Story Archive

Primal Urges

The Zany Zoo Pet Store in Eugene, Ore., reported two burglaries, five days apart. In addition to a laptop computer, money from the till, and money the store was collecting for the Girl Scouts, one other thing was taken: Gooey, a galago. Total haul: $9,500 worth of cash and goods. A short time later, there was a break in the case. Police recovered the $2,500 primate, also known as a “bush baby” because it’s so small (2-1/2 to 11 oz — 71–312g), from a prostitute who said it was given to her as a tip. “It’s my first time ever recovering a monkey from a prostitute,” said Eugene Police detective Rick Lowe. The woman says she was paid with the money from the store, and her customer was identified as Nathan McClain; his wife, Abbie, owns the pet store. The hooker was not charged, but police note McClain was arrested twice: first, for driving under the influence of meth as he left an “adult” store that shares a parking lot with the Oregon State Police, and then again, for patronizing a prostitute. (RC/KPTV Portland, Portland Oregonian) ...And he still has a monkey on his back.