I’m finally sitting down to process the day a little bit, and wanted to share some thoughts while they are fresh.
biggest surprise: Annie brachiating 17 feet up in the air, then just hanging there because she could
best scene: Jody laying on her back in the sun in a bed of straw
most impressive acrobatics: Foxie pulling her legs through her arms as she hung from the ceiling, turning upside down, while holding two troll dolls
best “awww” moment: Negra on the deck (the ledge made of donated Trex decking) “Negra style” – with a blanket over her head
proudest moment: seeing Burrito come out – he was pretty scared, but he did it. By the end of the day, he was napping in the sunshine
biggest laugh: Missy standing bipedally with a huge play face looking up at Annie as she dangled above
when it really hit me: watching Jamie try out all of the kids’ construction tools, then swing from the fire hose like a “real chimp” and thinking about her in a tiny barren cage in a windowless basement for most of her life
Thank you Diana for your thoughts and feelings. You write so well. We can feel the feelings you describe. What happy chimps are sleeping tonight dreaming dreams of fresh air, and straw and outside smells! Wonderful. Wonderful.
Diana I do not even have the words to describe how I felt reading your post……it is all so bittersweet! All day at work ( I am sure veryone at work was sick of me) that is ALL I talked about, I printed all I could and showed them to the owner of the company I work for. It is hard for me when this is all I think about and I feel like people are laughing inside, like they could care less about the chimps and what is happening to them, it takes all I have not to speak my mind ( which I usually do) but I have to accept that not all people have the compassion I do for animals, they do not feel the pain I feel when I want to cry at every form of animal cruelty and somehow I want to make a difference!
I really wish I could have been there today, I want you all to know you were all in my thoughts all day, and hope that one day in my life I will be able to witness something as breathtaking as this!!!
It is amazing how adaptable and resilient they/we/people are. With all they’ve been thru there’s so much joy still to be had in their lives. I think of all my friends whose parents or grandparents spent time in nazi concentration camps and how they have survived, and I think of the chimps in their version of hell and how they are blossoming now, it is a triumph of our collective spirit. To be involved in this work is an absolute good for all of us. What a wonderful day!!
I just got the warmest fuzzy from reading your thoughts. God bless you and everyone else who made this happen for them.
Keep up the great work!
JOB WELL DONE!!! (If letters could be bigger and louder, that simple phrase would be SCREAMING !!!)
Everyone has said all I am feeling. What a wonderful day that will be thought of by many for a long time. Hopefully we can direct our feelings into action and get other people involved. I am so awed and humbled to be a part of this group. Thank you to all who made this possible. Everyone is an angel. I can’t wait to hear how this morning went and if the 7 are at the door in anticipation.
Have a great day!
Wow, Diana! Thank you so much for these descriptions….I can picture every one!! They are so heartwarming!!! I’ve watched every news video & read every newspaper article that I could find, and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see that everything went so well! You are all THE BEST!! Love to all of you & to the Cle Elum Seven!! 🙂
Kudos on the great media coverage this has been getting! My Google alerts for “chimpanzee” and “chimpanzee sanctuary” have been filled with lots of stories!
everybody especially Audrey said everything I wanted to say
this is just so awesome to hear, thanks so much Diana
would love to hear also the thoughts of Keith, JB & Sarah – but I know how busy you all are all the time, I am grateful for the peeks
I’m so happy for them & everybody that I want to scream!
oh go ahead and scream Dee ~ it’ll feel really good! 😉 Even jump up and down and dance all around!!!
don’t sweat it ShellyC .. it doesn’t matter what they think … if you think they’re looking at you funny or laughing inside, then they’re just showing you who they REALLY are – and you know what that means
you know it ShellyK – my cats were giving me that eye & expression of “pipe down lady” (also I’ll emaikl or call soon)
Thank you so much for all of the hard work you have done to create this safe space for the Chimpanzees. Many people dream of saving animals and making a difference, but few have the raw determination it takes to get the job done.
Kudos to you. I will be encouraging everyone I know to support your efforts.
-Julie
As I went out this a.m. and I felt the mist , I wondered if today might have been the first time these beautiful animals ever felt that cool and clean feeling. If so I hope their hearts feel as full as mine does when I read about their wonderful new experiences.
Hi Jo ~ I was thinking something similar – it’s raining this morning on Whidbey Island and I was thinking about how the chimp’s will feel when they experience rain for the first time.
Julie, boy, you said it – “Many people dream of saving animals and making a difference, but few have the raw determination it takes to get the job done.” This project is certainly inspiring me to do more than I’ve done in the past. I’m so hopeful that this is part of a growing movement – which really needs alot more momentum – to support alternatives to animal testing. The pharmaceutical/drug, etc, industries will continue to test so lets band together and put the pressure required for them to put dollars and resources into simulators and alternatives. This is what I’m wanting to learn more and more about. What are the most effective means of communication in that regard?
You can sign petitions at this site to help animals:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/363754298/854176
Thank you Shelly C, will do.
I honestly believe that the best communication methods are news media and word of mouth. Obviously, PETA has done such an incredible amount of information sharing on the subject of animal testing and animal welfare, and they have been very successful in their message. But I think doing the work you are doing and offering your passion and your thoughts are more powerful than anything. The awesome local media you’ve received recently is going to do a lot to bring focus to your work and give you a mouthpiece to rally people to the cause. Thanks Ms. Campbell for the link!
Julie ~ thanks so much for your blog. So much education, awareness and outreach still to be done to “mainstream” the knowledge that alternatives to animal testing are what we must give our voices and votes to. There is a whole community of people who have been working very hard on this for a long time ~ and great strides are being made in alternative technologies ~ but as we know, there are literally millions of animals still being experimented on. Until we speak louder (media, conscious consumerism, etc) and in more numbers, it will continue. I believe that because of all of the hard work that dedicated individuals and organizations have engaged in over the past few decades, the public has become more open to learning the realities of what happens in animal experiments. As Keith indicated to me at one point, the conversation is not about “either/or” – for example experimenting either on a child with a disease or on animals. The conversation can be how do we develop ethical ways to experiment with technologies (skin grafts, simulators, etc.) which can also provide much more accurate results. This is where we need our thoughts, voices, actions, energy and dollars to go. My vote is that we band together and rise up to meet the challenge of getting mainstream America on board in demanding that money and resources shift from supporting animal research to developing alternatives. Here I am, probably preaching to the choir :-}