The chimpanzees had some good friends, Nikko and Billy, stop by with special gifts today. These two generous souls drove all the way down from British Columbia specifically to deliver multiple boxes of all but brand new boots from their family business, Stampede Tack and Western Wear in Canada! Many of the boots are men’s sizes and after suffering through wearing Jamie’s smaller boots, J.B. was pretty excited to find a pair that not only fit him, but were comfortable.
J.B. headed in to show Jamie, preparing to head out for a walk and as you may imagine, she was almost as excited as J.B. Jamie’s hair stood on end (pilo-erect), and she stomped her foot in excitement, but instead of heading out for a walk around the hill, Jamie decided she needed to inspect them immediately and demanded that J.B. hand them over. Too bad for J.B., it was almost like he had a birthday present taken away, but Jamie’s the boss around here.
Sometimes when Jamie gets really excited about something new, it’s almost as though she becomes overwhelmed and has to “walk away” to collect herself. After receiving the boots from J.B., Jamie took them into the playroom, softly hooting in excitement, but then she suddenly left them to sit out in the greenhouse momentarily. A few minutes later we found her with them, apparently ready to handle the excitement of her newest acquisitions.
Nikko, thanks so much to you and your family for such kindness and generosity! You made Jamie’s (and J.B.’s) day!
DIANE M. KASTEL says
I do not understand whether Jamie took J.B.’s boots away from him and did not give them back?? It does not seem fair at all to poor Jamie! What is the ending of the story?
Katelyn says
Diane, Jamie likes us to model/wear her boots for walks around Young’s Hill and then typically asks for them afterwards. But she wanted to skip the walk today and get straight to having the new boots. J.B. was just happy to find a pair of hers that actually fit him. It’s a bit challenging walking around the hill in ill fitting cowboy boots. π
Jackie says
What a nice treat for Jamie. A big thank you to the donors of the boots!
Kathleen says
So, did J.B. ever get the boots back from Jamie so they could have their comfortable walk around Young’s Hill or were the new big sized boots just too precious for Jamie to give up? Hope there were more boots in J.B.’s size in that delivery β one pair for J.B. and one for Jamie to keep. I wonder if these boots will end up in Jamie’s nest tonightβ¦… Keep us posted! ; )
Katelyn says
Kathleen and Diane,
We can give the chimpanzees items through secure chutes that drop into the front rooms of the chimp house. So once it goes in, it doesn’t come out until the next day when we collect all the enrichment for cleaning. (Unless, of course, it’s something that fits through the caging, like a small troll.
Last I saw, Jamie had taken the boots to the greenhouse where she placed them at the entrance to Young’s Hill. π
Diana says
J.B. put on another pair of new boots and did a couple of after-hours walk around the hill last night, then Jamie asked for those boots as well as her long-time favorite black cowboy boots. So, she had at least three pairs of treasured boots by the end of her day last night.
Diane D. says
Jamie gave the boots a through inspection, Did she give them back? Thank you to the boots donors.
How many pairs did they bring?
Katelyn says
Diane, I also replied to one of your questions above. π I haven’t counted all the boots yet, but there were three large boxes full, plus some cowboy hats. And many are larger sizes so J.B. may finally be in luck when Jamie demands a walk. But since she decides which pair of boots we will wear, we can only hope she chooses a comfortable pair for us. π
Beverly Donovan says
Happy Jamie!!!
Tiki Kim (Forwood) says
So much happiness for Miss Jamie π .. Fun to be reminded that she likes to see you guys wear them lol! I forgot about that.
sherry rogers says
What a touching story. Jamie’s intensity is amazing. The donors thoughtfulness is great.
Does Jamie try to put the boots on at all or just carry them and keep them close. ?
The daily updates make my day. Thanks so much to all of you who take the time to photograph and write them in order to share the beloved chimps with us.
Katelyn says
Sherry, Jamie does occasionally try to wear the boots. With her opposable toes, it’s hard to find a pair that fit all the way, but she will often lie in her nest with them on as far as she can get them.
Nikko says
I am so happy to hear that Jamie liked the boots and let her know we are happy to find someone who really appreciates them and when we have more we will bring them to her.
Karen and Don says
What a windfall! How did these boot angels hear of the santuary? What beautiful hearts they have. They could have sent them by post but instead made the dirve to hand delivered them. Did they get to witness Jamie’s excitement about the boots in person? I hope so. It must be something to see! Jamie’s boot collection rivals Imelda Marco’s shoe collection!
Katelyn says
Karen and Don,
The business owner’s daughter learned of the sanctuary online and visited last summer. She does a lot advocacy and volunteer work with orangutans. Unfortunately, the chimps were not interested in leaving the cool playroom until later that day (it was an extra hot day) so we were excited to have photos to share. π So very thoughtful of this family!
Kathleen says
This was such a great post and I am enjoying everyones excitement and joy surrounding Jamie and her boots! LOVE the comment by Karen and Don about Jamie’s boot collection “rivaling Imelda Marco’s shoe collection”!! That made my night! : )