As J.B. mentioned yesterday, and as I’m sure you would have surmised in any case, we’ve been spending extra time outside of our normal hours at the sanctuary as Burrito recovers. (If you are wondering about Honey B and why we don’t talk about her recovery, well, that’s because her day to day quickly returned to normal and she’s doing great!)
The first few days following last Friday’s procedure were pretty much 24/7 Burrito-watch.
We are grateful that Burrito’s chimpanzee friends on the other side of the mesh provided their own nursing and care skills. Honestly, I think their presence is what helped him the most after his surgery. Once again, they have shown us that their relationships with one another, though not always peaceful, provide a social network that the humans are woefully inadequate to imitate.
As Burrito has gotten better, we have not needed to stay overnight by his side, but we’ve still made late-night visits to check on him and give him food and medication.
The sanctuary owns a house on site that J.B. and I have lived in since 2009. It’s a hundred or so yards from the chimp house. This short commute to work is quite convenient for everyone, and especially so when we need to wander up at a moment’s notice and/or in the black of night.
I was making one such journey on Thursday, outfitted in pajamas and a coat, with the stars providing meager illumination. About halfway up the driveway, I stopped to confirm that the sound I heard in the bush was just the scuttling of deer, at which point I realized that in addition to my sleepwear I was also wearing slippers, which had not been my intention.
Squinting through the dark down towards my feet, I took a minute to internally debate whether to turn back to put on more appropriate footwear. In the end I talked myself into continuing onward clad in house shoes because, I reasoned, I was already nearly halfway to the chimp house and the slippers had a decent-enough sole on them anyway.
I entered the chimp house and prepared Burrito’s medication. By this point in the week all of the chimpanzees had become accustomed to the humans constant hovering over Burrito or late-night visits that included turning on lights and offering him food.
Despite these unusual disruptions, most of the chimps consistently remained silent in their nests without stirring. Even ever-vigilant Jamie has occasionally let these untoward visits take place without comment. Thursday, however, after I had given Burrito his pain-relieving treat, Jamie presented herself at the doors to the playroom, banging on the mesh to get my attention.
Jamie, to be sure, is keeping an internal tally of all of the treats that Burrito has been receiving. She has brought to our attention the inequity of treat distribution on occasion this past week, though for the most part she seems begrudgingly understanding. I thought the message that she wanted to communicate to me in that moment had to do with this clear favortism, perhaps hoping to persuade me to slip her a treat as well.
Then I noticed that her eye gaze was fixed upon my feet.
Of course! Jamie had not seen me wearing slippers before. She wanted a closer look, inside and out, of my atypical foot covering. I happily obliged, letting her feel the fabric too.
Satisfied, Jamie returned to her bed. I checked in on Burrito once again, turned off the lights, locked up, and made my way back down to the human house to settle into my own nest.
If you don’t know, Jamie is obsessed with shoes. She particularly likes cowboy boots. Here are a few photos from over the years:
I am so glad y’all are taking such good care of Burrito. I worry about him as well as the other chimps. Thank you so much
Oh Jamie, What a great story, You can’t hide new footwear from her!
One of the biggest thrills of my life is when I visited the Sanctuary wearing my red cowboy boots (of course) and Jamie noticed !
I’m pretty sure she approved of my fashion choice…..Wow, Just Wow.
Diana, when I saw the title of this posting, I said to myself-This has to be about Jaime!She doesn’t miss a thing, does she? I love her attention to detail, esp footwear.She never disappoints to make me marvel at her intelligence& brilliance.Thx Jaime.Maybe you will get some slippers from Santa this Christmas!
Diana,
Thanks for being such a devoted “night nurse” to our boy. Hope he’s feeling much better.
I guess Jamie misses nothing on humans’ feet! I would love to know how she got such a fascination/obsession with boots. Must be in her past life as an entertainer? You’re lucky she didnt demand your slippers to keep for herself….. 🙂
Too funny. Can you figure out why? Has she ever actually managed to get one of her feet into one? Thanks so much for the posts.
