Texas cafe owner forced to quarantine monkey after child bitten at store

Friday, September 18, 2015

Business owner forced to quarantine monkey after child gets bit

Robert Williams said now his other monkeys are not allowed to come into contact with the public, something he said will cripple his business.

LEAGUE CITY, TX -- A monkey is in quarantine after biting a 4-year-old boy during a show-and-tell outside a popcorn and cafe business.

The incident happened on September 5 at the Ms. Monkey's Emporium cafe on FM 2094 in League City, Texas. Customers are able to interact with monkeys after making a purchase at the store.

The owner of the business is licensed to have three monkeys - Sasha, Darwin and Cody. On September 5, owner Robert Williams said he was in the middle of the last show-and-tell of the day when the 4-year-old boy came from behind him.

"As I bent over, I didn't know the kid was behind me, but the photos I have show it, and the kid pulled on Cody, and Cody wanted to be released, so he clamped down on the kid," said Williams.

ABC13 reached out to the boy's mother Kelly Haas. Haas, an attorney, said her son did not reach for the monkey and was actually holding her hand when the monkey jumped off the owner and darted for her son. Haas said the monkey's bite broke skin and left her son bruised. Williams denies his monkey bit hard enough to draw blood from the boy.

"We are very stern about the rules," said Williams. "These animals have had all the vaccinations. They get the same vaccinations that children get."

Haas said she took her son to a pediatrician who requested shot records for the monkey. Williams said he handed over the monkey's records. The boy seemed to be OK. Haas said contrary to what is being reported by other media, she did not report the incident to animal control. Haas said her son's pediatrician made the report.

"She knows that the monkeys don't have any disease and her child didn't catch any disease from them, so I don't know what she's hoping to accomplish," said Williams.

League City animal control temporarily suspended Williams' license and ordered Cody to be quarantined for 21 days. Williams said his other two monkeys, Sasha and Darwin, are not allowed to come into contact with the public, something he said will cripple his business.