My granddaughter & I was surfing the net & came across baby monkeys. The people selling them had them dressed cuter than cute....little girls all in ruffles & lace & the little fellas in cute little onsies. Some had cowboy hats on . I started reading up on them, always hearing they were a danger to humans. Sure weren't cheap the males were $3200. & the females 4 grand. I contacted probably 50 people who owned them, nobody ever had any problems with them if you got them a few days old. I was told the Moms would reject them & they were left to die. I talked mostly to people in Indiana they can breed & raise them there. The lady I talked to had ( so she said) 11 living in the house. Each family member had there own monkeys. They even slept with them.
She said she had 1 pregnant, but rarely did a mom reject her baby but if she did she'd let me know. Well like a moron out of the blue I got a phone call & if interested she'd meet me in Chicago to look at it. If I wanted him it was $3200. cash. Like a fool I met her bought him & we named him Cheko... he was adorable. Fit in the palm of my hand & cute as can be. He was a java had a little mohawk & the apple of our eye.
He required alot of care...nothing cheap about raising an exotic animal. He would jump on your lap / he loved ice cream, snickers candy bars & blondes. He wore diapers, took a bottle with a baby formula base. He was awesome. If he seen a animal he'd scream bloody murder to warn you something shouldn't be there, was. Hubby is in the fencing business so a cage was so problem. He had his own TV, any toy imaginable. Everyone loved Cheko. I took him to the vet had his incisor teeth pulled / blood tests to make sure he was not a carrier of any disease every 6 months $800.00 each visit.
We noticed Cheko getting possesive when he was about 3-4 yrs old, if someone went to hand us something or hug us good bye. He'd make a strange noise, & slap at them. That passed... we would take him to the lake & he'd just play up a storm. But we had him on a leash.
I was the one who taught Cheko right from wrong. Since he was a male I had to stand up to him. A male monkey dominates the low life females. I took him to the lake without hubby he didn't want to go with me & was MAD. He banged on his cage all the way there. I got him out of his cage & he was po'd. He pranced back & forth & would not come near me. When at the lake he could climb trees & sit in them. But he had a chain so he could not get loose.It was getting dark & I went to bring him in & he bit me. To show his dislike he'd show his teeth & chatter at you. I scolded him severely for it. He hung his head & offered me some of his dilly bar... he had one every night before bed time.
He would be terrified if one of the teen girls was in a swimsuit or in shorts, he'd close to loose his mind. He'd try grabbing them, to show he never liked it. But later when they had pj's on he'd love them up & be so sorry for what he did it was pathetic. He'd hang his little head in shame. The kids were his best friends. He'd hug them, kiss them & pat them on the back.
Hubby was Cheko's very favorite ....he knew I slept with hubby & he started resenting me. I cleaned his cage several times a day.He had a bathe everynight & loved aftershave lotion & would make sure you smelled him. He'd stand like a statue until you told him how good he smelled. He was a hoot....
If he decided he wanted something it was his. If not the war started. He got into my makeup & I went to get it from him & the war was on. I called hubby in & Cheko went right to him handed me the makeup & as I took it he growled at me. A wild animal never forgets when someone wrongs them. Cheko started holding grudges against me. As time went on it wasn't just against me but anyone who told him no.
Cheko was almost 6 yrs old & getting to be in his sexual prime. That is when most wild animals start changing. Hubby had Cheko out in his garage with him, Cheko got into his pop cooler & opened a case of pop. He called him a bad boy & told him no. Cheko had already drank 4 cans of pepsi & decided nobody was telling him anything. Hubby came in the house bit all up. He whopped Cheko good. We decided then & there that was enough. We had to get rid of him.
I contacted everywhere in the USA that has sanctuaries for monkeys, nobody would take him. We offered to pay 10 grand & then support him / we offered to leave him in our will everything to no avail. Nobody wanted a spoiled monkey...we went to one place & the conditions were filthy. Hubbie & Cheko were getting along good again & hubbie was changing his mind. We dearly loved him but Cheko refused to have anything to do with me. Hubby was cleaning his work truck out & was finished working for the day & said come on Cheko lets go have supper & Cheko ignored him, he apparently wanted to go for a car ride. Hubby said come on buddy lets go in the house & get your treats....Cheko jumped at him & bit the holy heck out of him, scratched him...hubby came in covered in blood & said call the vet he is being put to sleep.
I made arrangements & we did take him to the vet 2 days later & he was put to sleep. I held him down to get the needle in the heart. To this day we're heartsick over it but had no other choice. He WOULD of hurt someone else, it was only a matter of time.
I don't call myself a bad person for owning Cheko. Cheko never once got away from us. He'd be down by the lake & would wave at boaters going by, he went fishing with us & was scared to death of fish worms. If he stole something he'd put it is his pouch & torment you. I thought I'd honestly checked it out very well.
I knew I was no match for him & never ever wanted him to hurt anyone. When he was good he was awesome / but when he was bad he was horrible. It should be against the law for anyone to own a primate of any kind they are very strong. Your so shocked by the attack you can hardly get away. Cheko has been gone for 5 yrs now. We had 6 wonderful yrs with him & no monkey could of had the life Cheko had. I have no regrets...
They are afraid of any changes of any type. I could see Travis freaking over the lady having a new haircut / driving a different car & also & mostly from having her hair colored. Them things drive a primate insane.The lady from Indiana lied to me...she ripped him away from his mom. No monkey refuses there babies. Its a vicious cycle....primates should not be bred for babies at all in captivity. The lady I got mine from sells hers to labs......God bless all primates in captivity / it should never EVER be allowed.
