What a week! Sunday was weird, Monday was better, and Tuesday and Wednesday were both busy and fun. It’s been another busy day of construction projects, produce shopping and delivery, routine cleaning and caregiving, and planning for the winter holiday season.
Speaking of which, we’d love if you all took a moment to consider purchasing something off of our holiday Wish List! Outreach Coordinator Kelsi curates the list and has added some special items. The additions include a new skateboard for Honey B, books for Jamie, fleece blankets for all the chimps, and hardware that will help us to furnish the new playrooms.
If the item you hope to donate is already purchased, there are always items such as dietary supplements, storage totes, cleaning products and office supplies that are equally important! I can’t speak for the other staff, but I get pretty stoked when people donate mundane items like wet erase markers and refills for the label printer. If you feel like making my day (or contributing to the welfare of the chimps), you can access the list directly by clicking here.
Additionally, we caregivers have two primary wishes that are not Prime items but are equally tangible: for all chimpanzees to reach their sanctuary homes and for all the sanctuary’s residents to stay happy and healthy.
Of course, this wish also applies to the bovines. As Katelyn mentioned on Monday, Meredith looked much better than the day before and her check-up went well, so we’re not too concerned but are still taking precautions.
To facilitate the health exam, we shifted the cattle into the Bud Box and then isolated Meredith in the narrow chute. Dr. Erin plays the role of “quarterback” during veterinary exams, managing the team and doing the specialized tasks that require her expertise. In this case, J.B. and I served as her assistants (and Chad also helped on a couple of occasions by promptly running some supplies up from the sanctuary’s vet clinic).
In summary, Dr. Erin did a full visual inspection, palpated and listened to Meredith’s gut, tested her reflexes and responses, collected blood and fecal samples for diagnostics, and used the opportunity to administer some preventative antibiotics. We then let Meredith back out with the herd and monitored her for further discomfort or difficulties.
Since then, we’ve been frequently visiting the barn to check on Meredith and give her supplements. These include minerals, probiotics, electrolytes and anti-inflammatory meds. Surprisingly, though, Merry looks fantastic. She’s eating heartily, breathing normally, moving with the herd and laying down in the straw bedding at night. As happy as we are with this improvement, it makes her Sunday troubles even more mysterious. Dr. Erin and the staff are working to rule out some possibilities, but our initial diagnosis of “ain’t doin’ right” currently still stands. This whole thing loosely feels like a low-budget episode of House, M.D. where the team wears Carrhart overalls instead of lab coats.
The best part of the exam, however, was this series of opportunistic portraits that depicts Nutmeg showing affection for his mother, Betsy…
…to the point of being mildly annoying.
P.S. I took all of these photos with the new mirrorless camera and an 85mm portrait lens. A generous supporter purchased both of these items for us via the same Wish List I mentioned above. Consider it further evidence that your contributions help us to do our jobs!
I love, love, love the cattle and seeing their interactions with each other. So happy Merry is feeling better.
Thanks, Patricia!
Exquisite photos, all of them! I see you have mastered the new camera. I adore the photo fo Meredith peeking around the barn wall. You could make a little flip book out of the series of Nutmeg and mama Betsy. I hope Meredith is alright and continues to do well. Thanks for the update as I have been thinking about her.
Remember, in “House, MD” the patient was always concealing a necessary tidbit that made it difficult to diagnosis the condition. So, what is it that Meredith isn’t telling telling you? : )
Thanks, Kathleen! I’m not sure what Meredith is concealing, but maybe we’ll solve the mystery by the end of the episode if we scribble things on whiteboards and make sarcastic comebacks at each other. 🙂
So sweet! Love the bovine crew!
They’re great!
Great photos Anthony. I didn’t realize just how HUGE Nutmeg is until I saw him right next to his Mum! So glad to hear that Meredith seems to be OK. I have a theory that animals have a secret mischief button that they push to get humans worried silly. Then they get tired of that prank….especially when it involves a vet examination. Hope the good progress continues.
Yeah! Every time I see Nutmeg I am in absolute awe at the size of the lad.
Thanks for thinking of us and Meredith, Carol!
Hi, Anthony!
Darn, there was no skateboard on that list yesterday, lol! But I did send about 5 things (including my contribution to the hardware for the new chimps). Because I chose to ship them together, some are saying Dec 22-29, but one will come before.
Glad Meredith is doing better. Lol, I always think of Honey as Nutmeg’s mom, because they have the same ‘do!
I’m back just to tell the other readers how awesome you all are!
I went to the list yesterday before Anthony posted, ’cause ’tis the season….and I had my choice of enrichment items to choose from. There’s little left there now! So many items purchased in less than 24 hours!
We ALL love these chimps so much!
You all rock, fellow readers, and I hope you have a wonderful Hanukkah or a Merry Christmas, or really enjoy Kwanzaa or Festivus! 😀
Linda
Thanks for your boundless generosity, Linda! I checked the Wish List later that night and was blown away by how few items were left. Kelsi’s great at managing the list and finding the perfect items for our supporters to donate, but I wasn’t expecting it to empty that fast! I hope you have a great holiday season, too.
I am tentatively pleased to learn the latest about my bud (and Jody and Willy B’s Bovine Buddy) Meredith, but, hmmm, I am stumped as to what the deal was on Sunday.
In the meantime, let us not make associations between CSNW’s Dr. Erin and that fictional Dr. House of the tv show of the same name. Ugh! What a horse’s rear end of a (fictional) character he was! In contrast, I am absolutely certain that any colleague of Dr. Missy has a far more professional demeanor as well as a congenial barnside and blanket-nestside manner.
Fortunately, nobody on the staff acts like Dr. House. That would be bad. Jamie Chimpanzee, on the other hand… -_-
Those pictures of the Bovines, especially mom and daughter were too prescious.
That is so nice to have both together and they look so good. I pray often that
you will also be blessed with rescuing some more chimps in the near future.
Thanks, Barbara!
Interestingly, Nutmeg is male, so he is a steer and not a cow. We try to refer to them as “the cattle” or “bovines” for that reason. Watching him shuffle around after Betsy is so much fun. He’s such a mama’s boy.
As for the planned transfer of additional chimpanzees to the sanctuary, we’re all working hard to make it happen and we appreciate your support! We can’t wait to welcome them to their sanctuary home.
I’m new to the site and am wondering why you have bovines?
Hey Heather! Thanks for checking us out.
Previously, Betsy and Honey were dairy cows who were purchased for use on a television show. Nutmeg and Meredith are their offspring, respectively. All of them lived at a Farm Sanctuary shelter until that facility closed in 2018, at which time they were transferred here. Their only “job” is to mow the grass around the sanctuary, which they do with gusto. This helps us to manage the surrounding pasture and reduces the risks posed by wildfires.
You can read more about them by going to this page:
https://chimpsnw.org/cattle/