bingo!!!! The article said that the pet owner treated Travis as a family member. That, my friend, is a ticking bomb waiting to go off. Never EVER EVER treat ANY animal (even your dog & cat) as a family member. I'm sorry but he/she is not a human and yes he/she may exhibit human-like behavior but he/she MUST be treated & respected as animal as programmed by its DNA.
Respect the nature and the nature will return the same. 
As Cesar Millan said in PROPER order - Exercise, Discipline and Love. (notice that love is the LAST in the list and there's a reason why.)
