Burrito’s been through a lot lately. In early June, he fractured a canine. The injury itself didn’t seem to phase him, but in order to prevent future pain and infection, we needed to extract the tooth. In late June, we performed an exam to do some blood work, check on his heart condition, and assess how he would do under prolonged anesthesia. And in late July, we performed the extraction.
Before he came to the sanctuary from the research lab in 2008, Burrito was sedated for procedures pretty frequently. The routine nature of these “knockdowns” probably didn’t diminish the fear associated with them. Until Burrito’s tooth ordeal, we’ve been incredibly lucky that none of the chimps here have required medical intervention beyond a dose of antibiotics here or there.
When you care for former lab chimpanzees, you hope that they know they’re safe now, and that they trust the difference between their current home and their former ones. We’ve spent the last seven years working to gain these chimps’ trust, and one nagging fear is that something will happen to lose you the trust you’ve earned.
Regardless of the fact that Burrito was surrounded by friends who love him and who want the best for him, it’s likely that the two procedures he had to undergo recently brought back some scary memories from his past life. And regardless of the fact that we’ve seen firsthand how incredibly resilient and forgiving chimps can be, it’s still hard not to fear that you’re going to push things too far and damage the relationships you’ve built.
But we shouldn’t have worried. Burrito has bounced back to his sweet, goofy, mischievous, happy self. His love for the simple things in life – a ripe avocado, a good grooming session, a long and loud bout of chase with a human friend – is as strong as ever. May we all strive to be as irrepressible as this guy.
so nice to hear the good news!
Very good news! Keep on feeling better, Burrito!
Glad you came through your health issues without incident. Welcome back to health.
Love you.
So happy for you Burrito! It’s wonderful to know that you are back to your old self! Sending love to you Mr. B
Im thrilled Burrito is doing well ~ we all love him so much .
I hope and pray he remain happy and healthy for many years to come.
I am so glad that Burrito is back to normal, but I am so thankful this did not destroy the trust that all of them have in you.
Broken tooth had to cause discomfort (been there, done that). After he woke up it was gone & better in a few days. Maybe the 1st time anesthesia was ever for his benefit. He probably made that connection. May have even enhanced his trust of humans.
Yay Burrito! He knows how much he is loved!!
Thanks for this. It’s so comforting to know that this procedure didn’t seem to toss up any red-flagged memories for the sweet boy! I know the hard work, time, and efforts that your staff and volunteers out in recently to prepare and train them for future check ups and medical procedures was instrumental in reassuring hi I’m that you all still loved him and this was just a procedure. Thank you for ALL that you all do for these crazy kids and thank you for taking the time for making these posts to keep us in the loop regularly. Invaluable. Way to go Burrito. I think this calls for extra chow bags for being such a good boy! 😉 😉
Thanks to all who helped Burrito. So glad he is feeling like his himself again:) Sweet pictures.
You had me nervous for a minute there Elizabeth, I thought you might be leading us to the news that Burrito had a set back from all this. I should have known better! What a difference 7 years can make when you are surrounded with love and compassion. Thank you to everyone at CSNW for all you do for Burrito and the girls. As you state, it is never too late for a second chance!
HOPE. LOVE. HOME. TRUST. SANCTUARY!
; )