#steiff monkey

First a bit of history: Yes No Monkey is actually the style of monkey this patient is. He has a metal rod from his tail to his head, which allows his person to shake his head no without touching his head. His body is stuffed very densely with straw/sawdust, and has a mohair body with felt face, hands, feet, and ears. They also have internal skeletons to allow their arms and legs to rotate and be shaped a touch. There were several manufacturers of this style back in the middle of the last century, including Steiff. You can google Yes No Monkey and see all different ones, including some dressed like bellhops, as well as antique auction entries.

This particular monkey belongs to a lady in Texas.

As you can see from his diagnosis photos, he had lost his hands, feet, and one ear, and had damage to the felt on his muzzle, as well as a hole in his tail where the steel of his rod had poked through. He also had a small forehead wound. But for the most part, his darker area, stuffing, and internal skeleton were in good shape.

It took a bit before he came to the hospital (his person was attending her 50th high school graduation reunion!), but he eventually made it out to California. I've treated a few similar patients, so matching his felt was actually fairly straightforward. Given his special stuffing, he wasn't going to have a spa.

Here he is, all better:

His person wrote:

Oh Beth, he looks wonderful! I can't believe how good he looks. The photos made me teary eyed.