Released: Thurs.12-Jan-2006
Contact information: campbell@arkansas.net
Hot Springs Village, AR — Helping Hands capuchin monkey, Ziggy Campbell, has been placed!
Megan T. Keppeler, Director of Placements for Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled—
a nonprofit organization—today announced that Ziggy Campbell, foster monkey of Andrea and
Michael Campbell has a new, permanent home.
Ziggy is now helper and companion for John (last name withheld for privacy), a 38-year old man and
resident of Massachusetts who suffers from an adult on-set disease that is both debilitating and painful,
rendering him homebound. Capuchin monkeys like Ziggy are raised with foster families until they are
old enough to be trained as free, live-in companions and helpmates for quadriplegics, people who cannot
use their arms or legs. John is actually not wheelchair bound, but his disability makes life very difficult
because of the pain he endures every day. Ziggy will perform certain tasks to lighten his load and act as
a loving companion as John lives alone.
Keppeler says, “When I visit John to see how the bonding is coming along, Ziggy jumps to John’s side
as if to say, ‘Here’s John, he’s my man!’ They are very happy together, it’s working out great.”
Ziggy was monkey daughter to Andrea Campbell and her family, who reside in Hot Springs Village,
Arkansas. Ziggy lived with the Campbell’s for thirteen years before going to Helping Hands
headquarters in Boston, MA, for training and is the subject of a book written by Campbell entitled:
Bringing Up Ziggy: What Raising A Helping Hands Monkey Taught Me About Love, Commitment
and Sacrifice, first published by Renaissance Books in 1999, and scheduled to be republished later this year.
Campbell says that the news of Ziggy’s placement is “…bittersweet, I miss Zig terribly but I know that
she will bring joy, love and companionship to someone who sorely needs her and will love and respect her for the rest of her life. This is the best gift I could give to anyone.” Capuchins can expect a normal
life expectancy between 40-46 years, are adept at tasks, and train well for service animals.
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