By Lorraine Pirillo
- [email protected]
Missybelle is a beautiful soon to be eight year old Java
Macaque who now resides in a beautiful sanctuary in Oklahoma. I had the
pleasure of Mothering her for seven years. I don't know if it was a
pleasure for her being I was so ignorant to her needs for nurturing,
even nutrition. I was misinformed about her care by the profit making
pet shop that sold her to me. Could you imagine they told me that
"monkey's don't need water they get enough in their food." Even I knew
that any living creature needs water. I should have been more concerned
when I requested the breeders name and address so I could talk to him
about her care and they refused to give it to me.
Every time I would try to write about Missybelle I would
get so upset and start crying that I couldn't do it. I thought if I
wrote about having and loving Missy and then having to give her up for
her sake it would discourage people from putting themselves and other
primates though the heartbreak of separation, and maybe put a dent in
the breeding of primates in captivity for profit. If I told my story,
some people considering purchasing a primate would have second thoughts.
When I first got Missybelle she was a helpless seven
week old infant that had been ripped from her mother's arms within days
of her birth, this I found out later with much distress and research.
She was adorable so dependent on me for everything, almost like a human
infant. As Missy grew it became more and more evident that she wasn't a
hairy little helpless human but a maturing wild primate whose needs are
very different from those of humans.
I knew that I had to do something for Missybelle, I
loved her so much, but there is only so much I could give her, because I
am a human primate and she needed the comfort and companionship of a
non-human primate. I noticed she was getting more and more depressed.
She was sleeping a lot. She was getting more aggressive. I was the only
one who could be around when she was out of the cage or she would strike
out at others. She had bitten everyone in the house and some
unsuspecting friends and family, some very serious bites that I myself
had received. I tried everything to keep her amused. I bought her
stuffed animals, toys, had custom cages made for inside and out so she
would have plenty of room. Took her outside to swim in the pool, play in
the sprinkler, but all this was still not enough. Plus she was alone
when I went to work. As she became more aggressive she had to spend more
time in her cage for fear she may hurt someone.
She needed the companionship of her own kind so she
could be and act like a monkey. So I started seeking help on the
Internet where I met Kari from Jungle Friends who told me about Linda
and Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary in Oklahoma. If you only knew what
I put Linda through when I first thought about sending Missybelle to
her. She gave up on me a few times saying I wasn't ready. I think what
she really wanted to say, but was too polite to is "Stop wasting my time
I have more important things to take care of rather than consoling you
about bringing Missy to the sanctuary." I kept grilling her about how
much property, how big are the cages, what she feeds them, how she feeds
them, if she could send me pictures. I just drove her crazy. I am so
glad she didn't completely give up on us. Every time I thought this is
it, she's had it with me, I would get back in her good graces by sending
a picture of Missybelle, and ask her to reconsider, how could she say no
to this face? Then she would forgive my ignorance and consider taking
Missy.
We drove from New York to Oklahoma straight through
thirty hours because we couldn't stop at a motel with Missybelle. Some
may allow pets, but I don't think that includes monkeys. Missy surprised
us because she was a great traveler. She gave me no trouble through the
whole trip. Linda (director of Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary) was
gracious enough to open her home to us. She let us come with Missybelle
to check everything out and see if I thought this would be a suitable
home for Missy. When I put Missybelle in the cage at the sanctuary and
she held on to me through the bars, I could have died. It felt like I
was abandoning my baby. That night we left and went to the hotel,
needless to say I did not sleep a wink. I cried the whole night. My
husband was getting worried, thinking I may be having a breakdown. By
morning my face was so swollen from crying that my eyes were just slits.
I think my husband and Linda thought I would be bringing Missy back to
New York with me.
