Owner: I miss my skating chimp

Pamela Horowitz just wants her skateboarding chimp back.

Horowitz made a public appeal at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting for the return of a statue of a skateboarding chimpanzee that was stolen Feb. 8 from her North Laguna property.

“This is an appeal to the good citizens of Laguna and anyone else who might hear this to be on the lookout for a statue that was stolen from my front porch, right by the front door,” Horowitz said.

She said the nearly life-sized statue might show up on EBay or Craigslist, or at art fairs.

“It probably took two fairly strong, presumably guys, to lift it onto a truck.” Horowitz said. “If it was just a prank, I would dearly love it to be returned — no questions asked. If it was stolen to be sold, I would like to apprehend the perpetrator.”

Horowitz acquired the statue in Bangkok. The artist is unknown.

She said the loss was particularly grievous because it brought joy to people passing by her home, as well as herself.

“It greeted me every time I walked in the front door,” Horowitz said.

The statue, worth $2,500, was reported stolen Feb. 11 in the 100 block of Crescent Bay Drive, according to police records.