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I’ll never forget Robbie. Robbie was a large chimpanzee. It was sometime in the 80’s. I was not long out of vet school and still working in Manchester. Robbie had originally belonged to a man in Sevierville and I heard he lived with the guy in the house like a human. Supposed the owner drank too much and began abusing Robbie and made him mean and dangerous. For some reason, a junk yard dealer in Manchester purchased Robbie and brought him to his junk yard to attract customers.

Because he was mean they acquired an old jail cell from Smith County and that’s where Robbie stayed. I always felt sorry for Robbie in that 10 by 10 cage as it was filthy because Robbie wouldn’t let anyone in to clean it. For some reason Robbie hated me and always hit me between the eyes with spit 10 ft. away. Must have been the blood, cattle, horse and pig smell on me when I stopped by to see him.

One late evening I was finishing up at the clinic when the Manchester Police called all frantic asking if I had a dart gun. Robbie had escaped and was terrorizing the neighborhood. He went across the road and was trying to get in houses and had ripped several storm doors off. People were frantic. I loaded the dart gun with a horse tranquilizer that is also used on primates. Not long out of school I still remembered the dose for gorillas and loaded the dart. Soon the cops arrived and I got a double police escort to the junkyard with blue lights and sirens blaring. It was already dark and when we arrived every cop in Manchester had surrounded the junkyard most holding rifles. You would think King Kong was on the loose.

Apparently, Robbie had slipped under the cage when they tried to push it out. Robbie was already back at the junkyard and he had now taken over the owner’s office. No one was about to go in there. I looked in the window and Robbie was sitting at his office desk with his feet up on the desk drinking a bottle of liquor. By that time Dr. Hackett my boss had showed and he decided I would go in and he would shoot Robbie as he chased me out.

The plan worked. Robbie came running out after me and went nuts when he seen all the cops. Robbie went running and Dr. Hackett hit him right in the butt. A rapidly moving target at 30 ft. A great shot. Robbie let out a blood curdling scream only heard in Africa as he tried to pull the dart out. He made it about 10 more yds as he went down and out. Three of us picked Robbie up and put him back in the cage. I cleaned him up and sutured a few cuts he got during the rampage. The crisis was over. Robbie remained there a few more mos. He stayed for the most part out of trouble besides biting a man’s finger off.

One day the owner called me wanting me to tranquilize Robbie so they could load him up as someone in New England had bought him. After one last spit between my eyes, I darted Robbie. I was sad as they loaded poor Robbie in the trunk of a car to drive all the way back. They told me to mind my own business, yankees I guess. I wouldn’t want to be driving when Robbie chewed through the back seat when woke up mad. Anyway, I heard later something happened to Robbie up there and he died or was killed.

I thought about Robbie yrs. later when it was all over the news about that pet chimp in New England that chewed a woman’s face and hands off. The moral of the story, I wouldn’t recommend a chimp for a pet.

811 N.W. Atlantic St.

Tullahoma, TN 37388

Phone: 931-455-6886