Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/monkey-kidnaps-puppy/

A 2-week-old puppy went on an adventure of a lifetime after being kidnapped by a wild monkey in Malaysia. Thankfully, locals were able to rescue the puppy from the monkey, and the small dog survived the ordeal.

According to the New York Post, locals in Taman Lestari Putra, Malaysia, noticed the small dog being carried through the trees by a macaque.

It’s believed the pup was taken from a stray litter of puppies in the area. While the monkey didn’t appear to be purposefully harming the puppy, at only 2-weeks-old, the small dog needed some care that the primate wasn’t able to provide – like adequate food.

One of the people who saw the macaque with the puppy was Cherry Lew Yee Lee. According to the New York Post, she shared with Newsflare that “It looked like [the monkey] was treating the puppy as a friend or its baby.” She added, “It was very strange.”

A now-viral video shows the monkey swinging around with the tiny puppy. The little dog didn’t seem to be in immediate danger since the monkey was caring for it, the pup would need some food and proper rest at some point.

Locals in the area realized they would need to get the puppy away from the monkey or the little dog would inevitably die. Their first few attempts were a failure because the monkey kept darting away from them into the treetops.

However, they were finally able to get the macaque to drop the little pup by throwing rocks at it. The macaque finally dropped the tiny dog into the bushes below and Cherry and a nearby group were able to retrieve it.

The little dog was named Sara. While he was hungry and looked “weary,” after his three-day adventure with the macaque, he was otherwise unharmed.

A local ended up adopting him and he’s now living his best life in the village.

Watch the video below:

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It may be unusual for a macaque to steal a puppy, it’s not uncommon for them to interact with people. In fact, the monkeys are so hands-on with the public that the government has called for mass-cullings of these sentient beings.

According to the International Primate Protection League, in 2011-2012 alone, the Malaysian government murdered 100,000 macaques as part of “Operation Zero Macaques.” They determined the animals were too much of a pest to “urban” and “sub-urban” areas, so they set out to reduce their populations.

Activists have called for the government to do catch-and-release sterilization programs or focus on relocation, as opposed to slaughter.

It’s clear macaques can be quite mischievous, though they usually mean no harm. Sometimes conflicts with them can end poorly, as in cases with human or monkey injury. Thankfully, the situation with the hostage puppy had a happy ending and even got a dog off the streets and into a loving home.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog