Wednesday, June 25, 2008

My Pet Monkey

I’ve mentioned this before in a tag but when I was a kid; I had a pet monkey, named Charlie. I thought Charlie deserved some retro love.

My dad brought him home when I would around five or six years old. Picture this: we lived in Brooklyn, NY and I had a pet squirrel monkey. My friends thought this was very cool. Charlie lived in a very large bird cage. We would let him out of the cage every day for exercise. One of his favorite things to do was to sleep curled up to our cat. The cat didn’t mind. They got along great.

My grandma let Charlie out one day, but forgot to check the upstairs window. You guessed it – he jumped out the window to the tree (that grew in Brooklyn) in front of our house. I soon arrived from school to find my grandma very frantic pointing at the tree. I was about ten or eleven and I started to cry out for Charlie to come down from the tree. Could you imagine this scene? I started to draw a crowd. People pulled over and parked their cars to see if they could help. They felt sorry for the little girl whose monkey was up a tree. They all called his name. Finally Charlie came down and climbed down my arm, sat on my shoulder – and the crowd cheered.

The city was doing road work in the streets. If you ever lived in NY, you would know that this stirs up the rats and mice. During this time, I heard mice in the walls and we had to set traps all over the house. I can’t begin to tell you how much this grossed me out. One morning I open my eyes and felt something fury next to my feet. Suddenly a lump formed in my throat. I started to breathe heavy. I thought a rat was under the covers in my bed. I was paralyzed with fear. I took a deep breath, counted to three, and then quickly removed the covers. I jumped out of bed to only realize it was Charlie. He had gotten out of his cage during the night and got cozy with my feet.

I have one more Charlie story. My dad was not a drinker. As a matter of fact, I rarely saw him drink. Some relatives from out of town came over for dinner. They bought over lots of wine. My dad didn’t want to be rude and let’s just say . . . he wasn’t feeling any pain. He thought that he should share a little of his wine with Charlie. He placed a few drops in his water dish. It seemed that Charlie liked wine. He liked it too much. He got a little tipsy and swung upside down from his tail, and had trouble walking around. He slept it off. Let’s just say that dad got an ear full from mom. He learned his lesson.

I loved Charlie. I miss him. He died when I was around fifteen. I cried for months. He was a part of our family.

Did you have a favorite pet?

© Nadine Z. 2008

Please note monkey pictured is not Charlie. If I find his pictures, I will update.

30 comments:

Keshi said...

awwwwwwwww wut a cutie Charlie was!

Im sorry to hear abt his death too. :(


*HUGZ* pets r so special! I believe every animal teaches us something..something that humans didnt know.


Keshi.

palmtreefanatic said...

awww, sweet story!

I had a cat actually several 1 at a time but they kept dying as we lived in the country! After much heartache, from seeing like 5 die in 1 year, mom ( who hated animals especially in the house) alowed me to keep my next one inside! I proved to her I could be a good mom and cleaned up after it and took really good care of it! I must've been around 9 or 10yrs... The cat started out as we thought a girl but soon found out it was a boy! We had changed the name from precious to Felix! I had that cat for 10 yrs. loved that cat with everything in me. He was long haired and gray! Then I moved out he came too, then I got married, he was there too then I got pregnant and DH would NO WAY touch a litter box ( he hates cats) so I had to give him away, I wanted nothing to jeapardize my pregnancy I waited so long for! So I put him in the paper and had countless calls! I loved that cat and often wondered about him! I had him trained to shake hands for treats, and he had a doll bed to sleep in and this cat was so huge 20 lbs! ahhh, how life goes on!

I always wanted a monkey since I was 4! I think it is so cool you had one! so cute!!!

Jen(n) said...

great stories... especially the one about him being up the tree and everyone calling out to him! How funny!!!

I didn't have a pet growing up. My parents, I guess, weren't really animal people.

United Studies said...

I've had a rabbit named Charlie, but definitely not a monkey. How cool! My favorite pet was a huge English rabbit we had in Scotland. It was like having a dog. He ran around the house all day, was litter-trained and even ran to the door when someone knocked or rang the doorbell.

Eileen said...

I have 2 squirrel monkeys now Joey & Sofie. They are the loves of my life. I can only imagine how you felt after so many years of having him. Love hearing other happy stories from other monkey owners.

My Joey LOVES wine, beer, and rum. My boyfriend gets an earful from me too every time I see him sneak him a bit :)

Louise said...

What a great story!
I am a little jealous, I would love to have a pet monkey ;)
I never really had pets growing up and now we have Rexy and I must say I am getting a little attached!!

Your monkey is SO cute!
Love the stories!!

Kellan said...

He was cute - cute story too!

Thanks for coming by today and leaving the well wishes for our sweet baby.

Have a good day - Kellan

Jill said...

I was wondering if that was your Charlie. I only had cats growing up - nothing as EXOTIC as a monkey!

Demara said...

Aw that is so neat! A pet monkey wow!! Don't hear of that very often. He lived a long time too.

Fav. pet? would have to be the multi-poo puppy we adopted when I was 13. He lived with us a short 3 months till he got hit by a speeding truck!

I cried a long time. Even continued calling him to come up on my bed to sleep, when he wasn't around. I was in shock BIG TIME. Still to this day I want another dog like her. My husband says when we move into a house I can get another like her! I can't wait!!!

Scarlet said...

This story is just TOO cute, as well as Charlie...sweet, adorable Charlie.

