12/15/2014
OUR UNIQUE, BELOVED RAFIKIE
For those of you that were blessed and lucky enough to meet our pet Monkey, Rafikie, the one who drank the bottle of chocolate milk at our field trips, I am sorry to say that he has left us, after being with us for a little over 20 years....This is Rafikie's Story.....We saw an ad in the newspaper, advertising a Monkey for sale....when we see these types of ads we get very concerned about the welfare of the Monkey....either the Monkey has picked up some bad habits that the new owner does not know how to handle....or they thought it would be really neat to own a Monkey, until they found out how much work they are and then they just put them in a cage and forget about them...as this was the case of Rafikie.....When we went to look at him, we found him in a home made wire cage, with not much room to turn around in, no toys, no blankets, no water, a half a crust of molded bread and setting on top of a hot water heater in a very small closet....not much of a life for such a magnificent, intelligent animal....so without hesitation, we told the owner that we would take him....We did not realize that he was unable to use his hind legs and was unable to walk....So we took him to our vet, had him checked out, was given a "crash course" in water therapy in order to strengthen Rafikie's back legs....it took several months.....a lot of bites and wearing a lot of Monkey pooh on my clothes...but it was all worth it....because Rafikie regained the use of his back legs again !!....Now he didn't quite walk like the rest of the Monkeys....you could have given him a purse and he would have...well you get the picture.....He was one of the best Monkeys that we had....he was always so quiet, unless a stray dog or cat or person came into the yard....his cage was right by a window so he could see out into the yard, and then he would give out a "Bark" to let me know that there was something not right on the farm....He was also the "Best" Massage Therapist you could ever go to....if you had a headache or migraine...Rafikie was the one to see....He would first pull your hair a little...then he would start to massage your head and groom you for hours , if you would let him....it was wonderful !!.....His favorite trick was to sneak out of his cage behind my back, while I was cleaning his toys....he would walk around the Primate Room, say hello to the other Monkeys and then "sneak" into their kitchen, get into the cupboard where I keep the bananas, take one out, close the door, and then quietly walk back to his cage, hop in and jump into his rocking chair....which was behind me, peel the banana, and start to eat it....I would turn around and he would give me this look...he would raise his eyebrows up, open his eyes wide open, make a little sound as if to say, " I don't have anything in my hands, what do you mean...where did I get this banana...what banana???".....That expression will forever stay with me when ever someone asks me about Rafikie.....We changed over 5000 diapers, made 14,000 bowls of fruits and vegetables and well over 12,000 bottles of formula for this Monkey.....But what Rafikie gave back to us, I would do double that in a heart beat....The other Monkeys miss him....The Primate Room is not the same without him.....I miss my "Little Banana Thief "....but I do know one thing for sure....had we not rescued him from that dark, dreary closet....he would not have touched the souls of as many people as he did....or made as many smiles on so many faces....or warmed our hearts and made a special place just for him....We miss you Rafikie....yet we feel that we made your life a happier one by brining you home to the Flick Petting Farm....Thank you for all the memories and the unconditional love....Your Monkey Mom....Mrs.Flick
