Year: 2001

By Karen Hawkins

Atrocities occur and it is mandatory that people be held accountable for their actions. Wednesday, July 2,1997 I was in a local grocery store with my capuchin monkey, Mookie, shopping, as I have done for the past 2 years with him. While I patiently waited in the check-out line between two local woman, he was visiting a man (while still attached to the leash and myself as he is always ) accompanying several children (I am not sure if they were from a camp or where). I spoke to all of them and answered their questions pertaining to the work Mookie does. He became a part of our family at several weeks of age and turned 2 years old in April. I had been granted a permit from our State Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for him to be allowed into the state of Maine specifically to participate in therapeutic type endeavors.

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Primates are one of the most attractive animals in our animal kingdom. But, they are unpredictable, destructive, expensive and they need a lot of care and attention. Since some of them can live for over 40 years, they truly are a life-time commitment. Are you the person that is willing to spend most of their free time with their monkey? Before you consider buying a monkey, you have to learn as much as possible about them. Read books, use the internet, try to visit somebody who has primates at home, join primate mailing lists, find primate owners on social networking sites like facebook so you can learn as much about them as possible before obtaining your own monkey. Some people prefer marmosets, while others prefer squirrel monkeys or capuchins. It is important you do the necessary research to find out which species fits you best. (more…)

About 15 years ago I walked into an exotic pet store that specialized in lizards.  I used to go there every week due to my interest in lizards.  One day I noticed a small cage, the size of a hamster cage, on a shelf which caught my attention.  Little that I know that this was about the open up a whole new world for me.  The world of primate ownership!  I wasn’t sure what I saw so I asked the store owner.  A few minutes later I found that this was a common marmoset.  I went straight to the bank, took the money of my account and bought myself the cutest critter I ever saw.  And so the adventure began… (more…)