483 words (1 minute read)

Excerpt of Letter from Gail Ehrlich to Ehrlich Family, dated June 19, 1974:

…We had an emergency situation a couple of weeks ago.  The fire alarm in the house went off during the night and woke everybody up. I was scared, until Piers said it was a false alarm. Only it wasn’t.  Poor Smithy had triggered the alarm because he was choking on a knob he had accidentally swallowed.  It’s a good thing he did, although none of us can figure out how he reached the emergency button.  It’s up pretty high in the wall.  I’m surprised he even knew what that button was for.  He is a smart little fellow. 

He was so good too.  The firemen and the paramedics came and they checked Smithy out.  I thought he would get nervous with all the strange people around.  Our dog Maisie kept barking at all the newcomers, and she was crying because the loud sirens hurt her ears, but Smithy didn’t make a peep.  After that, we took pictures of him with the firemen.  One of them even let Smithy wear his fireman’s hat.  Piers said it will be a good memento for Smithy’s scrapbook.  It’s too bad the firemen didn’t bring their Dalmatian with them, but the new dog would probably have upset Maisie too.

After that accident, we’ve all been walking on egg shells with Smithy because we’re afraid to lose him.  Nobody likes to scold him now or give him a punishment when he’s naughty.  Jeff has been staying in Smithy’s room at night until after he falls asleep, just to keep an eye on him.  He says Smithy has really bad nightmares that make him cry and howl at night.  Sometimes, Smithy will even sort of sleepwalk.  He’ll wake up and sit up in bed and look into space like he’s looking at a person, and then he’ll start talking to them.  Well, he signs anyway. I think it’s far out!  Our chimp signs in his sleep, just like a person talks in his sleep.

Tammy says it’s not good because sleepwalking and sleeptalking are disorders that mean a child isn’t developing properly.  She’s also worried he could get more boysderous and hard to handle when he’s awake.  So far so good, Smithy is still keeping his normal bedtime and he’s not anymore boyster high spirited than normal.  During the day, he’s still just as cute and smart as ever…

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Excerpt from Smithy: A 20-year Compendium by Reid Bennett, PhD:

Curiously, these two accounts are the only references to the first of many remarkable occurrences under the roof of Trevor Hall. Neither Wanda Karlewicz nor Dr. Preis-Herald made any official record of the near-tragedy sustained by the priceless chimp, though in their defense they were likely eager to skirt the negatives and return to business as usual.

Indeed, that business resulted in some interesting developments…

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Next Chapter: Library Journal Entry by Jeff Dalton, dated June 25, 1974