Pat arrived at Jungle Friends on January 27, 2008 from Plano I.S.D’s Outdoor Learning Center in Plano, Texas. Pat had been placed there in 1996, when the City of Dallas Animal Services Department received a call that a spider monkey had been discovered sitting on a fence in the freezing cold. Pat’s fingers, toes and tail all had severe frostbite. Pat would sit in the corner and bang herself in the head with her back foot. All but one of the veterinarians consulted wanted to euthanize Pat! Fortunately, that one felt that Pat deserved a chance to live and recover. All of her toes, all but one finger on her left hand, and the tip of her tail had to be amputated.

Pat adapted very well to her loss. Three days after her surgery she was bouncing around and hanging from her tail. She finally began to eat, and after about a week Pat’s psychological well-being was much improved.

While Pat was in Plano she was used to help educate children on environmental issues. The staff at the Outdoor Learning Center loved Pat, and did their best to give her a pleasant temporary home within their limited space, but they knew Pat needed much more. They wanted Pat to have more room and the companionship of other monkeys. Eventually their inquiries led them to Jungle Friends. They began a fundraising campaign for Pat’s new habitats and ongoing care.

Kim, a volunteer at the Outdoor Learning Center, drove Pat to Jungle Friends and stayed at the sanctuary for a few days to help with her transition to her new home. Pat settled right in and quickly realized this was the place for her. She is situated near our other 7 spider monkeys, who welcomed Pat with their reassuring calls. Pat is having a great time climbing the trees and eating the plants in her outdoor habitat. She has negotiated the runways and beds down in her indoor enclosure wrapped in her blankets at night. We plan to socialize Pat with Travis, our elderly, toothless, spider monkey, just as soon as Pat is more accustomed to her new surroundings. It may take little while to overcome Travis’s shyness, but we think that spider monkey romance is in the air!