No more 'Monkey Mondays.'
A pet monkey is no longer welcome at a Florida chain restaurant after it reportedly bit an 8-year-old boy.
The owners of two Capuchin monkeys frequently brought their pets to the patio of a Carrabba's in Stuart, even leading staff to call their weekly appearances "Monkey Mondays," according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report obtained by the Miami Herald.
This past July 16 turned out to be the last Monkey Monday after authorities say a 9-month-old Capuchin named JoJo bit a little boy's finger.
The report states that JoJo's owners told the boy's father that she could interact with the monkey but to be careful because the animal was being "hyper."
At first, the monkey seemed to to behave itself and even reciprocate by caressing him back.
However, a waitress reportedly told the FWC that the boy became frightened when the monkey touched him. When he tried to withdraw his hand, the monkey bit his finger.
The boy's parents took him to the emergency room, where the finger was cleaned up and he was sent on his way.
Investigators subsequently went to JoJo's owners' home, where they found proper conditions for all five of the couple's monkeys.
However, they were issued citations for the bite, as well as for keeping a monkey that was not vaccinated for rabies.
So why were monkeys allowed on the patio to begin with? Per a statement from Carrabba's, they shouldn't have been.
"The decision to allow a non-service animal on our patio violated policy and we are taking the appropriate disciplinary action," the chain said in a statement. "We hate that this happened and expressed that to the family involved while reinforcing our policy to all locations so we ensure that we learn from this incident."
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