Slover worked to calm the Chimp…I had done nothing whatsoever to provoke Cappy. It took about 45 seconds to get my hand released from Cappy’s teeth grip…45 of the most painful seconds of my entire life.

My association with Cappy, however, led to a lifelong friendship with Karl Slover, who Bob had adopted. Karl was one of the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz and worked for Southern Amusement Enterprises…a traveling carnival of which Cappy was a part and which was owned by Bob Slover. Karl recently passed away at 93.

Yes, I was there when Cappy got the ticket. A judge dismissed the case because there was no law that said a chimpanzee had to have a driver’s license. That was changed by the Florida legislature the following year. Sometimes those kind of details fall through the cracks.

After that biting incident, I occasionally said hello to Cappy but kept my distance.