Texas influencer who lost monkey after drunk driving crash desperate to get the sick animal back

A spider monkey belonging to a Dallas-area influencer had a disease caused by malnutrition when police took him from his owner over the weekend, officials said.

A spider monkey belonging to a Dallas-area influencer had a disease caused by malnutrition when police took him from his owner over the weekend, officials said.

The monkey, named Jorgie Boy, was taken from his owner, Brandi Botello, on Saturday morning after Dallas police officers responded to a single-vehicle accident. The driver was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated, police said in a statement.

Police did not identify the driver in the statement. Botello told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth that she was charged with DWI but maintained that she was not driving. She said that at the time of the crash, she was intoxicated and had passed out in the passenger seat holding the nearly 3-year-old spider monkey.

Brandi Botello.NBC Dallas-Fort Worth"I didn't even know what was going on. I slept through the car accident. I didn’t even know we were in an accident," she told the station. "I wasn't driving."

She said she did move into the driver's seat after the crash.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/texas-influencer-spider-monkey-jorgie-boy-dallas-rcna180230

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