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Care home residents go bananas over monkey visit

Kimberley Piper & Danny Fullbrook
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Kimberley Piper/BBC Ruth Cox has long silver hair tied up in a ponytail and is holding a squirrel monkey which is looking at the camera. She is sat in a chat and wearing a pink cardigan and green polo shirt.Kimberley Piper/BBC
Ruth Cox said she had been looking forward to the visit and would tell her grandchildren about it

Residents in a care home were delighted and emotional after a couple of squirrel monkeys swung by for a visit.

Amazing Animals - a zoo specialising in exotic animal training - brought the playful primates to Caddington Grove Care Home in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, on Tuesday.

"I never dreamt I'd have that happen to me. He's so beautiful," said Ruth Cox, 83, who got tearful after holding Antonio.

"To be so close to a little animal like that is lovely."

Kimberley Piper/BBC An elderly care home resident is sat on a bed and looking at the two handlers from Amazing Animals. Both the handlers each have a monkey on their shoulder.Kimberley Piper/BBC
Handler Barbara Marquez (centre right) introduced Antonio and Gracie to the residents

Handler Barbara Marquez said the pair - Antonio and one of his girlfriends Gracie - found visits like the one in Caddington stimulating.

"They love it," she said.

"They get out and about and get to travel. They get to meet different people and see different places. It's not the same thing day to day.

"We monitor and make sure they're comfortable... the animals' welfare always comes first above anyone else."

Kimberley Piper/BBC Ruth is sat on the right of the image and is one of four residents in the photo. They are all looking at a handler who is kneeling in front of them and holding a squirrel monkey.Kimberley Piper/BBC
The same care home was visited by penguins in October

There were about 20 residents waiting to greet their new furry friends.

Sally Leighton, 85, said she was "lucky" to be one of the first people the monkeys met and described how the pair "jumped on my shoulder."

"It is a buzz. It brings you into the outside world."

Emma Burns, home manager at Caddington Grove, said they arranged the event after seeing how much residents enjoyed a penguin visit from Amazing Animals in October.

She said the appreciative comments from residents "meant a lot" to her.

Amazing Animals was founded in 1977 and has specialised in training exotic creatures for the audio-visual industry.

The company operates Heythrop Zoological Gardens, near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire.

Monkeys make ‘emotional’ visit to Bedfordshire

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