( CNN ) -- A Connecticut woman pleaded for police to `` please hurry '' to save a friend from an attack by a pet chimpanzee , according to emotional 911 recordings released Tuesday by Stamford police . Police say Travis , seen here as a younger chimp , was like a child to his owner , Sandra Herold . `` He 's ripping her apart , '' Sandra Herold , 70 , tells dispatchers about her pet , Travis . With the chimp squealing in the background , Herold cries out , `` He 's killed my friend ! '' The victim , Charla Nash , 55 , remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after the chimp , once featured in television commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy , attacked her Monday afternoon , police said . Nash had just arrived at Herold 's house when Travis jumped on her and began biting and mauling her , causing serious injuries to her face , neck and hands , according to Stamford Police Capt . Rich Conklin . Conklin said the attack was unprovoked , but he described it as `` brutal and lengthy . '' Watch how owner made frantic call to police » . Herold had called Nash to her house to help get 14-year-old Travis back inside after he used a key to escape . While her friend was being attacked , Herold was unable to pull the primate off . She then called 911 before stabbing the chimp with a butcher knife and hitting him with a shovel . Neither fazed Travis , who police said had been like a child to Herold . A Stamford police officer later shot the chimp multiple times after the primate went after him inside a police cruiser , Conklin said . Travis returned to the house , where police found him dead . Conklin estimated that Travis weighed close to 200 pounds . Conklin could n't confirm media reports that the chimp had Lyme disease , though he did say investigators were taking their time with the case to determine what may have provoked Travis to attack Nash . Animals often do not exhibit symptoms of Lyme disease , caused by the bite of certain types of ticks , although aggression is a possible symptom , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Conklin said Nash had recently gotten a haircut that changed her appearance significantly . Conklin said the chimp had been acting `` rambunctious '' earlier , prompting Herold to put Xanax in a cup of tea for him to drink . He did not know if the animal had been prescribed the medicine or if Herold had ever given her pet such a mixture before . Watch wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin talk about the dangers of chimps » . Conklin added that his department is not used to dealing with cases such as this , and they were trying to familiarize themselves with laws and regulations before deciding if charges will be filed . Conklin said this is n't the first interaction his officers have had with Travis . The chimp , who was well known and liked in the community , escaped in 2003 and `` wreaked havoc '' on the streets of Stamford for a couple of hours , Conklin said . Travis ' body was removed from the home and taken to two locations : His head was taken to the state lab for a rabies test and the body was taken to the University of Connecticut for an animal autopsy . Conklin said this is standard procedure . The chimp , who was known to walk around town , sometimes without a leash , also liked to surf on the Internet and was able to change the TV channel with a remote , according to a Stamford Advocate article . The paper also reported that Travis watered plants , was able to feed hay to his owner 's horses , ate at a table with the rest of the family and sometimes drank wine from a stemmed glass .
Chimp squeals on 911 tape as owner cries out , `` He 's killed my friend ! '' Pet was acting strange throughout the day , woman gave him Xanax in tea . Owner had called friend to get chimp inside after he escaped using key . Charla Nash , 55 , remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries .