Andrea Campbell with Ziggy, photo courtesy of Ms. Campbell and used with her permission
In Part One of my interview with Andrea Campbell, we talked about how it was she came to be a foster monkey-mom to Ziggy, a capuchin monkey. We continue our interview with Ms. Campbell dishing the dirt on what it’s really like to have a monkey in the home:
Courtney Mroch: What recommendations/advice would you give to someone who might be interested in bringing a monkey into their home?
Andrea Campbell: Do they have a couple days time to listen?
I’d say, “Don’t.” Don’t get a monkey. You will nevermore be selfish. You will always have to put the monkey’s best interests before anyone elses. You will clean cages and do mounds of wash, buy tons of diapers, and pay attention to your surroundings like a hawk. This is slave labor at its height.
If you have young children, definitely scratch it off your list.
If you like nightlife, need other love interests, or see yourself a joiner, don’t think about having a monk.
They are every, every, every minute present. This is not a dog or cat situation. They will not sleep the majority of the day and if you work outside the home, forget it. Not good.
CM: What’s your view/take on monkeys as pets? For? Against? Or do you think most monkeys would be happier in the capacity Helping Hands uses them for?
AC: As I started to say before, monkeys are not pets. That is a delusion. They look cute and awe-inspiring but so do all newborn animals. (That’s why the babies don’t get killed, generally.) But, cuteness aside, monkeys are nonhuman primates. WE are primates. That means they are high-maintenance. In the extreme. As infants, they are full-time. Feeding often, clinging to their moms. I wore Ziggy on my wrist for the first eight months of her life, my every waking minute.
They are needy, selfish, manipulative, wanting, devious, calculating and smart. They get as smart as a 3-to-5 year-old child. The terrible twos last a long time with a monkey, come at different stages of their life, and you never quite know what’s coming next. You always have to be on-top-of your game.
Plus, they don’t do well with “simple” nurturing. You have to study your species, recognize and know their instincts, and learn dominance with love. All big, hairy, complicated tasks. Their psychological well-being is tied to work, activity and stimulation, and a major concern.
Sometimes their behavior will be puzzling, draining, and downright annoying. And capuchins, for instance, live about 45 years. So, you’d better state in your will who will take care of them in case something happens to you, or they will wind up in a sanctuary, zoo, or research hell.
CM: Did you have other pets in your household at the same time you had Ziggy? If so, what kind? How did she react to them? How did they react to her?
AC: We had a Dalmatian named K-9, who was already an adult dog, and we kept her away from Ziggy early on.
Surprisingly, K-9 didn’t seem all that interested in Ziggy until later, when Zig would dangle a spaghetti strand outside the cage to get the dog to come, and we saw that she would promptly slap K-9 across the face when she got there! Just one way of the monk showing the dumb dog who’s more dominant.
I do remember Ziggy sleeping inside and curled-up against K-9’s body a couple times too —let’s just say they developed mutual respect. K-9 soon sensed that Ziggy was smarter, and faster. There should be much caution with dogs, to monitor the situation though.
CM: Do you have pets now? If so, what is (are) its (their) name(s), species, breed(s), age(s)?
AC: Ack! We are completely without monkey or pets now. That is very unusual for us as we always had dogs, or cats, or whatever combo of animals. I pine for close animal contact. But, I want my mother to have her last years to be her best so I guess it is a trade-off that makes sense.
Right now I am too frenetic trying to get my career to pay off, but I’d like to try a Weimaraner one day. (We’ve had an Irish Setter, a Dallie, and a German Shepherd mix.) And, I belong to the Simian Society (private individuals who have monkeys) and there is always a case of monkey rescue or movement and some monk who needs a good home—so one day.
In the final and concluding installment of the series, Ms. Campbell shares stories about Ziggy and all the different ways she’s impacted her life.