(CNN) A Missouri woman is fighting to keep three monkeys she claims have provided her emotional support for years.

Texanne McBride-Teahan may lose possession of the animals after a neighbor in Creve Coeur, a suburb of St. Louis, spotted one monkey outside roughly a month after McBride-Teahan moved in, according to CNN affiliate KMOV

Texanne McBride-Teahan says she has had emotional support monkeys for more than 20 years to help cope with PTSD.

Monkeys are considered an "inherently dangerous animal" along with alligators, lions and pythons and are thus prohibited in residential areas, according to the City of Creve Coeur.

McBride-Teahan defended her monkeys -- a black-capped capuchin named Paula, a patas named Zoey and a bonnet macaque named Kalie Anna -- at a city council meeting September 9.

McBride-Teahan considers the monkeys emotional support animals and has a doctor's letter and registration cards for them, she told CNN through Facebook. The animals help her cope with post-traumatic stress disorder related to an incident when she was a teenager, McBride-Teahan added.

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