Linda Wicklund's pet monkey, Mindy, is a part of the family. Wicklund takes her everywhere she goes, without exception. She brings Mindy to work -- Wicklund and her husband, Terry, own Western Towing in Jefferson County -- and even to the grocery store, sometimes hiding the monkey under her shirt.
"Mindy is with me 24-7," says Wicklund. "I don't go anywhere without her."
That's because Wicklund's last monkey died when she ingested poison while a friend babysat. That was 28 years ago, and Wicklund says she won't make the same mistake again.
"It limits me to where I go," says Wicklund. "There are certain places you can take them in and out. She stays on a leash on her stomach."
The 18-month-old Java Macaque weighs five pounds and stands about two feet tall. Wicklund bought Mindy in August 2004 when she was just three months old and weighed 14 ounces.
"She's done growing up, but she'll fill out," says Wicklund.
Mindy is actually Wicklund's third monkey. Her first was a squirrel money her father gave her in fourth grade. Her second, another Java Macaque, was purchased at a pet store, when Terry's friend realized he couldn't handle the responsibility and gave it up.
This time around, Wicklund carefully researched Mindy, whose breed comes from Indonesia, before she decided to spend $3,700, including airfare, to bring the monkey to the town of Concord, just south of Oconomowoc.
"Her parents came from Florida, from a private breeder who's been breeding for 15 years," says Wicklund. "We found everything online."
Indeed, the Internet has served as a cornucopia of monkey-related information for Wicklund, who learned everything she needed to know before adopting. She spent six months researching reputable breeders -- and avoiding what she calls the Florida "monkey mills."
Mindy's price tag actually fell on the low end, says Wickand. She says they range in price from $3,000 to $6,000, depending on age and breed. And Wicklund didn't buy Mindy to breed her, as some monkey owners do.
Once Wicklund found the monkey she was looking for, she did her due diligence, researching state, county and local ordinances on primate ownership, and she suggests all potential monkey owners do the same.
Says Wicklund, "You can't bring them in from out of the country, but it's OK as long as they come with a health certificate."
"Smart people should have them completely checked out. We use three vets in the Madison teaching school. I know more about her than I know about myself," adds Wicklund.
Monkey in Milwaukee?
If you've ever wondered if you can have a pet monkey in the city of Milwaukee, the answer is no.
According to representatives from the Department of Neighborhood Services (yes, we asked a few different people just to make sure), monkeys are on the prohibited list, along with bees, swine, goats and cattle.
Actually, nowhere in Chapter 78, Section 5, Subsection C of the city ordinances are primates specifically banned, but the department was quite adamant that pet monkeys are forbidden. It's a different story if you need a service monkey or run a circus, of course.
Statewide, Wisconsin is one of 18 states that don't have specific rules for primate possession. So if you want a pet monkey, check with your local municipality to see if it's allowed.
In Jefferson County, Mindy is completely legal. She doesn't wear tags like a dog, but she is current on baby and animal vaccinations, including tetanus and rabies. The monkey is gentle, but Wicklund must take extra precautions that Mindy never bites a stranger.
"Even though she is healthy and cool, because is she exotic, if she bit someone, they would put her to sleep."
And owning a pet like Mindy the monkey is very little like owning any other domesticated animal.
"That's the mistake people make," says Wicklund. "There are lots of bad stories. People assume it's like a cat or a dog. You can't shush them because they're too intelligent. But they're not human, either. She's still a monkey, and she does monkey things, like monkey jumping or grabbing on your arm."
And Mindy did playfully bite when she was a baby, but a monkey bite isn't like a dog bite, Wicklund says.
"She went through her biting stage. It's like a pinch, and it leaves a bruise. Now she slaps and pinches."
"But she will grow out of that, too. As she gets older, she is getting more independent," adds Wicklund.
Quality of Life Versus Quantity of Life
Of course, not everyone thinks monkeys should be house pets, and Wicklund has heard criticism that Mindy belongs in the wild or in the zoo.
"Her life span in the wild is four to six years. It's 40 to 60 years with us. Some day, Mindy will die, but it will be from a disease. But in the wild, she's at the bottom at food chain," she says.
And though Wicklund admits that Mindy doesn't have any monkey playmates at home, she's adamant that the family doesn't deny her anything, including grooming.
But can a monkey have a good life indoors?
"I think so, I really do," says Wicklund. "I don't think she's wanting for anything. She does have a cage, but she sleeps in the bed. At home, she has full reign."
Still, owning a pet monkey is a lot of work. Vet care is extremely complicated and expensive.
"A lot of vets aren't into that," says Wicklund. "Anybody who gets a monkey should educate themselves prior to getting one. Dogs and cats are extremely simple compared to them. They're also not human."
But Mindy does eat human food, along with a bottle in the morning and at night. Wicklund says her favorite meat is pork, but she likes chicken, too. And, of course, she eats bugs.
"We watch the plants and flowers, and she takes children's vitamins. Right now, she doesn't like Monkey Chow."
Also, Wicklund doesn't have any other friends with monkeys, so in some respects, she's on her own. She says she knows of another monkey in Brookfield, but she's never met it. And if anything ever happened to Mindy, she's not sure if she'd buy another monkey.
"It took me 28 years to replace the last one, so I really don't know."
So for now, Mindy is growing up as a full-fledged member of the Wicklund family. She goes to work every day with her parents, and naturally, some of Western Towing's clients are taken aback when they see a monkey in the office.
"Some customers are really freaked. They ask if it's real."
Wicklund says her family, which includes her husband and three adult boys, treats Mindy like another sibling, and admits that sometimes they forget she's a monkey. She wears baby clothes, and this summer, she will be potty trained -- Wicklund says it's a myth that you can't teach a monkey how to use the toilet.
"(They remember she's a monkey) when she will steal a pen and make it junk, or take someone's glasses and make it junk."
"It's a lot of work," admits Wicklund. "But I love her to death."
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
