Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for April 2023

Keep Jody in Your Thoughts

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Today is my 50th birthday, and originally I was going to post about that milestone, the last 15 years of my life at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, and the GiveBIG fundraiser that ends on May 3rd.

Unfortunately, I have some other, more challenging news, to share with you all.

Jody was found not moving in one of the front rooms on her side of the building. Dr. Erin was able to do an exam quickly and we obtained x-rays and drew blood, but these did not tell us what exactly is going on. You can imagine, if you know Erin at all, that she has been on the phone constantly, consulting with veterinarians and human doctors across the continent and trying to arrange for an MRI and spinal tap for poor JoJo. Her symptoms are consistent with a cervical spinal injury. There was not a conflict and no obvious signs that she fell (though we can’t rule that out), so it’s possible there’s just something happening within her body that is impacting her spine. An MRI will tell us more, and we hope to get her to an amazing clinic Tuesday morning if not earlier.

I know everyone who just read those words are absorbing a lot right now. I’m so sorry. I know how much you care and that this is not what you want to be learning about today.

This is one of the hardest aspects of caring for anyone, and there are things about caring for captive chimpanzees that make these situations more challenging. It’s very difficult to see Jody in this state. She is a strong-willed, independent, no-nonsense chimpanzee who, I think, would be happy to have never met a human being, and now she is dependent on us in ways that she never could have or wanted to imagine. That’s not to say that she doesn’t have friendships with the humans in her life. She does. Us humans are doing everything we can to convey to her that all we want to do is help, and to comfort her in ways that continue to respect her independence and dignity and show our love to her, Jody, the chimpanzee person we know.

We don’t have enough information to provide a definitive prognosis or to answer the many questions you probably have.

We know of many other chimpanzees in sanctuary settings who have been in a similar states and made partial or even full recoveries. For this reason, and because we have seen the indomitable will of chimpanzees in action before, we are cautiously holding onto some hope.

Jody is a 47 year old chimpanzee who has embraced the last fifteen years of her sanctuary life with her eyes wide open in wonder and her arms full of sanctuary abundance – be that blankets or food foraged from Young’s Hill. Please think of her this way.

And definitely do consider making a GiveBIG donation in her honor. It seems almost crass to suggest that, but the reality is that your donations provide Jody with the care that she needs. Without donors, Jody would not have had the last fifteen years that she was afforded at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. There’s a reason we chose the image below as our main GiveBIG image this year. Just look at how much happiness she was experiencing as the camera shutter clicked when this image was taken:

Here are some more Jody moments that supporters made possible:

Happy Birthday, Diana!

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Long-time friend of the sanctuary, Tobin, sponsored this day of sanctuary in honor of co-director, Diana, in celebration of her birthday! Tobin writes:

“Back on the 1st day of April, I received a brief email from Jody. I had sent her an email a few days before in which I had congratulated her for having encouraged and provided moral support for Negra when the Queen asconded to her Throne atop Carlene’s Tower. ‘All in a day’s work’, Jody replied with an emoji of a dropped lip.

We chatted online for a bit, and I asked Jody if, on this first day of April, if she had any plans afoot for the last day of the month? She answered with a few more emojis of dropped-lipped smiles, and we exchanged ideas for how best to commemorate the big day, however surreptitiously.

I told Jody that I would pass the word on to my bud Meredith. ‘Ha!’, Jojo replied. ‘You know how teenage girls are with secrets!’ She advised me that Merrie’s ma would be a more trustworthy source for secret-keeping.

As for the troop next door, we immediately agreed that we had to keep Terry out of the loop until the end of the month: ‘Who knows what juicy gossip radio Terry is prone to broadcast in his Bronx cheers!’ Honey B often has a look of impending mischief on her face, and that would let the proverbial cat out of the proverbial bag. And Dora, we concluded, would just get too excited.

And thus, in full expectation that Lucky and Betsy could both keep a secret, and by Royal Decree of Her Royal Majesty, Negra the Great, it is hereby proclaimed that April 30, 2023 shall heretofore be sponsored in honor of Diana Goodrich. This gift of gratitude and appreciation is offered by her friends HRH Neggie, Annie, Missy, Jody, Foxie, Jamie, Burrito, Gordo, Dora, Honey B, Mave, Rayne, Cy, Lord Terry of Teeny Tiny, Lucky, Willy B, LouLou, Betsy, Honey, Barn Kitty, Abbey, Nutmeg, Meredith, Benny, and Nala. *(This typist took the liberty of including Nala, who most of you may not have met yet, but I’m sure will at some point. She’s the newest member to Diana and J.B.’s family, their first foster pup/foster “fail” 🙂 ).

In addition, quite a few human primates who have an association with the sanctuary are quite pleased with the life and work of Diana, and it is also with gratitude that we join the afore-mentioned residents of the refuge in wishing her a very happy birthday and a blessed new year of life.”

Happy Birthday, Diana!

Betsy and Diana:

Burrito:

Dora:

Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Annie, and Jody:

Honey B, Rayne, and Cy:

Benny:

Diana and Jamie:

Barn Kitty:

Spring Pedicures!

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Spring hoof trimmings happened this week!! Every Spring we have specialists to do routine hoof trims on Betsy, Nutmeg, Honey and Meredith and to make sure their hoofs look healthy. In addition to that, Dr. Erin and I updated the bovines on their yearly core vaccines which are Leptospirosis and Tetanus. We are very grateful for Mr. John Thomsen and his son Blade Thomsen from Thomsen Livestock Services for making the drive over here. All of you might know this already, but Nutmeg is quite a big steer, and past hoof trimmers were not able to accommodate him in their tilt table, but he fits perfectly on the Thomsen’s table. We took the opportunity to take stifle, hock, and hoofs radiographs as well to have on their medical records. All four bovines are very content with their new pedicures.

