It looks like Petaluma resident Kim “Skipper” Corbin may add a new title to her growing list of unusual calls.

In addition to being the founder of the whimsical Unicorn Blessing Brigade – a group of locals who dress up in inflatable unicorn costumes to spread joy and happiness around the city – Corbin founded the popular iskip.com in 1999, kicking off a “global jump rope movement” that, after 25 years, continues to inspire adults to add jump rope to their exercise routine.

To these titles and achievements, she can now add “Patron Saint of Lost Objects”.

“Found this beloved monkey on the sidewalk on G Street near 6th Street tonight,” Corbin posted Oct. 26, taking to the local Facebook page “I Love Petaluma!”

Next to those words was a photo of said monkey, a fluffy stuffed primate with an adorable smile and a crinkly look and a lot of hugs.

“I am posting his photo here,” she wrote, “with the hope that the family he belongs to will see it so they can be reunited very soon.”

Several hours later, Corbin posted the following.

“Monkey’s family didn’t come forward, so I posted a few FOUND posters on G Street this afternoon. It would be great if any of you from a local moms group could take a screenshot and share your photo there too! Let’s help Monkey get home! »

Shortly after, Dara Kaufman-LeDonne Olandt – who some might recognize as a former minister at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Petaluma – posted that the monkey appeared to belong to her daughter, who had indeed lost her beloved friend during of a walk.

“Mission accomplished!” » Corbin posted a day later. “Monkey’s human is three years old. His family saw my message and will come pick him up tomorrow!

She went so far as to add photos of the toy found with its owner, with the caption: “Reunited and it feels good!” As hundreds of people have confirmed in a large number of posted responses, it was a happy ending in every way.

Where was it? On November 1, Corbin returned to the site with the rest of the story.

“Here’s one for the ‘you can’t make this stuff up’ files,” she said. “When I went to take down the FOUND sign that I had hung near Wickersham Park, a new ‘soft toy found’ mission awaited me in the form of a turtle that someone had attached to the sign!

When she took out her phone to take a photo of the desperate amphibian, she saw an email from a local man telling her the lost monkey belonged to his daughter. He thanked her for finding it and suggested a plan to get the toy back.

“I wasn’t sure what to think, since the three-year-old I’d just reunited the monkey with an hour earlier had clearly recognized it,” she said, “so I texted to her mother to see if they could be linked to the man who had sent me an e-mail. Imagine my surprise when she replied to me a little later to tell me that my text had inspired her to. rummaging through her daughter’s toy box where she had found the real one monkey… an exact replica of the one I found!

Olandt quickly returned the monkey lookalike and Corbin planned to meet the current owner’s father at Wickersham Park.

I’m so glad I listened when something told me to take the turtle, just in case,” Corbin reported, “because when he saw it, the man said, ‘You have found his turtle too? “I clearly need to stop taking stuffed animals with us on walks.”

Corbin added: “Her 15 month old apparently has a thing for throwing them out of her stroller. »

While admitting that reuniting Monkey and Mr. Turtle with their rightful owner was a truly rewarding and positive experience, Corbin told Argus-Courier that this was technically the second and third “wayward mission” this year .

“In February, I stopped my car to rescue a beloved wet teddy bear that was lying in the middle of the road in Novato,” she said.

With the help of social media and a stack of flyers, she was able to reunite the soggy sea urchin with its 10-year-old owner, who, she discovered, owned the toy before she was born.

“So I was very excited when the universe gave me my next mission by almost literally leaving another lost object on my doorstep in the form of the monkey,” she says.

As she told the full story of the monkey’s long, strange journey back to her own home, she cited some takeaways from the experience.

First, it feels good to do good.

“My quest to find the monkey’s family has brought so much fun, joy and magic into my life at a time when I desperately needed it, with all the election angst in the air lately” , she wrote. “I’m really glad I embarked on this mission, because it feels really good to make a positive difference, especially in these crazy times we’re living through.”

In this case, Corbin felt good enough to dress up as the Lost Monkey for Halloween, even posing for a photo in a tree with the now-iconic poster and a banana, of course.

His second takeaway?

“I love Petaluma,” she said. “Not only did I meet two wonderful parents during my monkey quest, but I also spoke with several new neighbors who stopped when they saw me hanging up and taking down the signs. Thanks for all the good vibes, Petaluma! I really like this city.