HOOT! Sponsors: Merritt and John Atwood

This is the seventh in our series of blog posts celebrating sponsors of the HOOT! 2017 Spring Fling gala.

Past posts celebrated Poppoff, Inc., Martha Faulkner Real Estate, Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, Jennifer and David Roers, Tracy Headley, and Pam Lehnert & Marc Warner.

 

Today is in honor of HOOT! sponsors Merritt and John Atwood.

 

Merritt shared how she learned about the sanctuary and why she supports the chimps.

 

“I first heard of CSNW in 2010 when I saw an article in the Seattle Times  (I think). Always an animal lover, I wanted to help.  What a great mission: to care for chimpanzees who had been caged up for years and used for biomedical research.”

And she has been a loyal donor ever since!

Merritt spends much of her time helping animals. She was a long time volunteer at the Humane Society in Bellevue, WA. Then, after moving to Whidbey Island, she became a supporter of Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation (WAIF). She is now in the 9th year on their board and is as committed as ever to bettering the lives of animals.

Merritt hasn’t visited Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in person, but she follows along on social media, as I know most of you out there do too.

When presented with one of the most challenging questions there is: Who is your favorite chimpanzee?, her response was: “It’s really hard to say which chimpanzee is my favorite.  Maybe Burrito for holding his own with all the ladies,  and looking as though he is enjoying himself immensely!”

Based on the video posted yesterday of Burrito playing with Foxie, I would say the assessment of his enjoyment is pretty accurate.

In true animal-lover form, rather than sending me a photo of herself and John, Merritt shared photos of her beloved companion animals.

 

This is sweet Nelson, who came from WAIF and passed away last year:

 

And this is Henrietta, who the Atwoods brought to their home in 2009 from Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue. She is about 12 years old now:

I have absolutely loved doing these HOOT! sponsor posts. It’s uplifting to me to share information about caring people and to be able to thank them for their generosity in this way, and I’ve learned new things about each of them in the process.

Big thanks to Merritt and John for your support of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees and for all that you have done for animals in your local communities – you have made a tangible difference in so many ways.

 

The 2017 HOOT! Spring Fling is just a few days away! There’s still time to support the event with your donation, and there are just a few seats left if you’ve been procrastinating buying tickets. Anyone can also preview auction items and put in absentee bids on three items right here.