Monkey in Bra: Woman appears in Va. court with baby monkey cleaving to her

(CBS/AP) AMHERST, Va. - This is the story of the marmoset, and the mammaries.

A woman showed up for a hearing Thursday at a rural Virginia courthouse with a tiny monkey - clad in a pink-and-white dress - tucked in her bra.

Where would you keep your monkey?

The woman brought along the palm-sized marmoset to a proceeding in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Amherst County, Va.  Apparently, officials actually didn't notice the clinging creature until the woman went to an office to do some paperwork.

"I can't understand why the deputy didn't see her - she was peeking out," the woman told The Lynchburg News & Advance.

When the woman referred to a daughter, a puzzled official asked where the daughter was and the woman pulled the monkey out of her bra, the newspaper reported.

In an interview with the newspaper, the woman said the marmoset, named Cara, is 7 weeks old and requires constant attention.

"When you first get them, they're just like a preemie," the woman told the paper. "She's just like a baby, she's starting to teethe. I mean, caring for them is just like caring for a human."

The woman said she bought the animal on an online auction site and had its clothes specially made.

The woman's identity is being withheld for "family reasons," according to the News & Advance.

Asked who let the marmoset through the metal detector, deputies quipped: "It wasn't armed."