By Brian Burnes
The Kansas City Star
LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Mo. — A capuchin monkey that fled his owner’s home and spent several days in the northwest Missouri wild had had enough by Tuesday.
When Livingston County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Mueller called him by name — Harley — the 6-year-old monkey jumped right in his truck.
“I had been worried sick about him,” said Mueller, a friend of the monkey’s owner.
The friend, who owns several monkeys, reported Harley missing over the weekend. Harley had bolted from his home through a briefly opened door.
On Tuesday, a caller told the sheriff’s office he thought he had seen the monkey on a county road northwest of Chillicothe, the county seat.
Mueller drove out, saw Harley and stopped his truck.
“I started talking to him by name,” Mueller said. “Then I just opened the door to my truck and asked if he wanted to go for a ride and he came right in.”
It’s possible that Harley recognized Mueller, who had held him several times in the past.
“More than anything, I think he was just really hungry,” Mueller said. “He tried to eat everything on my floor mats.”
Harley and his fellow monkeys all are registered, as required by state exotic animal laws, Mueller said.
Copyright 2015 The Kansas City Star