Silly, but is a trained monkey good help?

Question

Three of my four best friends have been injured within the past few weeks. One is in a wheelchair for a couple weeks because he was injured in Iraq, one, my twin brother, lost three fingers and has trouble with too many things, and the third friend attempted suicide recently and is extremely weak right now, but at home. My other friend and I have been trying to help all of them, but it's too difficult for the two of us. We were brainstorming ideas, and she jokingly suggested getting a helper monkey. We realized it was the smartest option we could come up with. Should we get a helper monkey? We all spend a lot of time together, so I think it will understand to help all three of them. I also know a guy linked to helper monkeys..... We wouldn't treat it like a pet.

Answer 1

In theory it sound like a fun and brilliant idea, however, in practice there might be some problems with getting a trained monkey:

The monkey requires a huge commitment. If you don't treat the monkey right and meet it's needs, it might think biting you is a good idea. This can be very bad as monkeys can move much faster than people and have a jaw that's as strong as ours. They don't take well to being left at home alone all day. They need a structured enviroment because It's like enlisting a (forever) 5 year old child to help you. They can easily live for 15-20 years. They will live much, much longer than most of the people you have mentioned will be disabled for.

The friend who is back from Iraq should just wait until he heals. That's what most people do.

The same thing goes with the friend who tried to commit suicide, though if they can take care of it, a service dog might be helpful to them. (It's less of a commitment than a monkey, doesn't require as many lifestyle alterations to accomodate, and it can offer conpansionship and therapeutic benefits as well as be trained to do things like call 911 if your friend decides to attempt suicide again.)

As for your brother, prostetic fingers might be a better solution than a monkey. They're good not only for appearance but they can help him grip things better too. Health insurance, workers comp (if he was injured on the job) or chairty organizations (if you're really down and out) pay or help pay for it. Alternately, he could consider taking out a loan to cover the cost. Also with time to adjust your brother will most likely be able to remaster doing many tasks without all his fingers.

Also, if you're getting a monkey for free from an organization that trains them, know that these monkeys are very expensive to train and there is probably a limited amount of funds availiable and that there are people out there with perminent paralasis and other more serious conditions who probably need it more. Just a thought.

Answer 2

YES! I would for sure. I've been around monkeys like those trained and they are extremely helpful and fun!  You would be amazed at some of the stuff these lil' guys can do. Some can play video games and go and fetch you a beer. It's really cool. Extremely intelligent animals that are great companions also. I would def. look into it if you have the means. Good luck!