Meet Baxter the Monkey

A Monkey? Yes, Baxter is an Old World Ground Monkey of the Vervet family. This was a special acquisition as the result of a failed sale from a local wildlife broker to a family in DC. This poor little guy came to our veterinary hospital w/ infectious papillomatosis and had been rejected by the individual that had planned to purchase him. Baby monkeys become quickly attached to an individual when they are removed from their mothers at an early age. He had already had 2 bad situations that did not work. Baxter had stayed with us for 10 days while the handler tried to close a deal and while we treated his ‘wart’ problem. Bottom line was that he became very attached to Sally and me and so we opted to adopt him. He has been with us for 6 years and will probably be around for 25 + more years. Mark has been informed that he will inherit Baxter if he outlives us. I do not recommend monkeys as pets as they are usually very dirty, ill mannered, and will bite those they do not know and sometimes those they do know. They are best viewed form afar and in zoos. The reason we kept him was because of his very young age and the bonding that he had with Charles. The broker said that another failed relationship would also be detrimental to his health as the previous ones had taken such a toll.