I believe so. If you go to YouTube and look up “csnw sharing”, you should see Jamie sharing one of her new boots with Jo….while she (almost?) wears the other one. Dunno if it was on conpletely; her thumb makes it hard
That is too adorable for words!!!! Maybe a pair of slippers will be in her Christmas stocking!! Who knows!! Love and hugs to you all…
OMG!! Thanks so much for pics of Jamie with her boots. That last one in b/w was my fav…… Thanks again.
lol
What a cute story!
What a delightful story. Glad Burrito and Honey B are doing better but I’m surprise Jaime didn’t guilt you into giving up your slippers to her.
Oh my goodness! The title made me suspect .. and when I got to the picture of your slippered feet, I started laughing. It could only be a Jamie post! What a girl!!! 😀
The special attention you all are giving Bubba is wonderful; but in future, please do be more careful about stepping out in the middle of the night. Next time, make sure you’re wearing running shoes.
Great story. I love the fact she’s intrigued by boots. Mr. B ??
Am I really crying over slippers? Yeah, maybe. Or should I say tearing up. Like others, as soon as I saw the slippers, I first thought “what a great pair of slips” and then “of course!” Too funny. I’m sure it brought you a moment of well-needed levity. Did you suddenly feel your chest loosen up a bit? We know laughter is a drug and I’m glad you got some as well as Jamie (some boot therapy) and Burrito (the real stuff). Hope you got a good night after that.
Thought for sure you’d be walking back to the house barefoot. Ha!
Thank you for the update on Ms. Honey B. No news is good news, so I didn’t worry too much about her progress. Meanwhile the mental image I have of her showing everyone her injured toe makes my days so much brighter. Reminds me of how when a kid loses a tooth they have to show everyone. It’s just so stinkin’ adorable!
Twinkle twinkle little star how lucky you are to be able to gaze upon chimps all night long! I wish I lived a few yards from chimps!
The minute I saw the picture of the slippers I knew this was going to be a Jamie post and I thought for sure that, like the Fireman who took off his boot and gave it to her when she showed an interest, you were going to be hobbling back in bare feet. I am glad common sense prevailed. Thank you so much for sharing your LIFE with all of us.
When I was the subject line of todays blog in my email I cracked up. Yup, like everyone else I was certain you were going to leave the chimp house slipperless. Maybe Jamie found your soft night time footwear simply ridiculous.
While you have been tending to Burrito round-the-clock I’ve been wondering if anyone was living in the house you acquired with the purchase of the new property. So much falls on your shoulders sure would be nice if of one your staff could reside in that house. I know the structure needed work so I’m assuming it’s still vacant. (…oh how I would love to move in) : )
Thanks for all these photos of our boot loving gal.
correction : When I READ the subject line of todays blog in my email. Eeesh.
Can’t have too many boots. It is so important to have the correct foot attire for every occasion and Jamie, you set the standard! You Go Girl?? ? ?? ? ??
Great reveal 🙂 … of course those of us who “know” the chimps knew it would be a Jamie event. Please do be careful about wearing shoes.. it’s not a long distance to go but surely it’s possible that you might need sturdy shoes… Jamie may have a new desire… we’ll see. Se glad Mr. B is continuing to improve.. and Honey B as well… Your life shared with us is an irreplaceable joy. Thank you.. as always and hugs.
Diana, thank you for making it well worth the effort for Jamie to stir awake in the middle of the night in order to inspect (and, hopefully, approve of) what was to her your unusual footwear. Thank you for adding the great photographs, too.
Ha! Count me in the crowd who thought the end of the story would be Jamie scores a pair of slippers! I love her intelligence…and her love of shoes. So glad to hear Burrito remains on the mend.
You guys are Awesome! Loved the story.
Sooooooo Sweet 🙂