An amusing video has emerged showing a diaper-clad monkey running around a busy Spirit Halloween store in Plano, Texas. For about 30 minutes, the little primate dodged attempts to be captured, swinging from the rafters.
The pet monkey had managed to escape its owner on a Monday evening, reportedly startled by one of the store’s animated displays, which caught shoppers completely off guard. NBC Dallas-Fort Worth shared the details.
“This was like a live show straight from the animal kingdom,” Arlene Pinkston, who was shopping with her daughters, noted while snapping photos of the unusual scene.
Her daughter was the first to react, looking up and exclaiming, “What the hell? Is that a real monkey?” Pinkston chuckled as she recounted, “I think I convinced her it was real because, well, it was wearing a diaper.”
Jimmy Harris, a store employee, mentioned that the monkey bolted from its owner after being startled by a particularly frightening animatronic prop.
“It was quite the spectacle,” Harris said. “A lot of customers just stood around watching for about half an hour, all saying, ‘It’s a monkey!’ and some kids even tried to catch it.”
When police arrived, they observed the monkey still “hanging from the rafters in a diaper.”
Fortunately, officers reported that the monkey was unharmed during this chaotic episode. Eventually, its owner managed to coax it down with a cookie.
“Our team reacted swiftly and contacted local authorities, who arrived promptly,” Spirit Halloween spokesperson Lisa Barr explained. “In a rather unexpected twist, the monkey was calmed down with cookies. It was then given an identification tag and returned safely to its owner.”
“We’re thankful for our staff and local responders for managing the situation effectively. It’s certainly not your everyday occurrence at Spirit Halloween, but we’re relieved it had a happy ending,” Barr added.