Then the next morning when we returned to the sanctuary,
Linda had put Missy and Phoebus another Java Macaque together. She had
done it while I wasn't there because she knew I would be devastated when
Phoebus a dominant male would let Missy know he was the boss. Linda said
there was a few bites, pinches and screams, afterwards they were just
fine. Phoebus kept following Missybelle to get near her, and she was
playing hard to get. Putting her nose up in the air and walking away,
but when he would walk away from her, because she wasn't accepting his
advances, she was right behind him being a tease. I knew then this was
meant to be. I think it must be like when your child gets married and
you have to let go. Only she was still a such a baby, even though she
was 7 years old, she was still my baby. She had never been away from me
since she was 7 weeks old. I still fed her 4 bottles everyday as well as
other food. Every time I would try to stop the bottle I felt she was not
getting enough to eat, so the bottle came back. I wasn't doing her any
favors, just making her fatter and fatter and less healthy. What I
couldn't do for 7 years Linda was able to do in 2 days, wean Missy off
the bottle.
I won't say leaving Missybelle wasn't one of the most
traumatic things I have ever had to do. My heart was breaking for my
loss but I also knew it was the right thing for Missybelle, and it was a
great gain for Phoebus also. By the way, I fell in love with Phoebus
immediately. I couldn't have picked a better cage mate for Missy. He's
not only one of the handsomest monkeys I have ever seen but he had a
similar temperament as Missy. He was also a New Yorker (HAHA). When
Linda and I were talking about them one day we realized they had both
been treated by the same Vet on Long Island, small world.
Well, I was finally able to tear myself away from Missy
and started on the journey home. I cried for 2 more days and couldn't
wait to get home to run to my email to see if there was any news about
Missy. I came into the house went straight downstairs to the computer my
heart sank when I saw the empty cage next to my computer and the tears
started flowing all over again. Sure enough the news was good, and I
felt better. Not good but better.
Linda writes almost everyday, and she gives me updates
and tidbits about the monkey. The best part of this story is my return
visit. We returned to Oklahoma in November 2001, Missy had been there
since August. Then I was positive I had done the right thing. Missy had
lost some of her baby fat and was not struggling to climb due to all
that excess fat she had when I first brought her to the sanctuary. She
was spry, running and climbing, playing, teasing and being teased by
Phoebus. Even her face looked more alert and happy. When she first saw
me she did nothing until I said her name. Then she grabbed me through
the cage, held me, kissed me and would not let go. It was almost like
she was telling me I'm Okay, I'm Happy and Thank You.
I was so afraid she would have forgotten me, or worse
rejected me. Phoebus was a little jealous that she was paying so much
attention to us. So he would chase her away from us. I think he was
afraid we might take her away. I could never separate these two, they
were made for each other. Linda was so gracious, she welcomed us to stay
with her. It was wonderful. I would look out one window and there was
Missy and Phoebus playing and grooming. I would look out the other
window and we had the capuchins looking at us through the window. I
think we switched roles. They were watching us the same way we were
watching them. It was like I died and went to Monkey Heaven. Even my
husband fell in love with one of the capuchins named Cookie. He talks
about her all the time.
I hope to retire in 7 years and be able to spend more
time there and give Linda a hand. What keeps me sane is knowing how well
Linda takes care of Missy, that she keeps me informed about Missy and
all the monks, and my anticipated visits. I love to hear about all of
them, but there is always that little tidbit I wait for, like a proud
mother hearing good things about their children. You can't buy the kind
of love and care Linda gives the monks, but you can support the food,
housing
and necessary essentials. I happen to be very lucky as well as
Missybelle having found Linda was a lifesaver. Now Missy has a full life
with Phoebus and the addition of an adopted little girl Sunshine.
Two photo albums have been created of Missybelle, in the
first one you will see Missybelle in her home prior to the sanctuary.
There are photos of her loose in the house, in the backyard and in her
cage. As you can see, she was treated as a member of the family. Yet,
she was still becoming depressed.
http://pictures.care2.com/view/1/368036720
The second album is of Missybelle enjoying her life at
Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary.
http://pictures.care2.com/welcome/963449033
Thanks,
Lorraine, Proud to have been Missybelle's Mom. Even
prouder that I was able to find her companionship with her own specie.
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