Police sergeant says spider monkey bit him; quarantine becomes challenging for owners
By Marvin Hurst
Click here for updates on this story
PELICAN BAY, Texas (KTVT) — A Pelican Bay woman, who told CBS News Texas that she is known by many as the “monkey woman,” is willing to relinquish her furry companion, Abu. Carmen, whose first name we’re using for now, faces no criminal charges.
She was under investigation for owning a spider monkey, as keeping the animal in the municipality is against the city’s ordinance. Prior to securing an attorney, Carmen said she was unaware of the local law, and public safety members took pictures with the animal.
Police sergeant asks “monkey woman” for a picture “I was coming back to the police department here, and I saw the owner walking, and she had the monkey on top of her shoulder,” Sgt. Justin Spurgeon.
Spurgeon said he stopped Carmen for a picture. The images served two purposes: for his daughter and as a record of the animal in the city limits. The sergeant said as he prepared to take the picture, what happened next shocked him.
“I was probably maybe five feet away from her, taking a photo, and the monkey kind of lunged from her,” Spurgeon said. “Grabbed my arm, my left arm, and bit me on the elbow.”
The father of two said he asked Carmen if the animal drew blood. He said he did not see any until he got back to the office. Then, Spurgeon said he did research that frightened him about the possibilities that bit could bring.
“We’d like to avoid that just by not allowing it back in our city,” he said. “It shouldn’t have been here in the first place. But yeah, we don’t need that.”
As he sought medical attention, the authorities went to get the spider monkey. Police said it’s the same process for a dog that bites a person.
Abu’s owner alleges spider monkey is being kept in a bird cage
Abu was voluntarily surrendered by his owners and sent to a facility in Johnson County.
His owner alleges he’s being kept in a bird’s cage.
Her comments are now being answered by her attorney, Dan Wyde. He helped a Dallas woman regain custody of her spider monkey, Jorgie Boy, after she was arrested for a DWI offense. He was being kept at the Funky Monkey Ranch in Burleson until Wyde got involved.
Now, the owner of Abu wants her spider to go to the Funky Monkey Ranch. So, they are working in concert on the matter.
Owner requests spider monkey be transferred to Funky Monkey Ranch
In a statement, Wyde said, “Abu’s owners only want the current caretaking facility be “primate” certified. If not, the owners request Abu be transferred to the Funky Monkey Ranch Primate Preserve. Thank you for your concern.”
Pelican Bay Police Chief Brad Anderson said they have been working with Wyde to resolve the issue. He has no intentions of euthanizing the animal, although the wording of their ordinance states they can in certain instances.
Anderson said the matter will be handled in a hearing next week.
“The judge can make a decision on if the animal goes with her, if the animal goes with some other organization, that’s completely up to him,” Anderson said.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.