I love how he came down from the tree and sat on your shoulder, crawled into your bed at night, and drank the house wine. :)

Damselfly said...

How fun! Those are great stories. Will you ever have a monkey again?

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! A Monkey! That is awesome!

I had a dog. She was wonderful to me and i had to send her to my cousin's farm when my husband & I went to the US ... I cried for weeks. I still cry. My dog happily lives on a farm with developmentally disabled people now.

Sorry your monkey dies. It always hurts to lose a friend.

Shionge said...

So cool to have a monkey as a pet...this is definitely not allow in Singapore. We have wild monkeys at the park and were not allowed to feed them too.

This is such a unique post about Charlie Nadine and yes, it does bring back fond memories ya!

PinksandBluesGirls said...

This is such a beautiful and joyous post! I think pets are very important in a child's life... like Charlie, they teach all kinds of important lessons in love, care, tolerance, acceptance and even humor!

I had a dog named Chippy. My parents let my brothers and me pick a puppy out of a stray litter, and we picked the littlest one. I was 10 years old. Well, that puppy turned into my best friend, and he was my beloved "brother" until after I got married. I cried a river when he died. I still think of him and look at photos of him!

We also had 2 dogs for our own kids, Cracker and Carmel. They too were stray pups... brothers from the same litter. Cracker lived for 13 years, Carmel for 14 years. They were best friends with our kids... and I still mourn their loss. They became my children!

Now I have 5 granddogs. I see Jane's dogs every day! I love them as grandchildren! I have toys and food and dishes and leashes at my house! I love them so very much.

Thank you for your post... it has me all teary, but very, very happy with the wonderful memories!

Sharon - Pinks & Blues

Dawn said...

What great stories - a monkey in a tree growing in Brooklyn - perfect!

Brenda said...

How fun that had to be, Nadine! I love your story. I always thought it would be cool to have a monkey when I was growing up. I got chills just thinking about a possible rat in the bed!
Fun read! Thanks.
btw, if you couldn't see the pics on my last post, as some couldn't, I think I got it fixed!

God bless,
Brenda

Tammy said...

I just loved hearing about Charlie!
Wow...a pet monkey!
I can certainly see how he would have become a member of your family and how much you'd miss him!

I have had several kinds of pets, but mainly dogs.
And one special one named Smokey, a gray poodle that I got when I was five and had until age 20!
I'll have to post about him soon...you've inspired me! :)

KarenW said...

Aww! What a fun pet. I had some kittens and dogs growing up but none were really favorites. We found a stray kitten in Romania. A sweet gray tabby. At first, I named him Romeo. Then we changed his name to Braveheart. He had no fear in jumping into our huge dog's bowl and helping himself to her food. He also slept with the dog. Sadly, he died when he was still tiny. I blame myself. With names like Romeo and Braveheart, he didn't have a chance.

Ann(ie) said...

That is too sweet. I think a monkey for a pet would be the funnest! Or a penguin. I've always wanted a monkey or a penguin!! Charlie sounds like he was spunky and adorable...and thank the lord that was him in the bed. I would have lost me damn mind if a rat was trying to cuddle with me!!! gah.

Deb said...

Awww cute story.
When I took the girls to the zoo I seen that type of monkey they are really cute.

Susan said...

How interesting!!!
Susan

Knitting Mania said...

Oh Nadine what fun stories about Charlie. I just finished reading this post to Pat... We chuckled over the wine episode, HA!!

Charlie must of been a wonderful pet. I know how attached I get to my pets...I'm sure it was very sad to loose him.

Thanks for sharing your fond memories of Charlie the monkey!!

j said...

Charlie sounds so charming!

I had a siamese cat named Blossom who thought I was her kitten. She curled up arond my head at night when I slept. She would run into the room if I coughed. I miss her too.

Be blessed Nadine.

Jen

eph2810 said...

I love that you have shared your stories about your pet-monkey. My beloved always wants a pet-monkey...maybe I should get him one :)

Lynda Meyers said...

Not one other person I know is from Haiti, grew up in Brooklyn AND had an exotic pet when they were a kid! You're one of a kind Nadine!

Anonymous said...

Sandy who just died this january. She was my biggest fur baby. A grand guarder and good friend... wahhh i'm crying now!

Debbie said...

I love your stories of your monkey. How cool. I had several pets growing up but the one I remember the most is when my husband and I first got married. We picked up a free kitten outside of Kmart. we named her Molly. I loved Molly. At Christmas time we found her at the top of the christmas tree. She also had a stuffed pet zebra that she would carry around with her, she also had a pet stuffed lion. That zebra was never to be seen again. It was lost somewhere in our apartment. We only had a year with her because she had some rare kitty disease. We had to put her to sleep because there was no cure. I really miss that kitty. There was something about Molly.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Nadine! I loved reading these memories of Charlie! Pets really do become such wonderful and important members of the family, and their loss is heartbreaking. We are nearing the 1 year anniversary of losing our beloved dog Bismarck. I think about him every single day and miss him like crazy. I would love to see pictures of Charlie if you can ever find any!

Jane

Lala's world said...

wow now how many people ever get a pet monkey??? that is WAY cool!
I only ever had cats and dogs and birds and fish nothing exciting I am afraid!

Toby Parsons said...

Wonderful story! I had an all time favorite dauchsund, Heidi. She was my 8th birthday present. She died shortly after my 14th birthday. I loved her dearly and missed her terribly for the longest time.