A pet monkey wearing a diaper escaped its owner Monday night inside a Spirit Halloween store, climbing poles and swinging from rafters for more than 30 minutes before being lured down with a cookie.
The incident at the location off U.S. 75 in Plano turned the costume shop into a real-life spectacle, with shoppers staring upward as the animal darted across the ceiling.
“This was animal kingdom live,” said customer Arlene Pinkston, who was browsing with her daughters, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
Her child spotted it first: “What in the world?” she asked, before realizing, “Is that a real monkey?”
Pinkston replied, “Well, it’s got a diaper on, so I guess it is real.”
Store employee Jimmy Harris said the monkey bolted after being startled by animatronic decorations.
“It was entertaining,” Harris told Fox 4. “A lot of people just stood and watched it for like 30 minutes.”
Plano police responded and observed “the monkey swinging from the rafters wearing a diaper,” according to a statement, Fox 4 reported. The owner eventually regained control of the animal by offering it a cookie.
“It had jumped down on the floor and ran past my leg, and at that point I was like, OK, I’ve had enough,” Pinkston said, Fox 4 reported.
No one was hurt, police confirmed, and the monkey was returned to its owner.
Lisa Barr, Spirit Halloween’s vice president of marketing, said in a statement: “Our team responded quickly and contacted local authorities, who arrived promptly on the scene. In a rather unexpected turn, the monkey was safely coaxed with a cookie.”
“We’re grateful to our staff and local responders for handling the situation swiftly and safely. While this is certainly not a typical day at Spirit Halloween, we’re glad it ended on a positive note,” Barr added, per Fox 4.