SAGA OF SARAH SWEET SARAH, ANNA CLAIRE &

KATIE SCARLETT CAMERON

 

Sarah, my sweet non-human primate little girl,

How could I know you would put my life into such a whirl?

You were my first born monkey child,

So sweet and well-behaved we couldn’t imagine you acting wild.

Things went well for quite a long time,

Until you became three and developed a strong mind.

Even before reaching the age of three,

You threw fits until you conformed us into what you wanted us to be.

We wore you on our bodies instead of placing you in a cage,

Because if we didn’t, you went into a terrible rage.

 

It soon became apparent a second monkey would have to be gotten,

To keep you from becoming entirely spoiled rotten.

We were able to adopt your full sister, Anna Claire,

And you were so grateful that she was there.

You carried her on your back until her feet drug the floor,

And she became too heavy for you to carry anymore.

We created you tunnels and a large cage space to play,

Which totally freed us for most of the day,

To continue with life as it had been before,

Our Sarah Sweet Sarah came through the door.

 

We had Christmas and Easter, Birthday Parties and more,

Horse Shows and Fairs, and presents galore,

Until as I said, you became three,

 and decided you wanted to be head monkey instead of me.

I got into the cage to tell you “Good Night”,

And with no warning at all, Sarah, you started a fight.

You locked yourself onto my arm and shredded both hands,

I was trying to throw you off, which you didn’t understand.

You were more determined than ever to win the fight,

And your way to accomplish that was to rip, tear, and bite.

I was able to shake free and get out of the cage,

While you were still screaming and shaking with rage.

As mad as you were, in your eyes even yet,

I could see the confusion and fear and total regret.

Yet your wildness overtook your sweet monkey will,

 

And forced you to be Alpha if it meant maim and kill.

I couldn’t hold it against you, because I love you so,

And I knew that this was the only way spirits of the wild know,

To establish their dominance in the life we force them to live,

And sometimes their wildness overtakes what their hearts want to give.

This is the reason monkeys should NEVER be pets,

Because ALWAYS, ALWAYS, they eventually forget,

The manners and behavior to which they’ve been forced to submit.

People get hurt, and the monkey takes the blame,

When it is the people who bought them who should be ashamed.

 

My TWO monkey girls would forever be,

An everlasting, integral part of me,

Then along came sister Katie Scarlett, and she made THREE.

She was very sick when she arrived,

And we had some doubt she would stay alive.

With loving care and patience, we pulled her through,

And soon she was able to act like her sisters do.

Then she developed cataracts and went totally blind,

She had surgery to correct this, which worked for a time.

Then one day while out to play,

I noticed her reaching for barriers in the way.

I cried and cried and then helped her in,

Realizing with deep sadness that she was blind again.

She was terribly depressed, and her weight plummeted down,

Until one day she only weighed three pounds.

Dr. Collins said, “That monkey is going to die”,

And I said, “No she is not” as I looked him in the eye.

We hand-fed her food throughout the whole day,

And soon her weight began to climb and stay.

We were so happy that we were slowly gaining ground,

And were ecstatically joyful when she reached eight pounds.

She was able to rejoin her sisters in monkey play,

And to find her way through the tunnels and in and out each day.

 

Then the day came when there was her unexpected, vicious attack,

On Sarah Sweet Sarah, and we don’t know why as we look back.

Sarah was rushed to the hospital for emergency care,

And we found her ketones were grossly elevated while she was there.

We were told her ketones were so abnormally high,

That if they didn’t come down, she would assuredly die.

 

Sarah and Anna Claire were taken to Jungle Friends for help with the ketones,

And then after stabliziation, I intended to bring them home.

However, on testing, Anna Claire’s were high too,

And it seemed that leaving them there was the best thing to do.

They were relaxed and happy and extremely stress-free,

And the only problem was that they weren’t living with me.

 

Katie Scarlett became deeply depressed again,

Desperately missing her sisters and best friends.

With much trepidition, we decided to take,

Katie Scarlett to Jungle Friends so her heart wouldn’t break.

We were terribly afraid of the transition period to come,

Because she was blind, in a strange habitat, and totally on her own.

No need to have worried our hearts about her,

She grabbed hold of the ropes as if she knew where they were.

The tunnels were easily traversed by her,

And we forgot what our concerns really all were.

It was as if she knew where everything belonged,

And she had decided that she, too, had come home.

 

I realized that my selfishness had to be put away,

Because my girls had decided where they wanted to stay.

I miss them all three almost unbearably each day,

But I see them twice weekly so they won’t be afraid I went away.

Their ketones are normal, blood sugar is down,

And they are relaxed and happy, just running around,

Being the wild things they were truly born to be,

Talking to the other monks very happily,

 

Running through their tunnels from house to cage to bigger cage,

They are relaxed and happy, with no more signs of rage.

 

So thanks to Jungle Friends, their lives have become stress-free,

To allow them to be the wild things they were meant to be.

No more baths, perfume, diapers and such,

And Sarah, Anna Claire, and Katie Scarlett all say “Thank you very much”.

“We are living like monkeys, the way we should be,

And we appreciate so much, Mom, you setting us free.

We will always love you and need you near,

But the decision has been made, we are all staying here.”

 

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