Blade and Mr. Thomsen doing Nutmeg’s hoof trim

Erin doing an abdominal ultrasound on Nutmeg with the help of Blade Thomsen

Erin and I preparing to grab radiographs

 

For the Nine and For Jen!

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We are so very grateful to Jen Feuerstein for sponsoring this day of sanctuary in honor of such a special anniversary! One year ago today we opened the final door and officially integrated Cy’s group and Willy B’s group. Jen was here that day and the days leading up to it, playing a pivotal role in making it happen.

Here’s what Jen said in her sponsor-a-day message:

“Can you believe it’s been a year since the doors were opened to put all 9 chimps from WW together? Congrats on this momentous anniversary!”

Since that day one year ago, we have had a group of nine. As Anna said in her blog post one year ago, I think it’s safe to say that we are all still cautiously optimistic. It hasn’t been all hugs and parties, though there have been a lot of those! It’s a challenge to put chimpanzees together and we are still experiencing some challenges, but also so many heartwarming moments.

Thank you so much, Jen, for sponsoring this special anniversary- and for playing such a crucial role in bringing these chimpanzees together!

The group of nine, one year ago today:

In the last year, we’ve proudly watched special relationships form between individuals (like Dora and Mave!) as the group figures out their new normal.

More recent photos of the group of nine:

From our whole family here at CSNW – thank you so much for everything, Jen!!!

A Day to Forage

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It shouldn’t come as a surprise that no two days here at CSNW are the same. Especially in spring time, when there are an abundance of projects to be done, you never really know what your day will hold.

Today is an absolutely perfect spring (early summer?! maybe?!) day here in Cle Elum, WA. The sky is that precious blue bird blue with only a few clouds floating by, the temperature is warm with a nice breeze that keeps you comfy, and the sunshine is bright. Most of the chimp house doors and windows are open, so it’s hard not to feel that happy feeling that comes with having a soft breeze and fresh air throughout the chimp house after winter.

In season appropriate fashion, this week has been dubbed spring cleaning week and today our team is tackling the kitchen. It’s quite the task, believe me. One of the items on the list was to de-frost the freezer, which meant an exciting forage of “All-The-Frozen-Things” this morning! We put out a daily morning forage when we are done with the first round of cleaning on each side of the building. It’s different every day, but the frozen treats were pretty unique and it had everyone excited!

Negra and Jody were both particularly excited when they saw the icy treats. 🙂

While we enjoy spring cleaning with the windows open, the chimps are leaning into the season with all their might! Cy’s group has access to their outdoor chute and this morning I arrived to find most of them out enjoying the early sunshine. Can you count (and identify) the chimps in this photo?!

To continue the excitement, we did a lunch forage for Jamie’s group on Young’s Hill. J.B. recently wrote about how construction has resumed on The Bray for Cy’s group, which meant that Jamie’s group had to be off the hill for a few days too since some of the tasks involved both sides of the hill. Today we were able to give them access just in time for a lunch forage and a more perfect day could not be had!

Foxie took her doll with her to forage, of course.

On a lovely day like today it’s hard not to think about how grateful I am for our supporters who have made sanctuary life possible for our 16 chimp and 4 bovine friends. As someone who got involved at CSNW as an intern in grad school, left for a few years, and then had the opportunity to return full time – it’s amazing how many things have changed in just a few years. Taking a bigger step back and looking at the then-and-now between fifteen years ago and the present day, it’s truly inspiring. That’s what all of you, every person reading this blog, have helped to create- years full of hope and love in a forever home for individuals who deserve it so much.

As we reflect back we also have to look forward, which means reaching out a hand to you. Right now, early giving is open for GiveBIG. Every donation matters – no matter how big or small – and, right now, donations are being matched by our amazing supporter, Donna T! Please consider helping us reach our goal– every donation will go to support our incredible residents.

Like beautiful and amazingly cool, Jamie.

We’re also super excited to announce our next Virtual Visit! We will be hosting a virtual Lunch with Cy’s Group on Sunday, May 21st from 1:00 – 2:00pm PT! If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to serve a meal to the nine chimps in Cy’s group, then this is the event for you. Be sure to register today to save your seat and submit any questions you have so we can answer them during the virtual visit!

Cy can’t wait!

BONUS PHOTOS:

A drama, in three photos, caught by Caregiver Chad’s photography skills.

Gordo and Dora enjoying the chute:

Sweet Foxie in a peaceful moment.

Different Interests

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The beauty of sanctuary here at CSNW is that every chimpanzee gets to explore their interests. Jamie has her boots and books, Foxie has her dolls, Mave has her Dora, Dora has her Mave, Honey B always has mischievous plans, and Cy has his magazines. Recently, Cy has found something else that has peaked his interest, romance and romcom movies. Cy is the leader of his group, but to us staff he really is a big softy. So it really didn’t surprise us when he seemed to love movies like The Notebook, Love Actually, Must Love Dogs, and Hitched. What did surprise us is that Cy will now request a movie before bed, to which we say, of course!  It’s very sweet, his caregivers will set a sleep timer for his movie, usually The Notebook, then Cy will make a nest in front room 7 and eventually fall asleep to his movie.

We also believe that Cy is a BIG Ryan Gosling fan. If you have any romcom DVDs gathering dust please feel free to send them to Cy! I am curious now- what everyone’s favorite RomCom?

Bonus photos! Rayne and Honey B are half sisters, can you tell?