A barista in Mobile needed stitches and vaccinations earlier this month after a monkey jumped through a drive-thru window, climbed up her arm and bit her, according to an article from Lagniappe Mobile.

According to the report, Mobile Police Department officers were dispatched to a Starbucks in Tillman’s Corner on Jan. 10, where they learned that a customer’s pet monkey had jumped from a vehicle into the coffee shop through the drive-thru window.

The Starbucks employee, who asked to remain unnamed, sustained bites to her hands and a laceration to her ear that required stitches, she told Lagniappe.

Another employee was able to pull the monkey off the employee that was attacked, MPD Public Information Officer Blake Brown told Lagniappe. The monkey then got back into the customer’s vehicle and the customer drove away.

“The owner of the animal could face charges,” Brown wrote in an email to Lagniappe. “This remains an active Animal Services investigation.”

The employee said the customer had two monkeys in the vehicle when she pulled up to the drive-thru window. The customer later came into the Starbucks to discuss the incident, the employee said, but did not provide her name or information.

Lagniappe identified the customer as Tammy Elaine Gardner, who declined to comment on the incident to Lagniappe.

Mobile Animal Services contacted the employee the same day, she said, and Mobile County Health Department contacted her Jan. 13. MCHD was able to provide the employee with Gardner’s name and contact information by Wednesday so she could learn about the animal’s test results.

Mobile County Health Officer Dr. Kevin Michaels told Lagniappe the monkey, which is an Aotus Monkey (“Night” or “Owl” Monkey), had a detailed health history and was evaluated by a specialist veterinarian. The monkey was determined not to have any illnesses.

According to information provided to Lagniappe by the city’s animal services department, Gardner received citations for two municipal violations: Duty to restrain animals and potentially vicious or dangerous animals under restraint. Both citations carry a $25 fine.