I love my dog, I love my cats, I love my fish; but never will I love anything the way Tonia Haddix loves chimpanzees. If you have ever wondered what it looks like when people develop unhealthy attachments to large, dangerous wild animals, then “Chimp Crazy” is the show to watch. 

Filled to the brim with insane choices, zany behavior and a wild-goose chase, it is a cacophony of chaos that once you’ve started watching- it is hard to stop. Something akin to a car crash, it is difficult to look away. It all starts with the same director who brought us “Tiger King,” Eric Goode. 

What begins as the story of Connie Casey, owner of Chimparty-turned-Missouri Primate Foundation, quickly pivots to the love story and the lengths Tonia Haddix will go to be around the animals she is so enamored with. While the first episode is slow and rather hard to watch with the conditions these animals were being held in, the show itself is incredibly entertaining.

“Chimp Crazy” is not long with four episodes total. It is great for a weekend binge when you need to procrastinate. While Tonia Haddix is arguably the star of the show, she is not the only woman enamored with these animals. Although the show primarily focuses on the twists and tribulations of her story, the show also includes perspectives outside of Haddix’s. Pam Rosaire, another chimpanzee enthusiast, to put it lightly has her story told almost as the preface to the insanity of Haddix’s. To show that Haddix is not alone in behaving in irrational and arguably inappropriate ways with these animals. That the lengths she goes to are not something she is alone in doing. While this is an insane situation, the documentary still goes to great lengths to show that things may be working out in the short term for both Haddix and Rosaire.

Many others have not had things work out in the long run, like Tamara Brogotti, whose pet chimpanzee after being kept in horrific conditions brutally attacked her daughter, or more famously Sandra Herold. Herold’s pet chimpanzee Travis is famously known for ripping off her friend’s face and hands, among a litany of other horrific injuries. It should also be known for those who plan to watch the show that they do play the 911 call Herold made during the attack in episode four. 

The story that unfolds throughout the four episodes, is at the end of the day incredibly good TV, with a rather simple message at the heart of it: If you love something wild, the kindest way to love it is to let it be wild.

Image by HBO via YouTube