If you’re a parent, you know that losing one of your kids’ stuffies is no monkey business.
As an uncle himself, Darren Hailes can empathize with the parents of one youngster who misplaced the plush primate in the Hillhurst Sunnyside area on Monday.
Hailes said he was walking in the early afternoon August 13 where 5 Avenue turns to 6 Avenue around the Hillhurst Sunnyside park and he looked down on the sidewalk to find this little stuffed monkey staring up at him.
“I looked around to see if there was anyone else nearby that might own a little monkey and there was no one else close by,” Hailes said.
The Calgary communications professional thought for a moment about leaving the stuffy there, thinking the parents of the child may trace their steps back to try to find the toy, but he decided against it.
“I figured you probably couldn’t keep track of where you lost your monkey if you haven’t done so, so I thought it would be a good idea to bring him with me and try to use social media to find his owner,” Hailes said.
So far, he’s had more than 50,000 impressions as of Tuesday afternoon, but still no luck finding the human owner. He’s got some of the city’s social media heavyweights spreading the word, but at this point he’s had no hits.
#YYC #Calgary I need your help! I just found this little guy on 5 Ave/6 Ave NW, #Sunnyside. Please help me find their human! @nenshi @DruhFarrell @DaleCalkins @BigtimeYYC @mikesbloggity @HillhurstSunny @CTVCalgary @CTVJefferson @C_DIG @CTVJoelle @CalgaryPolice @CstShaw pic.twitter.com/nHo9Tcj4hk
— Darren Hailes (@darrenhailes) August 13, 2018
In the meantime, Hailes has tried to show the little gaffer a good time while he waits to be reunited with his young owner.
“I was already emotionally attached to this little guy and it felt a little bit weird to have a little monkey at home in emotional distress while I was out enjoying my day,” he said.
“I wanted to bring him along with me for my own benefit, to have company throughout my day, but I also thought it would be really fun for the little human, when they are reunited, to know that their monkey friend has been looked after well and has had little adventures around town.”
You can follow Hailes on Twitter @darrenhailes as he posts about his time with his newfound monkey friend – until he can locate the owner.
