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[Carrie McLaren <stay.free AT verizon.net>]

Police Search For Person Who Stole Baby Monkey

Owner, Monkey Expert Worry Animal Will Become Dangerous 
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4158292/detail.html

POSTED: 10:01 pm EST February 2, 2005
UPDATED: 11:46 pm EST February 2, 2005

GLEN BURNIE, Md. -- Police are searching for the person who broke 
into a Glen Burnie home and stole a baby monkey.

Authorities are worried, not only for the animal's owners, but for 
the monkey's delicate health, WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Lowell Melser 
reported.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating a unique kidnapping in 
which someone got away with an 8-month-old monkey.

Michelle Howard is the owner of Nicky, 8, and 8-month-old Janey, both 
capuchin monkeys.

"They're pets, but they're kind of more like my children than pets, 
honestly," Howard said.

Police said somebody threw a cinderblock through a door of Howard's 
house and stole Janey and her cage sometime Wednesday afternoon.

"I really think it's somebody who's always wanted a monkey and 
couldn't afford one because they are very expensive," Howard said.

Besides their price -- a hefty $6,000 to $7,000 each -- the monkeys 
have very particular eating habits.

"She eats three to four times a day, [sometimes] nonstop. First thing 
in the morning, she's eating. She forages all day, and I'm just 
afraid whoever's taken her is not going to give her the proper care 
she needs," Howard

Judie Harrison is the founder of one of Maryland's few monkey rescue programs.

"I feel bad for the monkey most of all because the monkey is who is 
gonna suffer," Harrison said.

She said capuchin monkeys can be very unpredictable, and when placed 
in the wrong hands, they can be a danger to themselves and their 
handlers.

"I fear for the people that have the little monkey because they don't 
know what they're getting themselves into," Harrison said.

"I'm just hoping that we'll find her, that's why I keep saying, 
'We'll find her, we'll find her,'" Howard said.

The family is offering a $1,000 reward, Melser reported.

 Call: If you have information regarding this case, call Anne Arundel 
County police by dialing (410) 222-8610.