibly sad.