By Tavia Green, The Clarksville Leaf Chronicle
A Clarksville family have looked to Clarksville Police and the
community to assist in bringing their $3,000 pet monkey home after it
was stolen from their home in broad daylight.
On
Sept. 28, Douglas Jackson and his girlfriend, Amber Bradley, left their
Denny Road home to go to work. When Bradley returned, she found the
front door wide open, her dogs roaming the yard and their pet Marmoset
monkey, Gizzy, missing.
"I
thought (Doug) had left the door open. I called him and asked if he
forgot to shut the door, and he said, 'no' ... nobody was in here and
nothing was stolen, but someone had pried the door open with a screw
driver and took Gizzy," Bradley said.
The
cage door where the seven-year-old small monkey slept was open, and
only remnants of the french fries Gizzy ate the night before were left
in the cage.
Pry marks were found on the front door of the home, and all electronics and money left out in the open were untouched.
Police
are investigating the missing monkey case. According to a Clarksville
Police report, between 11:15 a.m. and 6:40 p.m. on Sept 28, someone
broke into Jackson's mobile home and took his Marmoset monkey.
When
Jackson left his residence to go to work, he double checked the door to
make sure it was locked. The couple had Gizzy for about six months
after Jackson's grandmother, who raised Gizzy from birth, gave him to
the couple.
"My grandmother bought it. She always wanted one, so she went and bought it," Jackson said.
Bradley
said they would put a harness on Gizzy and take him in public. People
smiled, petted and sometimes took pictures of the small monkey. At home,
Gizzy would sit in the window and squeak or cuddle with his owners.
"Gizzy
lived in the cage and slept in his hammock. He wouldn't eat bananas. He
would eat just about anything you could give him - applesauce or any
other food - besides bananas. We gave him a bath once a week. If we took
him out, we'd put on his little harness and a diaper."
Bradley said Gizzy squeaks loudly and can be heard from afar. He may not be friendly to those he does not know.
"If you don't know him, he will be mean to you and bite. I'm scared
he bit the person, and they threw him out or he's no longer living.
That's what I'm afraid of," Bradley said. "That's why I hope we can find
him alive."
Jackson and Bradley are
certain that they were targeted and know who broke in their house and
took Gizzy. A man began asking about Gizzy and trying to buy him prior
to the burglary.
"They
didn't take anything but the monkey," Jackson said. "If I saw a monkey,
money and TV, I would go for the money and TV. I wouldn't got for a
wild animal that would tear me up if I tried touch it. He was set on
getting that monkey, and he succeeded, I guess."
Jackson and Bradley said they are hoping someone will come forward with information about Gizzy's whereabouts.
"I'm
hoping that Gizzy is okay, and if somebody does have information, they
can come to us and just tell us he is okay, or someone knows where he's
at and we can bring him back home. We just miss him," Bradley said. "We
have all his little diapers and his vest. I'm waiting to bring him home
and give him a bath."