She lost her nose, eyes, lips and hands but, until now, all updates on her condition have come through her family and attorneys. Despite the potential threat chimpanzees pose, many U.S. states, including Connecticut, legally allow people to raise them as pets. St. James and Moe were kissing each other. But even as investigators try to figure out exactly what triggered Travis's attack (he had been suffering from Lyme disease, which in rare cases is linked to psychotic behavior), the reality is that a chimpanzee living among people is simply a ticking time bomb. "Okay, then, now you're talking," St. James says after I offer to help him with his car. St. James never left the room during the forty-five-minute procedure. She wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, but the chimpanzee locked his jaws around the thumb of her left hand. Sheil said she didn't know if a transplant will be considered. he demanded. It's a Saturday night in 1970, and St. James is sitting on the couch next to Moe, who is sucking down a vanilla shake. Watching from a few feet away, LaDonna is laughing. They left home early, around 7:00 a.m., in a car filled with toys, presents, balloons, and a white-frosted sheet cake with raspberry filling. St. James and LaDonna expect to see their boy again. They cried for hours, and they couldn't sleep. After extensive negotiations, in 2004 the couple succeeded in getting Moe transferred to Animal Haven Ranch, a private sanctuary near Bakersfield where they could visit him without restriction. Horror injuries of woman whose face and hands were ripped off by pet LaDonna protests the use of the word escape. There was some disfigurement. One night in 1984, the eighteen-year-old chimp methodically prepared his bed of multicolored blankets inside his cage in the backyard before bounding into the kitchen to give LaDonna a goodnight kiss. They ravaged his left foot, leaving it shredded. St. James Davis spent months in intensive care and underwent more than two dozen operations -- he estimates he has 20 more surgeries left. LaDonna answered. You could make the argument that she should've found a better home for it or even released it at that point, but it was her husband's beloved pet and I'm sure she couldn't do that to him after he passed. He can't get through the next few minutes without breaking down several times. Chimp Attack Victim Pictures: Carla Nash Before and After Photo I would like to be back together again. Chimp Attack First Responders Describe Horrific Scene Associated Press STAMFORD, Conn. - Her hands looked like they were wrecked by a machine. The unraveling of the Davises' near-perfect life began on a hot day in August 1998. He was affectionate and loved to hug and kiss, throwing his hairy arms around St. James's neck often. I have to tell you, its one of those stories about the resilience of the human spirit that makes us all take a look a different look at our lives.. When Moe was about two, St. James took him to a veterinary specialist to have a crooked front tooth pulled. By the time St. James and LaDonna saw the enclosure, it had been repaired and cleaned.
