Replies

Links... go to http://www.sjmercury.com and search "chili."
That's the local paper and they've been following things closely.

The latest: Finger-finder decides not to sue NEVADA LEOPARD BIT OFF DIGIT; LINK INVESTIGATED By Linda Goldston Mercury News In a strange twist, the news came on the same day the Mercury News learned of a late February incident in Pahrump, Nev., in which a spotted leopard bit off part of a finger -- about 1 1/2-inch worth -- of a woman who had been keeping the exotic cat and other animals. The finger was reportedly not reattached, and San Jose police said they are investigating whether it is linked to the case. Pahrump, which is about 45 miles southeast of Las Vegas. The Mercury News learned about the incident in Nevada after receiving a call on Tuesday morning from an exotic-animal-sanctuary owner. ``What are the odds?'' said Carol Asvestas, director of the Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio, who was among several people who saw the leopard bite off part of Sandy Allman's finger on Feb. 23. Asvestas had gone to Allman's to rescue several exotic animals at Allman's request, she said. Allman did not return phone calls from the Mercury News on Tuesday. Asvestas said she had not thought about the incident until Tuesday morning, when a friend e-mailed her a copy of a photo of the finger found in the chili on March 22. Asvestas reported the information Tuesday morning to the Wendy's hotline. San Jose police confirmed Tuesday afternoon that they are investigating. A visual examination of the photo taken of Allman's finger and a photo of the finger Ayala said she found in the bowl of chili shows them to be similar and about the same length. Both finger parts have ragged edges where the fingers were detached. But it would take a DNA test to determine if the finger in the bowl of chili is the finger that used to be on Allman's hand, said Capt. Bob Dixon of the Santa Clara County Sheriff-Coroner's Office. Dixon said the finger found in the bowl of chili ``has been cut up and sent out for tests'' but that the finger ``clearly was not a clean cut. It was kind of jagged.'' ``Somebody might be able to say it looks the same but scientifically to say it's the same, you'd have to do DNA testing,'' he said. On the day the leopard bit off part of Allman's finger, Allman had just told Asvestas and others that the animals were safe to touch, Asvestas said. ``She was introducing us to each animal. The last words out of Sandy's mouth were, `These are my babies. They would never hurt me.' '' Cindy Carroccio, director of the Austin Zoo, was with Asvestas. Carroccio said it was her boyfriend who spotted the finger in the bottom of Anthony's cage. Asvestas, a former nurse, was trying to stop the bleeding on Allman's hand. ``He saw it, fished it out with a stick and brought it to me in a Kleenex,'' she said. ``We washed it off and took a photo of it.'' Carroccio and Asvestas were not sure why the finger could not be re-attached to Allman's hand. But the medical clinic where she was treated ``gave it back to her in a little bag of ice,'' Carroccio said.