Interview with man bitten by pet monkey

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - Joseph "Babe" Hamric is on the mend from monkey bites inflicted by his own service animal: bites to his two thumbs, fingers, and his leg. But he doesn't want to hear any talk about getting rid of Noah, his pet capuchin monkey.

"I'd rather die. You know how important life is to people," said Hamric. "That's how important he is to me. I don't care if I died tomorrow. My monkey means that much to me."

Hamric paid $6,000 for the monkey and has had him since he was a day old. Hamric reached for the dog Noah was playing with when the unthinkable happened.

"I stepped on his tail and I'm 200-some pounds and he bit me on the leg. My mistake was to grab him by the head...It scared him. That's when he bit me.

He says he doesn't blame Noah.

"It's my fault," he said. "It wasn't the monkey's fault. He had no intention of biting me cause we were outside playing with his little fire trucks. I got three fire trucks in the yard he plays with."

Hamric, a Vietnam vet, says he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and Noah was trained to warn him before he gets anxiety attacks.

"He's a very good monkey," Hamric said. "I love him to death. He'll do anything for me."