Ex-Veterinarian's Monkey Bites Woman at SoCal Pizzeria

A former veterinarian has surrendered her monkey to animal services officials after the capuchin bit a woman at a Southern California pizzeria over the weekend.

Officials said the victim was outside Antonious Pizza in Beaumont on Sunday afternoon when the pint-sized primate named Baby G bit her in the forearm. The 38-year-old woman was treated at the hospital.

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Riverside County Animal Services
Animal services officials in Riverside County took a Cherry Valley woman's three monkeys into custody on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014 after one of the monkeys - a capuchin - allegedly bit a woman at a pizzeria.

Baby G’s owner, Wendelin Ringel of Cherry Valley, turned the monkey over to Riverside County Animal Services and Fish & Wildlife officials Tuesday afternoon.

Officials said it was unlikely that the monkey has rabies, but they planned to quarantine it for six months to be sure.

It was unclear what provoked the attack. The incident was under investigation.

"These are wild animals and even folks that have them as pets, they can be sometimes unpredictable," said Riverside County Animal Services spokesman John Welsh. "They don't need to be outside a pizza restaurant."

Baby G's age and sex were unknown.

Officials said Ringel was also in possession of two other monkeys – a tamarin and another capuchin. They were impounded as well because Ringel couldn’t provide a permit showing that she legally owned the exotic pets, officials said.

Ryan Bourgard contributed to this report.

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