STAMFORD, Conn. -- The Stamford woman who owned Travis, the chimpanzee that brutally attacked her friend earlier this week, said she isn't happy with how she's being portrayed by the media.

Sandra Herold talked just after the attack about how badly she feels for her good friend, Charla Nash, who on Monday was mauled by the chimp and left unrecognizable.

"It's just been hell," she said. "There's no way to explain it."

Woman Outraged By Portrayal Of Relationship With Chimp

But on Friday, Herold said she's outraged by how the media has portrayed her and her relationship with Travis since the incident. Refusing to go on camera, she said she didn't need a chimp to have sex and that she loved him like someone loves their own child.

"He was my life," she said. "Everyone knew. I cooked for him. I slept with him. He was just everything, all I had."

Herold reportedly served her chimp fine food and wine in long-stemmed glasses. She said earlier in the week that they even took baths together.

Nash, who lives in Stamford with her 16-year-old daughter, is now being treated at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, which recently performed the nation's first facial reconstruction surgery. Click Here For Full Story

The 55-year-old's family said they're talking to an attorney in New York about the incident.

The firm isn't responding to questions, but police said they're hoping Nash will be able to answer questions once she begins to recover.

Legal experts Herold is vulnerable to a costly civil lawsuit, and that the state could also have legal problems for not taking action earlier.

Attorney William Palmieri, who has handled an animal neglect case, said the case makes "a helluva lawsuit against the owner."

Herold said the chimp had been agitated the day of the incident. She said she’d given him tea to calm him, but that her efforts were unsuccessful.

When she couldn’t calm him, Herold said she called Nash, who had known Herold and Travis for a long time, asking for help.

When Nash arrived, police said, Travis attacked her as she got out of her car.

"Oh, God, I feel for her, even before I knew it was her, I just visualize what the poor woman went through," said John Mennona, a friend of Nash's. "Chills went through my spine. When I found out it was Charlie, I was --"

As the chimp mauled her friend, Herold called 911. She also stabbed him with a knife and hit him with a shovel in efforts to stop him, but was unsuccessful.

When police arrived, Travis attacked the police cruiser. An officer fired several shots, causing Travis to flee. He was later found dead as a result of the gunshot wounds.

Neighbors said Herold had owned Travis, who gained fame through parts he had in commercials, for about 15 years and that he was raised as her own child.

Police are continuing with their investigation. They said they spoke to Herold right after the attack, but only briefly. With the investigation now under way, they said they want to sit down with her and figure out exactly what happened.