Spider Monkey Found in East Ridge

A four year old boy in East Ridge makes an unusual discovery outside his window Tuesday morning.  He calls for his parents, who then call animal control for help.  Animal Control says they're used to responding to calls of stray dogs, cats, even raccoons, but they've never seen this.  In the heart of East Ridge, they found a spider monkey.

He barks and even walks along on a leash, but he's far from a dog.  He's a spider monkey found in East Ridge, Tennessee.

Tuesday animal control office Jonathan Cooper had to take care of some monkey business when he got the call from John Ross Road.  "This has got to be the strangest thing I've ever actually captured.  I was really surprised, my first thought was how am I gonna capture her because I was sure how wiley she would be."

But he says the monkey wasn't wily at all, besides going a little ape wild when he leashed him up and hauled him off.

While these officers were figuring out what to do with their new found friend, they got a call on his possible owners.

This monkey's mom says he's lived in the backyard for 25 years, doesn't normally get out, and likes to eat.  "He's a little overweight, he likes those little debbies."

Clyde's owners still aren't sure exactly how he got out, but he did walk up the street and ended up in a neighbor's yard where a four year old found him.  We asked Elijah Gutierrez "What did you see when you looked out your window?" and he replied, "a monkey, sitting on the grass."

Elijah's mother soon realized her son wasn't monkeying around, and called 911.  Lindsey Gutierrez says, "He was right here, trying to get over fence, but he was a little too old and a little too fat to do much, so he just sat here."

Sat there while animal control came to catch a first for the area.  After Cooper called agencies across the country, he found out there are no laws against keeping Clyde.  And after a long day of monkeying around, Clyde was carried to his cage.

Clyde's owners say they bought him from a flea market on Rossville Boulevard 25 years ago.  Unfortunately, they say he's getting old, and has cataracts.