By Katherine Shaver
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 7, 2007

Elyse Gazewitz continued her fight last night to free her monkey, Armani, from the custody of Montgomery County authorities, arguing that she was not allowed to find her pet a temporary home before he was deemed illegal and seized.

In a 45-minute hearing before the county's Animal Matters Hearing Board, Gazewitz's lawyer argued that she deserved 10 days under county law to move Armani out of state before animal control officers took him from her Rockville home last month. Rockville lawyer Anne Benaroya also argued that capuchin monkeys like Armani are easily tamed and should not be considered a "wild animal" under county law.

Gazewitz, 42, did not speak at the hearing but broke into tears afterward, saying, "I want Armani to come home." The monkey, whom she calls her baby and "little boy," is being kept at a Frederick County zoo while the appeal is pending.

William Snoddy, an associate county attorney representing the police department's Division of Animal Control and Humane Treatment, told the board that a 10-day notice was not required. That part of the law, he said, pertains only to animals declared to be dangerous. Armani could be seized immediately because pet monkeys are prohibited under county and state laws, he said.

He said Gazewitz did not meet her legal burden of proving that the decision to seize Armani was "arbitrary, capricious or illegal." The wild-animal laws, he said, are designed to protect the public's health and the welfare of animals that should not be kept as pets.

Board Chairman J.C. Crist, who represents the Montgomery County Humane Society, said the panel usually takes six weeks to issue decisions but will expedite this one. The five-member volunteer panel is appointed by the county executive and includes a veterinarian or veterinary technician, a Humane Society representative and three members of the public.

The case has drawn national attention, from radio talk shows to Internet blogs, and sparked debate over whether Armani is a victim of overzealous authorities who unfairly seized him from a loving home or a wild animal who had no business living in a Rockville neighborhood.

Gazewitz said she had made preparations this week for a homecoming, stocking up on Armani's favorite bananas and apples. She has left his room -- she built a $4,000 addition onto her home just for him, she said -- untouched since he was seized. Waiting for him are a little hammock, tire swings and infant toys. She also has his Huggies diapers (with holes cut out for his tail), his Osh Kosh B'Gosh outfits and baby bottles ready to go.

"I have his little Tigger on my bed, and I have the little baby blanket that he loves," Gazewitz said.

Benaroya said she argued a legal point rather than the facts of the case because she wanted to lay the groundwork for an appeal. She said Gazewitz plans to appeal the case to Circuit Court. Benaroya said she expects to lose at the county board level because of "confusion" about how the state and county laws jibe.

Determining Armani's fate, she said, would be a test case for the issue of which species should be legal to own in private homes.

Animal control officers seized the four-pound, 18-inch capuchin monkey from Gazewitz's home on Cherry Valley Drive on May 16 after receiving a complaint that he was malnourished, police said. The officers found him in good health but determined that he was illegal, Snoddy said.

Gazewitz was cited with six civil violations, amounting to $1,800 in fines, for having Armani and for allegedly failing to prove that she had licensed and properly vaccinated her two dogs. She said she was handcuffed and held at the Wheaton police station for an hour before being released.

She must continue to pay a monthly fee of $1,344 to house Armani at the Thurmont zoo while her appeal is pending.

Gazewitz, who works as a pet groomer, said she has paperwork to prove she owned Armani before the May 31, 2006, deadline in the state law. Wild animals owned before that date were grandfathered in when the law took effect in October.

Gazewitz said she bought Armani from a Florida breeder for $6,500 shortly after his birth May 9, 2006. Snoddy said county officials have paperwork showing that the monkey was shipped to Gazewitz from Louisiana in February.

Regardless of the legal decisions made about Armani's fate, county officials said, he will not be euthanized. If Gazewitz loses her fight, Snoddy said, Armani will be placed in an animal sanctuary "where a monkey can live as a monkey."