You and That Monkey Get Outta Here and Don't Come Back!

Monkey unwelcome, mall officials say
By CHANTAL ESCOTOThe (Clarksville) Leaf-Chronicle
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Dwayne Metchis and his monkey, Ricky, are looking for a new place to set up shop.
Metchis, a Dickson man who runs a part-time business of letting people take pictures with Ricky, was barred from Governor's Square Mall in May after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals complained he did not have the correct license.
Mall officials at the time said Metchis and Ricky could come back once the proper paperwork was submitted, but they later made their ban permanent.
"They went against their word when they said I could come back," Metchis said.
Officials with the mall's management company, Warner Management Co. in Youngstown, Ohio, said Metchis never should have been allowed in the mall in the first place.


Dwayne Metchis and his monkey are banned from the Governor's Square Mall in Clarksville and were turned away by another business.

"It was a glitch," said John Richley, director of operations with Warner. "Animals are typically forbidden in shopping centers throughout the country, not just ours. They cause potential risks that most property owners don't want to engage."
Metchis believes he was banned because of pressure from PETA. Richley said that wasn't the case, even though a PETA advertisement is displayed inside the mall.
"Let me make this perfectly clear. There was no pressure from PETA. The position on the side of the mall was that he did not have the right licensing. In all fairness, it wasn't supposed to happen. We learned a great lesson in this experience, and it won't happen again," Richley said.
Metchis can legally do business and wants to help people learn about monkeys, but he's finding it more difficult to work because he says he's being harassed by PETA.
"I was kicked out of another (national-chain) business because of them," Metchis said.
PETA spokeswoman Lisa Wathne said while Metchis might have the proper paperwork to exhibit an exotic animal, her organization believes it's wrong for anyone to exploit animals for commercial profit.
She also said Ricky could hurt someone, even though Metchis said the monkey's teeth were removed by a previous owner and the primate is checked by a veterinarian twice a year.
"People are putting their child in danger," Wathne said.
"The fact that this type of activity is legal doesn't make it right."
Metchis, who also works as a handyman, said he and Ricky are still invited to various events across the region and he won't let PETA stop him.
"Monkeys are a lot of work. If I can stop one person from buying a monkey because they think it's cute, then I'm doing my job," he said. "I will continue to do what I'm doing."