Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for January 2023

Mave and Dora

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Sometimes dinner is so exciting that you just need a hug.

On the other side of the building, Jamie and her gang spent some time out on the hill today. We have been under clouds and fog for so long now that we’re wondering if Cle Elum will ever be known again its sunny winters. This morning, Anna came back from outside and exclaimed, “The fog is getting brighter!” We all celebrated the change from gray to light gray. The chimps celebrated, too, by heading out to the hill.

Jamie took along her favorite book:

Burrito followed:

Foxie of course took her doll along to fetch some snow:

Perhaps tomorrow will be an even brighter shade of gray. If not, I might need one of those hugs. Or just a cozy nest:

Terry update: He’s feeling much better and is as playful as ever!

For Katie

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This week my family lost a truly beloved member. My aunt Katie Ten Eyck passed quietly in her sleep on January 7th, 2023 after being diagnosed with brain cancer last summer.  Since then, I’ve been struggling to find the right words I desperately want to write down to describe how much she means to me.

My aunt was so much more than someone I saw occasionally during family gatherings. She was a musician, a creative and a nurturer. She was a pillar in her family, filled with a genuine love and an interest in others.  For the purpose of this blog though, I will tell you how she encouraged my aspirations of working with chimpanzees.

My aunt, uncle and cousin opened their home to me after I graduated college and got the next best thing to a job – an unpaid internship at the Oregon Zoo . I lived with them, rent free, in the fall of 2011 as I scrubbed enclosures, chopped produce, and commuted on the light rail for hours on end.  My aunt cooked me dinner every night before my ridiculously early (but extremely necessary) bedtime. She listened to my work stories, visited the primates “behind the scenes” with me and overall took a genuine interest in my dreams.

When I accepted a caregiver job offer from the Fauna Foundation, she eagerly read the Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary right along with me. After I moved back to the northwest and joined the staff at CSNW it came as no surprise to anyone that she started to read and comment on the blog from time to time.

I love that I can search through the comments on our blog and still find a few snippets of her voice, preserved for all to read. Not only is this blog a diary of sanctuary life, but it seems to have also become a time capsule filled with love and kindness. For now, I’ll lay a few memories of my dear kind aunt in this beautiful digital time capsule.

Thanks for the support Aunt Katie. All my love.

-Anna

Terry: The Whole Tooth and Nothing but the Tooth

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Another busy day in the Chimp House! Unfortunately, Terry had to take a trip to the clinic today for a fractured tooth.

Fortunately, we were able to have a skilled group of individuals come to the sanctuary to help with Terry’s procedure. In addition to our vet Dr. Erin and our vet assistant Sofía, we were grateful to have the assistance of Dr. Dan Whitemarsh of Cle Elum Dental Clinic and Mekenzie, CRNA for this procedure! Also a special thank you to Sofía’s aunt Maria A. Loza, DMD, MS for consulting with us about Terry’s tooth!

Through x-rays we were able to determine his canine was completely fractured below the gum line. Dr. Erin opted to extract the broken fragment and clean up the gum to where it could be sutured back together. Out of all the outcomes, this was a good one that will lead to the fastest recovery for him. If all goes well, he can go back to his group sooner! It was exciting to determine, after consulting with other veterinarians and dentists that have worked on chimps, that we could resolve the issue without extracting the entire tooth root. We will keep a close eye on his healing process and do more work if needed, but we are currently happy with the results. Since Terry was already under anesthesia, we also collected all the medical information we could. He got a full dental x-ray, body x-ray, ultrasound, and blood work profile, among other things.

Recently, we received a grant from the Ruth Foundation, a legacy of the Gary E. Millard Family Foundation, for some new medical equipment. With that money we were able to purchase a dental cleaning machine and a dental x-ray, which up until now we had been borrowing. We can’t express how amazing it was to do a full dental cleaning with our new dental machine and x-ray system. We are also awaiting delivery of a new patient monitor, funded by the same grant, which uses new technology for capturing blood oxygen saturation – something that can be difficult to capture in chimps.

