Ailing Monkey, Begging for Funds to Pay Bills, Mugged
A 2-year-old monkey recovering from a stroke was mugged in front of a posh Fifth Avenue department store.
The monkey, known as Mr. Mike, was with his owner, Anthony Agnello, 26, when the incident occurred Saturday outside of Saks Fifth Avenue, the New York Daily News reported today.
Agnello and Mr. Mike have been begging on Manhattan streets to help pay for $1,200 in rehabilitation therapy for the simian. Since taking to the streets, they have managed to whittle the medical bill down to $500.
Agnello said a man wielding a carving knife put the blade to Mr. Mike’s neck and demanded money. Agnello handed over $100, but the mugger ripped the monkey from the hand of a girl who was holding him and ran off with him, dropping Mr. Mike on the sidewalk a few blocks away.
Agnello, an exotic dancer from Southbury, Conn., said he and Mr. Mike are finished with New York.
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