31 Mar 2024 Pet of the Month: Miki the monkey
By Rita Halter Thomas
Pam Cox of Cabot seems to be wrapped up in a little monkey business. In fact, most days she finds herself with a monkey on her back, literally. Miki (pronounced Mikey) is a 27-year-old black and white capuchin who entertains the young and young-at-heart as Miki the Monkey.
Miki delights audiences at a variety of events and occasions, such as birthday parties, corporate events, anniversary celebrations, holidays, carnivals, festivals and church events, and has even been in a commercial.
He performs tricks like putting money in a bank, lifting weights, doing somersaults, jumping through a hoop, putting his toys in a basket, playing basketball and giving high fives. The last couple of years, Miki made Valentine’s Day visits to hand out treats and give a few kisses. A veteran entertainer, Cox helps amuse the audience with stories that coincide with Miki’s tricks.
A native of Dallas–Fort Worth and a former professional clown, Cox loves entertaining but over the years grew tired of wearing the thick makeup required for clown gigs. A chance meeting brought her to Miki.
“I happened to be at an event as a clown one day and saw a lady who was entertaining with a monkey.” Cox immediately thought, “Oh, that’s what I want to do.
“I love animals, and monkeys are something different,” she said. The two became friends. As luck would have it, Cox’s new friend was a breeder. From her, Cox bought then-2-year-old Miki.
“He was not trained when I got him, but he was so smart. He quickly learned the things I wanted him to do,” Cox said. “A new trick might take just two or three days, repeating the activity two or three times a day. Although, I just observe him a lot for what he would do naturally, and I incorporate those natural things into the little tricks he does.”
Miki likes to put on different hats. “He has a baseball hat and an Italian hat.” When he wears the Italian hat, Cox jokes that Miki likes to make pizza. “He has a Dallas Cowboys helmet, because that’s where we’re from, but now he has a Razorback helmet to go with his collection.” Cox added the Razorback helmet when they moved to Arkansas two years ago.
Though Miki’s diet includes healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, and his daily nutritional “monkey biscuit,” he has a taste for sweets. “He loves sweets, just like a kid. His favorite is blue raspberry Dum Dum suckers. A lot of time when we’re seen in public, he will have a sucker in his mouth and a blue tongue,” Cox said.
When Miki isn’t working, he enjoys time in the house, often sitting on Cox’s lap to watch television. However, he and a few other monkeys live in their own building on the property, fondly referred to as The Monkey House. The monkeys are caged, but they have access to indoor and outdoor facilities there, so Miki can play and be a normal monkey when he isn’t working.
Most people think of capuchins as the organ grinder’s monkey, but they are exotic animals. They aren’t suitable as pets for just anyone. Cox is licensed with the USDA Animal Welfare Department, follows the Arkansas State Law for primates and complies with Arkansas Game & Fish. She is also insured. While it’s fun entertainment, Cox is responsible and doesn’t monkey around with the serious side of her monkey business.
To find contact information and learn more about Miki the Monkey, check out his Facebook page at facebook.com/mikithemonkey.