Using our new Dental x-ray:

Terry getting his teeth polished by Sofía with our new dental cleaning equipment:

Dr. Whitemarsh and Sofía cleaning Terry’s teeth:

Just finishing up the teeth cleaning with Dr. Erin (left), Sofía (middle), Mekenzie (right):

Dr. Whitemarsh needed to get back to his own clinic, but with the power of technology Dr. Erin was able to consult with him over FaceTime video chat:

Dr. Erin suturing Terry up:

Dr. Erin using the ultrasound:

Caregiver Grace observing and helping out in the clinic:

Dr. Erin (left) doing an eye exam on Terry and Mekenzie (right) assisting:

Sofía doing a blood glucose test:

After stitching him up and doing as many health assessments we could, Terry was ready to go back into the recovery room. He had quite the crowd waiting for him; Terry is a very popular guy! 🙂

Mave, Honey B, and Cy watching Terry come back into his room:

Rayne monitoring Dr. Erin:

Before Terry woke up Dr. Erin was able to do some laser therapy on Terry’s mouth. Laser therapy is very cool, it can help with pain, inflammation, and healing!

Terry did great during the procedure and is recovering very well, just a little sleepy.

Sweet Terry snoozing after a long morning:

 

 

A CSNW Clip Show

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As I was clearing out my phone to make room for more memory, there were several small clips that were too short to make a video out of at the time. So just like those TV shows that inevitably air a “clip show” of random scenes from the season, please enjoy the CSNW Clip Show!

Some bonus photos from today:

Can you guess who the dinosaur is? (Hint: the answer is in the video!)

Foxie and Strawberry Shortcake:

Jamie, Foxie, and Strawberry Shortcake:

Burrito:

A King of his domain:

Mid-yawn

Watching Jody on the other structure:

The answer to question above is Negra!!! Negra was in the hooded dinosaur blanket!

Favoritism

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Supporters often ask us caregivers if we have “favorites” among the sixteen chimpanzees who reside at the sanctuary. I refuse to answer.

Any caregiver worth their salt responds to this common line of inquiry with a prudent, noncommittal reply. It would be irresponsible for us to grow more attached to one chimp than the others, compromising our efforts to maintain objectivity when discussing important Chimp House matters. Each individual is unique and lovable in their own way, and we caregivers form special relationships with all of them. If you’re digging for evidence of favoritism, you’d be better off asking a parent to reveal their favorite child.

Even if I did have a favorite chimpanzee to work with and care for, it’s not like I could ever admit that… especially not on the blog!

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve included, like, sixty-eight photos of Honey B for no reason in particular.

Sunday Sillies

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Some days we show up to work with a full on blog concept, ready to go! Some days, we show up and hope something is presented to us throughout the morning that we can write about. And some days we have a blog idea ready, but the chimps decide to do something that we just absolutely have to share. Today was one of those days. 🙂 While we cleaned this morning, Burrito had all his charm on and was caught playing with everyone – even Jamie and Annie! Check out the video for more.

Terry:

Negra:

Sweet Jody, resting and yawning in the front rooms:

Gordo:

Dora:

Cy:

Burrito:

Lessons from Burrito

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Since Burrito had a very significant birthday yesterday (how can he be 40!), I’ve been thinking a lot about him and the life lessons that he imparts just by being who he is.

As Katelyn mentioned in this month’s birthday blog, “… Burrito reminds us it’s always possible (even when it might feel as though it’s not) to find something to celebrate, no matter how small.”

Here are some other life lessons that I think Burrito has given us:

A sense of humor brightens the day.

There’s always something to laugh about.

Your friends will forgive the occasional outburst.

Stay active, even if you aren’t feeling 100%.

If you can, get outside everyday.

Rest is important. Don’t let anyone interfere with your nightly sleep routine.

Don’t let your age stop you from being silly. Actually, don’t let anything stop you from being silly.

Don’t sweat the small stuff… or the big stuff.

Greet your friends with enthusiasm – they will appreciate it.

When life hands you lemons, eat them! Lemons are delicious.

Speaking of food, enjoy every bite.

 

Here are some Burrito lessons from Kelsi, who inspired this post:

Life is short. Don’t take it too seriously.

Spending quality time with friends trumps everything else.

It’s never too late to reinvent yourself!

 

And an addition from Jenna:

Everything is a toy if you want it to be.