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https://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/11/ikea-monkey-owner-hes-my-sonBlissful said:
she sounds wacko, her 15 minutes of fame is up long time ago
Maurice Boscorelli
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tboy said:
Bosco bites down hard on lip.
The former owner and self-professed “mother” of Darwin the Ikea monkey broke down and sobbed several times as she resumed her testimony in an Oshawa courthouse Friday.
Yasmin Nakhuda is suing for custody of the monkey from Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, where Darwin was transferred after his highly publicized escape in an Ikea parking lot.
Sanctuary lawyer Kevin Toyne argued Nakhuda voluntarily signed a surrender form giving up Darwin to Toronto Animal Services because she had struggled to discipline him or find a veterinarian.
But Nakhuda, who launched the lawsuit less than a week after the monkey was seized, said she misunderstood the form and believed it was a document transferring him for disease testing and to a sanctuary.
“I would never have given Darwin up. It’s inconceivable. He’s part of us. He’s one of us,” she said, her voice shaking. “Why would I give him away?”
Nakhuda said that an animal control officer threatened her with criminal charges and told her there were health concerns related to keeping the pet. The officer said she could see him one last time if she signed, she said.
“I had to sign it,” she sobbed, adding she needed to see Darwin because he had “anxiety issues.”
Toyne has withdrawn earlier allegations that Nakhuda abused the monkey, but Friday morning attempted to detail her struggles to control the unruly Japanese macaque.
A Nov. 28 email sent by Nakhuda to a U.S. primate trainer revealed the monkey was docile around her but aggressive with her son and co-workers at times. “Taking Darwin home was the biggest mistake of my life,” she wrote.
Nakhuda compared her email to a conversation with a doctor. “You don’t talk about the good things... Only the things you want fixed,” she said.
Toyne also pointed out that Nakhuda has not visited Darwin since he was taken to the sanctuary, but she said that a primate expert had told her brief, sporadic visits would cause the monkey psychological damage.
“You have no idea how hard it is to stay away. You have no idea, Mr. Toyne,” she said, taking her face in her hands as she wept.
Toyne asked her if she needed a break before he continued: “It strikes me that you really regret signing the surrender form.”
He alleged that she regretted the decision to give up Darwin in part because she enjoyed the media attention. She fabricated the story about being “tricked” into signing the form in order to win him back, he suggested.
“You were willing to say anything, even things that were untrue, to get him back,” Toyne said.
“That's untrue, Mr. Toyne,” Nakhuda replied quietly.
The trial continues Friday with testimony from her common-law husband, Samar Katoch, and animal control officer David Behan. It will reconvene June 10 and 11.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...e_given_darwin_up_former_owner_testifies.html
