OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – The employee of a Home Depot in Okeechobee, Florida was bitten and scratched Monday after a customer's pet spider monkey got loose in the parking lot, police say.
"Only in Okeechobee, Florida," the employee, Marilyn Howard, told WPTV.
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Howard said she was in the break area outside the store when coworkers began yelling about a monkey in the parking lot. Howard thought it was a joke until she saw the monkey approaching her with its leash on.
"I reached down and she reached up and grabbed my hand, so gentle and so cute," Howard told WPTV.
Howard told police that when she grabbed the leash, the monkey climbed onto her back and bit her twice, but she was able to get the monkey off and walk it to the entrance of the store to find its owner.
Howard said the monkey became startled by the sliding glass door and bit her on the arm and hand. She said she also received scratches on her face.
The monkey's owner, Tina Ballard, told police she had left the monkey in her truck, but it managed to get out somehow.
Howard refused treatment, but told police she would go to the hospital for an evaluation. No charges have been filed.
Watch WPTV's report below: