(CNN) — Ask friends whether they remember the IKEA monkey, and a few may nod tentatively.
The backstory: On a chilly December day in 2012, a small monkey dressed in a faux shearling coat and diaper appeared inside the doors of a Toronto IKEA store.
The animal appeared frantic, racing around the parking lot and near the store. It created quite a stir. Photos soon appeared on social media, with memes not far behind. A parody Twitter account quickly gained thousands of followers.
The story that emerged left the monkey’s caregiver, a real-estate lawyer named Yasmin Nakhuda, in a tough spot. She had reportedly obtained the Japanese snow macaque, named Darwin, illegally when he was just over a month old.
Videos on her YouTube channel provided glimpses of the next seven months, in which she described how often he ate and how much attention he required. But after Darwin’s public escape and appearance, she was fined and forced to hand Darwin over to animal services. Animal services quickly turned him over to the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary.
Nakhuda vowed to get Darwin back and filed a lawsuit against the sanctuary. On Friday, a judge ruled against Nakhuda.
CBC News reported the judge rejected her argument that Toronto animal services staff duped her and acted illegally by seizing Darwin.
The judge also ruled that Nakhuda purchased Darwin knowing that it was illegal and lied by later saying the animal was a gift, CBC News reported.
Bronwyn Iler Page became Internet famous when she was first to tweet about Darwin: “Umm saw a monkey in the ikea parking lot,” alongside a photo of the wistful-looking monkey in his tiny coat.
She still has posted on her Twitter bio, “I saw the monkey #Ikeamonkey.” Judging from her newsfeed, Page continues to post about monkeys whenever the opportunity arises.
The sanctuary did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
