Friday, March 18, 2022

Tyler After 10

 

I've been doing this a long time, a very long time, and this was a new one on me.

I started March 19, ten years ago, doing a story on utility work along River Street in Wilkes-Barre.  Then, the WNEP  assignment desk called.  There was a monkey loose in Ashley.  Are you kidding me?  I thought it was a joke.

Photographer Steve and I traveled to Ashley and found out it was very, very real.

That's the monkey you see above.  His name is Tyler.

The owner's son took Tyler for an early morning ride on his ATV.  Tyler took off.  Police called.  He was recaptured.  Tyler is a wild animal.  Even though he was tame and friendly, his time as an Ashley resident was up.

The Game Commission came in and took Tyler away.  He was sent to a wildlife facility in the central part of the state.

Tyler's owner was upset, and I get that. Pets, even monkeys with giant teeth, are parts of the family.   Neighbors weren't happy, either.  They saw Tyler as just another of the neighborhood kids.

I love animals, but this situation frightened me.  Tyler has enormous teeth, and even though he was friendly, he still was a wild animal, and he had no place in a residential neighborhood.  It was safer for the people of Ashley, and for Tyler, if he was moved elsewhere.

The story generated tremendous interest.  People talked about it for days.  The phones lit up.

It's nice to know I will have done a story that will be talked about, long after I'm gone.