Washington Primate Sanctuary Began With Just One Pet Monkey

Polly Schultz loves to cuddle Baby George.

When he recently underwent surgery, she spent hours snuggling with him on the couch.

There are a few things, however, Schultz can't share with George. She can't eat food in front of him. Neither can any other residents of her house. That would be rude. "We don't break monkey rules," Schultz tells Paw Nation.

Baby George is not one of Schultz's' children. George is a java macaque at the OPR Coastal Primate Sanctuary in Longview, Wash.

Schultz is the founder and CEO of the refuge George shares with other macaques as well as capuchin, vervet, marmoset, tamarin and spider monkeys. Once called Oregon Primate Rescue, the sanctuary was established in 1998 in Dallas, Ore. The new name was adopted to reflect a move to the 28-acre property in Washington state.

Its mission, OPR's website states, is to "provide lifetime care in a humane and enriching environment to unwanted, orphaned or crippled monkeys that originate from private owners, ... government agencies and to those retiring from a life of research."

Since creating the nonprofit, Schultz and her husband Skip have lived with the monkeys 24 hours per day, seven days per week. They haven't had a monkey-free vacation in 13 years. Instead, they share their time together with the primates, often hanging out with the monkeys and watching reality shows on the couch. Schultz says she wouldn't have it any other way.

Schultz's passion for primates began 13 years ago by accident. An empty-nester, she was working as an animal-control officer in Polk County, Ore., when she found an ad for a monkey. After some thought, she brought the primate home. "I had always had a passion for primates," she says. The thought of other animals needing care tugged at her heart so she began accepting more.

From the beginning, Schultz was impressed by the intelligence of the monkeys and learned quickly what types of care they need. The primates, she found, required more than just an enclosure with a few toys. They need constant stimulation, including anywhere from six to 12 hours of grooming per day, plus companionship.

Monkeys at the sanctuary are quarantined before being placed in the monkey house. While in quarantine, they are vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and polio. Exposure to chickenpox is almost always fatal. A good primate vet is hard to find. "Most vets won't treat pet primates," Schultz says. That's because primates have enough human and monkey traits that they are caught halfway between species in terms of medicine, presenting a challenge to veterinarians, explains Schultz. In addition, Schultz says, many refuse to treat the animals in hopes that it would discourage prospective owners from buying them.

Keeping monkeys as pets is difficult at best and, as a result, many of these animals end up in sanctuaries. More than two dozen sanctuaries can be found in the United States and most of the time they are at full capacity, according to the International Directory of Primatology.

Tags: animal sanctuaries, AnimalSanctuaries, monkeys, OPR Coastal Primate Sanctuary, OprCoastalPrimateSanctuary, primate sanctuaries, primates, PrimateSanctuaries