Customer’s pet spider monkey bites employee at Ohio car dealership

An employee at an Ohio car dealership was allegedly bitten by a customer’s pet spider monkey on Monday.

Jack Bialer of Pat O’Brien Chevrolet in Vermilion was removing the plates from a customer’s vehicle when he encountered the white-bellied spider monkey, Brody.

Bialer allegedly asked to pet Brody and got the go-ahead. After smelling his hand, Brody bit Bialer’s right thumb and drew blood.

According to the monkey’s owner, Jacob Ruehlman, Brody had received a rabies vaccination from the veterinarian. After discovering that Ruehlman did not have an exotic animals permit, police ordered him to bring the monkey for a 72-hour quarantine at a secure facility in Columbus.

There may have been a reason that Ruehlman chose not to register Brody.

According to a report, Ruehlman, 20, was previously charged with stealing apes near Ft. Myers, Fla. Court records indicate that Ruehlman and his twin brother were arrested with two stolen gibbons in Lee County, Florida on Sept. 19. Misdemeanor charges in the case are still pending.

Bialer drove himself to the hospital for treatment after being bitten.

[The News-Herald] [ABC 5]