One of the greatest talents of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees is their ability to attract amazing people into their lives.
Unfortunately, they can’t all stay with us forever. In one week, we will be saying farewell to Lisa Schuster, who has served as a part-time caregiver for over a year and as a volunteer for many years before that. In all of her time at CSNW, Lisa has worked tirelessly on behalf of the chimpanzees, from cleaning enclosures to serving meals and everything in between. But most importantly, she has been a true friend and companion to Jamie, Foxie, Jody, Missy, Annie, Burrito, and Negra. So thank you, Lisa, for all you have done for the sanctuary and for chimpanzees everywhere. We know that Jody will be anxiously awaiting your visits.
Though we are sad to see Lisa go, we are also excited to welcome CSNW’s newest team member, Keri Heniff. Keri has been a volunteer at CSNW since 2012 and has been training for the last six weeks for her new role as a part-time staff caregiver. In addition to caring for the chimps, she will be sharing her experiences right here on the blog. You can learn more about Keri here, and you can reach her by emailing [email protected].
The chimps are so fortunate to have such wonderful people in their lives!
lucky ladies, lucky chimps
Lisa, I will miss you. I very much enjoyed working all those Fridays with you. I appreciated those days when you were able to read me and know that I wanted nothing more than to just get the job done and talk later. We set some record times cleaning and doing the day to day tasks. I learned a lot from you about chimpanzees and I say “Thank you” for that. I hope this next adventure is rewarding to you and please don’t be a stranger to the ‘7″ and those of us who care for them.
Keri, you have some big shoes to fill but I have all the confidence in the world you will do that and then some. We have not worked together a lot but when we did I appreciated your dedication to the sanctuary and all who are vested in it. You have the best smile and I can see you love the “7” as much of the rest of us do and I look forward to working and playing with you in the future. Congratulations and hugs to you.
J.B. and Diana….. thank you being able to pick the best people to work with.
Very happy for Keri! And the chimps! Can’t wait to read the blogs!
Lisa, I hope wherever you are going you will be sharing your life with chimpanzees. Thank you for taking such good care of our friends. Best of luck to you! And Keri, looking forward to your future blog posts! Welcome to your new position.
Is it hard on the chimps when staff (or should I say friends) move on? I can only imagine that it is because it is hard on us when our friends move on. Do you see a change in the chimps?
Hi Kathleen – The chimps don’t necessarily show signs of sadness when their human friends leave, but they certainly do show signs of joy when they return for a visit. And former caregivers are always encouraged to come back to visit their old friends, both human and chimp.