Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for August 2017

Happy Birthday, Foxie!!

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Woohoo!! It’s Foxie’s birthday and a very special day of sanctuary was sponsored in her honor by her (and our) wonderful friend, Tracy Headley! Foxie is 41 and full of sass and spitfire this morning! I think it’s more like 41 going on 14. She started her birthday morning off with a wild game of chase with Annie and Missy, swinging on a firehose while play-kicking at her friends and laughing, and then hanging upside down from the greenhouse ceiling while kicking her feet every which way possible.

Birthday packages arrived this morning, an exciting brunch forage is being prepped, and all the trolls and Dora dolls are lining up for the celebration!

Tracy, thank you so much for helping us make this an extra special day for Foxie! We are so lucky to have you as part of our chimp family. Foxie is such a special soul bringing joy, comfort, love and shenanigans to the lives of us all.

Foxie, if there were a picture of my heart I am pretty sure it would look like you. We all could not possibly love you more. We hope this day full of excitement, smoothies, fruit, crazy chimp shenanigans, more trolls and Doras than you could possibly carry, hug, bite and do pirouettes on, friends, family and love, so much love, is the best birthday yet. Until the next and the next and the next…

Happy Birthday, Foxie!!

Moments of comfort

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After experiencing over 30 years of deprivation, it never ceases to amaze me (or make my heart burst) to see the chimpanzees so fully embrace a life of comfort in their own unique ways. It physically hurts my heart to think of all they went without for so long and makes each moment of joy and comfort for them all the more meaningful.

The chimps recently received some new SUPER fluffy fleece blankets and they adore them. They look as though they are floating on clouds sitting in their nests, the blankets sometimes as high as their chests. We found two super voluptuous nests this morning while cleaning the playroom. Despite Jamie’s aversion to snakes, she really loves to incorporate the stuffed toy snakes into her nests:

Jamie (we assume) decided to use a chopstick to remove a washer from somewhere yet to be discovered. She is far too smart for our own good:

This beauty was spread out over the catwalk:

Beautiful Annie lounging:

Jody in particular loved the new blankets (naturally) and frequently rubbed her head and face against them:

Jody’s sweet feet in a cloud of fluff as she napped this morning:

Seeing the chimps surrounding themselves in comfort will never grow old.

Happy Anniversary, Susana!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Susana Pataro! Susana shared this lovely message about her gift:

“I visited CSNW last year on the occasion of the NAPSA Workshop that took place in Tacoma. The last day was devoted to meet the chimps and the facilities. To be honest I didn’t have any idea of the place. Needless to say that when I discovered this old lovely farm, the story of the place, Ellie, the very special residents, the care they receive from such a compassionate team, I fell in love. I became a follower of your blog and I share the stories and pictures almost every day creating awareness among my friends on the suffering of chimps in biomedical research. So, on the occasion of my anniversary I decided to share the celebration in joy and love with all of you.”

Susana, thank you so much for celebrating not only your life, but the lives of the chimps (and Ellie! 🙂 ) in such a compassionate way. We so appreciate the work you do to make a difference in the lives of chimpanzees and share their stories with others. All of us at CSNW are wishing you the happiest of celebrations and hope your day is filled with all that brings you the love, comfort, joy and sanctuary you help provide the chimps.

You share a birthday month with these two ladies so you’re bound to have a special day:

Foxie turns 41 tomorrow!

Missy turns 42 on August 23rd!

Missy running

We don’t know for sure when Ellie’s birthday month is, but she’s definitely special!

Jamie and Ellie bottom of Young's Hill

Building Patience one Tomato at a Time

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If you did not already know this about Missy, she LOVES tomatoes. Currently in our garden we have tomatoes and cherry tomatoes growing. The garden is a type of enrichment for the chimps. It is fun to have the excitement build while they wait for some of their favorite foods to grow! This morning Jamie and Missy reminded Caregiver Katelyn and I that they were out there! Missy stuck around a little longer to see if they were ripe yet. Unfortunately, they are not ready to be consumed. But… I did fine tomatoes in the fridge, which everyone got to enjoy for lunch!

Missy looking out into the garden:

Missy

Missy staring back, waiting for us to find the ripened ones:

Missy continuing to look for tomatoes:

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The Perfect Photo

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Foxie is off the charts lovable. Her affection for troll dolls is endearing. Her ability to get even the very serious Jamie to cut loose is admirable. Her willingness to step in and give a reassurance hug to any chimpanzee who needs it during a conflict is brave. Her goofiness is contagious. Her habit of rubbing her toes together when she’s happy? I mean, really.

 

Foxie

When she spit a full mouthful of water directly in my face today, my first thought was, “I could not love you more.”

 

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