Oogie the monkey has a penchant for hurling broccoli ? especially at men.
“She doesn?t like men,” says Colleen Layton, the owner of Frisky?s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary in Howard County, after a visitor ducks to avoid the flying vegetable.
Differences with the opposite sex aside, Oogie and her 30 fellow monkeys have been in the middle of controversy lately.
They?ve drawn the attention of Layton?s next-door neighbors, who say the animals violate zoning laws. But the monkeys have also attracted one of the area?s best-known attorneys, who argued the primates? case Thursday in front of Maryland?s highest court.
“You?re an advocate for monkeys here today?” Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Dale Cathell asked Albert Figinski, a member of Peter Angelos? law firm.
“If I?m here for monkeys, I?m here for monkeys,” Figinski replied.
Frisky?s, a nonprofit managed by Layton, has operated a wildlife refuge and sanctuary in Howard County since 1976 and been at its current Woodstock location since 1993. Layton and other volunteers take care of some 200 injured animals at any given time.
Two neighbors who live near the sanctuary object to its existence and have tried to shut it down because they believe the monkeys could case health concerns for people.
“These monkeys can definitely be violent,” neighbor Richard Wyckoff said in a earlier interview with The Examiner. “They carry diseases, and it?s illegal for her to have them. We?re kind of shocked the whole process has taken this long.”
The Howard County Board of Appeals ruled in 2004 that Frisky?s could remain open but had to get rid of its monkeys. That decision was upheld Oct. 2 by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Layton appealed to the state?s highest court, which heard arguments Thursday.
Fred Lauer, an attorney for Frisky?s, said the managers at Frisky?s are providing a valuable service by helping injured and wounded animals. The county?s police department often sends sick or injured animals there, and students from area high schools visit Frisky?s to learn about wildlife.
Regardless of the high court?s ruling, which could take months, Layton said she?ll never back down.
“We are a necessary facility in Howard County,” she said. “I?m never giving up.”
