By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-14 23:01:51 | Updated at 2024-11-23 13:56:44
1 week ago
An influencer is begging to be reunited with her Instagram-famous spider monkey that was confiscated after she was in a drunken car crash.
Jorgie Boy, an almost three-year-old primate, is recuperating at Funky Monkey Ranch near Burleson, Texas, with what staff said was rickets.
He weighs just 6lbs, half what a spider monkey his age should, and had tiny fractures in his bones due to the metabolic bone disease caused by poor nutrition.
Fashion influencer Brandi Botello begged authorities to give Jorgie Boy back after Dallas police found them in a car wreck on early Saturday morning.
'These past few days have been the hardest days of my life, I'm devastated. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't sit still,' she said.
'I'm so used to waking up every morning with him hugging my face we do everything together we share food, we take baths together I'm willing to keep trying my hardest to get him back home.
'It breaks my heart knowing his probably caged up when he's never been in one before he's with me 24/7.'
Botello was involved in a car crash with Jorgie Boy, who was asleep on her lap and uninjured, where the vehicle hit a curb so hard the wheels were torn off.
Jorgie Boy, an almost three-year-old primate, is recuperating at Funky Monkey Ranch near Burleson, Texas, with what staff said was Rickets
Fashion influencer Brandi Botello begged authorities to give Jorgie Boy back after Dallas police found them in a car wreck on early Saturday morning
She had blood drawn at a local hospital and faced being charged with a DUI, but claimed it was a 'very drunk' young man who was behind the wheel and she moved to the driver's seat moments before police arrived.
Botello admitted she was drunk and passed out in the passenger seat and shouldn't have put herself or Jorgie Boy in that situation, but called it 'one mistake'.
Dallas police gave the monkey to the City of Irving, where Botello lives, which transferred him to the wildlife sanctuary.
Funky Monkey Ranch owner Dwan Johns said Jorgie Boy had was malnourished with a lack of Vitamin D, and elevated liver and pancreatic levels - which he blamed on eating too much fast food and soft drink.
Videos showed Botello feeding him eating eggs from Waffle House, biscuits, and she said he loved Tex Mex. Spider monkeys usually live off fruit and vegetables.
Botello disputed that she failed to take proper care of Jorgie Boy and claimed he was probably malnourished because he refused to eat when they were separated.
'He's VERY well taking care of! I'm all he knows. Jorgie Boy has his own personality he's not a regular monkey he's very well known across the US,' she wrote.
'We always do giveaways for the public such as Friendsgiving at no cost to anyone. I threw him a birthday party which over 400 people attended also at no cost.
'I've tattooed his name across my back, I have his name engraved in my bracelet, I truly love him with all my heart.'
Botello was involved in a car crash with Jorgie Boy, who was asleep on her lap and uninjured, where the vehicle hit a curb so hard the wheels were torn off
Botello has Jorgie Boy's name tattooed on her back and often naps with him
Botello said she threw Jorgie Boy a birthday party including this huge cake that was attended by 400 people
Dozens of Instagram photos and videos showed Jorgie Boy dressed in baby clothing wearing chunky jewelry, and attending Dallas Cowboys games.
The pair even dressed as Dora the Explorer and her pet monkey, Boots, for Halloween.
Botello posted about the saga on social media, spawning hundreds of 'Free Jorgie Boy' posts and raising almost $4,000 - though $3,000 was from one donor.
She asked for donations for legal fees despite her instagram showing her and Jorgie Boy wearing expensive jewellery and buying a $400 onesie.
The influencer said she was prepared to to receive training from the sanctuary on how to properly look after him and pay for the proper permits.
Monkeys are not allowed as pets in Irving so she would have to move to a county that permits exotic pets.
'After five days no sleep I finally got to take a good nap but this ugly depressing lonely feeling I have is the worst. 'My body feels so heavy,' she wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
'I'm not going to stop trying! As a mother that's what we do for our kids! I don't care how delusional I sound to anybody!
Jorgie Boy weighs just 6lbs, half what a spider money his age should, and had tiny fractures in his bones due to the metabolic bone disease caused by poor nutrition
Dozens of Instagram photos and videos showed Jorgie Boy dressed in baby clothing wearing chunky jewellery, and attending Dallas Cowboys games
The pair even dressed as Dora the Explorer and her pet monkey, Boots, for Halloween
'He means more to me than anything in the world, I'm not going to let one little mistake break me. I'm willing to change anything and everything for him.
'Being that the wrong place at the wrong time is a real thing. I owned up to it, I know I'm a good mom.'
Jorgie Boy is drinking baby formula and eating pureed baby food, receiving sun therapy twice a day, and will undergo physical therapy.
Johns said he was not yet strong enough to play with the five other monkeys and can't swing or climb well.
He told the Dallas Morning News he would not give him back to Botello.
'People think monkeys are fun and cute, and they treat them like accessories,' he said.
Botello said she got Jorgie Boy from a friend when he was two months old, born on February 14, 2022, but didn't know where he came from.
Spider monkeys are native to parts of South America but are violently taken from their parents and smuggled into the US where Instagram is driving a market for them.
