Monkey on house arrest after biting man

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MERRITT ISLAND, Fla., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Mookie the Monkey is on house arrest after police said the 19-year-old domesticated Capuchin bit a Florida man on the shin.

Mookie's owner, Brad Berman of Merritt Island, Fla., said the pair were out on the town Saturday when a man and woman who were about to go surfing spotted Mookie and asked if they could pet him. Berman gave permission, but a car pulled into the parking lot, apparently startling the animal, prompting him to bite the man in the shin, breaking the skin, Florida Today reported.

Brevard County Animal Control Capt. Bob Brown said the monkey has been placed on house arrest to ensure it does not have rabies. Brown told Florida Today the animal is at low risk for rabies and keeping him in captivity and away from other animals is mostly a precaution.

Berman said he felt bad Mookie, who has never bitten anyone before, will be stuck in his cage for a month.

"For 20 years I've been taking him out almost every day," Berman said. "To keep him in his cage would be like prison. Which I guess is where he'll be for the next 30 days."