TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (FTN) – We first met Jim the Monkey a little over two years ago.
Jim and two-year-old Alex Essex met at a Build a Bear Workshop in Indianapolis.
Now, the monkey is speaking out about the struggles of being a much loved…but abused toy.
“I love having him as my kid. I really do,” Jim told us.
The monkey was named Jim to honor Alex’s late grandfather.
It’s a love hate relationship between the monkey and the toddler.
“He will call for me. He always wants me, but as soon as he has me I get thrown across the room…or sometimes he bites my nose,” Jim said.
One of those throws left Jim in a kitchen sink with water in it. 
“Luckily it was just my tail. I dried out pretty quick. But I saw my life flash before my eyes. When water and a stuffed animal meet…it can mean death,” Jim told us.
Studies show toy abuse amongst toddlers has hit a level of nearly 100 percent. Sadly, for these toys…there is nowhere to turn but the trash. 
The parents we spoke with said when a toy becomes too broken to fix, it usually ends up trashed.
That’s why Jim wants to speak out.
“We need help. We need somebody to have our backs and in my case our tails,” Jim said.
He has organized a support group for the abused toys in his house.
They meet every afternoon at nap time inside of the Little Tikes car.
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