In Celebration of Lisa Stuverud and Linda Vizzare

Supporter Lisa Stuverud is celebrating a birthday today, and her husband Richard sponsored today’s day of sanctuary with this note:

Sending a “little something” for the chimps in honor of Lisa’s birthday. With every blog post we get a “whole lotta something” in return…so much love, joy and good feelings ! Thank you so much for all you do!!

Lisa and Richard are the kind of people that are often thinking of ways to bring joy to others. They’ve brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees over the years through their support and goodwill.

Today is no exception. Lisa also sponsored the day in memory of Linda Vizzare with this heartfelt and heartwarming message:

Another year gone by without my sister-in-law Linda. She is never far from thought but especially on April 4th when I get to celebrate us on our shared birthday. Linda loved Burrito and his happy dance. We often talked about the chimps and their strength and resilience during her chemo sessions. You just never know where inspiration comes from to get through difficult times. As Burrito, Jamie, Foxie, Jody, Annie, Missy, Negra, the sanctuary and everyone connected to it continue to daily offer strength, resilience, inspiration and much joy they also keep me close to my sister-in-law who every day just hoped for 1000 more days.

There are so many gifts that this job provides, and one of the most significant gifts is being able to honor others. So thank you, Richard and Lisa, for giving us this gift.

Burrito is certainly not one to hide his joy. Here he is in mid-dance:

and here he is really excited about something:

and here he is just hanging out with his pal Foxie while eating some corn:

Friends make everything more enjoyable. ❤