May 1, 2024 - Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Happy May, everyone! It truly feels like spring is here in Cle Elum, as the (arguably) gale force winds that arrive every spring are here with gusto today.

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, which is an important topic. We are pretty candid on this blog and have written about compassion fatigue and burnout, which are frequent experiences for those in care fields. We’ve also written about compassion satisfaction, a counterweight to fatigue and burnout. Like Kelsi wrote in her blog on compassion satisfaction, it’s all about finding moments that remind us of our why- why we’re here doing what we do, despite the tough moments. The last year has been hard on all of us, with the grief of Jody and Nutmeg’s passing omnipresent, and it’s been important for me to remember that joy and sadness are not mutually exclusive. That they can coexist in the same moments.

To honor National Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought I would share a list of things that bring me joy and compassion satisfaction here that happen almost every day. It’s a list I started keeping in my phone to look at when I feel overwhelmed. It’s not the big stuff, it’s the little moments- the ones that happen almost daily.

(Disclaimer: This list is not entirely comprehensive and all chimp-human contact is protected. Click here for more details.)

Going in to say hi to the chimps in the morning and being immediately greeted with excited breathy pants
Foxie asking me to babysit her baby dolls while she takes some time for herself
Terry kisses (especially when he sticks his tongue out and just kind of licks the back of my hand)
Watching the chimps enjoy the sunshine
Serving a meal item that the chimps find super exciting (corn, baked sweet potatoes, apples…) and hearing Mave and Burrito’s high-pitched excited food squeaks. All food grunts are joy-inducing sounds, but those two jump the octave and really just make you grin
Annie’s bird noises
Cy with his magazines
Walks around Young’s Hill with Jamie
Games of chase with Burrito
Grooming with Lucky
The way Gordo gently sets down his smoothie cup instead of tossing it to the floor
The way Gordo will find even the smallest piece of paper to sit on in the greenhouses for breakfast, instead of sitting directly on the cool ground
How the group of 9 will watch us prep meds in the morning from the front rooms with the clinic door open… It’s just nice.
How Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Gordo, Cy, Dora, and Honey B hold their smoothie cups during breakfast
Terry’s incessant raspberry sounds
Looking up to the corner of the playroom to see Negra cozy in a nest that looks like it’s as thick as four mattresses.
When the chimps decide they do or don’t want something (i.e. if Foxie decides not to give us the greenhouse for cleaning- we’ll get it the next day, but I love the moments where the chimps choose how the day goes)
How Jamie will save her chow and put it in a cup to let it soak in water before she eats it.
The noises Willy B makes when he wants us to set up our phones for him to watch YouTube while we clean.
How Missy will tight-rope walk across the firehose in the playroom at dinner to grab her food
When the chimps take food with their feet. 🙂
The little happy toe rubs that the chimps do during meals
Rayne sitting in boxes, all day, every day, no matter the size of said box

Some photos of these moments:

Foxie enjoying a walk on Young’s Hill after giving me her baby to watch.

Gordo + pear + foot

Terry, giving one of his morning kisses

Cy enjoying a magazine (and a coconut)

While all of the Sponsor a Days shared with the chimpanzees and bovines are so special, contributing to their lives in a myriad of ways, today we have the unique honor of reading this beautiful honoring shared by one of our own caregivers, Kelsi Breen, in memory of her dad, Stephen.

Thank you so much, Kelsi, for sharing some of your cherished memories and photos of your Dad with us. And for your heartfelt dedication in always making the chimpanzees’ and bovines’ days and lives better in every way you can. We are all so fortunate to have you in our lives, and our hearts are with you and your family today.

“This blog is in honor of my dad, Stephen Breen.

Today marks ten years that my family lost my father to cancer. A whole decade has gone by, and it’s hard not to think about all the things he has missed: my college graduation, my brother’s wedding, my wedding, and all the life transitions in between. All along the way, I wondered what advice he would have given or encouragement he might have shared.

My dad, and of course my sweet mom too, are the reason I am working in this field. In college, when I told my dad my major- Psychology and Primate Behavior & Ecology- I shared the odds of actually getting to do the job I am doing today, which was slim. My dad didn’t tell me to think about other career options. He encouraged me to work hard and take all the opportunities no matter how big or small they may be. My dad believed I could do anything, as long as I put the work in. I was lucky enough to work along side my dad for many summers to make some extra cash for college. He taught me what hard work looks like, to be dedicated, to follow through, and to be someone people can count on. He was one of the hardest working individuals I ever met. He would never tell you, but he earned an Air Medal in Vietnam by volunteering for extra assignments. But, his hard work was only upstaged by his compassion. My dad always showed up for the people he cared for and would always lend a helping hand. Our house was filled with animals “he didn’t want,” that all loved him; classic dad. At one point we had two dogs, two cats, an iguana, a snake (which he did not like), and a salamander. The animals were obsessed with him. I think it was his calm and quiet nature that drew them to him.

In college, when I started interning at Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University, my dad loved listening to stories of Tatu signing to me, like Tatu asking to smell my breath in the morning and signing “coffee”. Or if I seemed to annoy her that morning she would sign “onion” to say I have bad breath. He got such a laugh out of hearing that Tatu would sign “stupid go” to her caregiver when they couldn’t go get her cheese. He loved listening to stories about Washoe, who I had never met but read and heard so many things about. He especially enjoyed the stories of Washoe calling people “dirty” if she disapproved or wanted to make an insult. My dad thought that was soooo funny. It became an inside joke for my dad and me. We would be watching TV or be out somewhere, and he would look over and sign “dirty” to me, and we would both laugh.

My dad was a quiet person, known to be a man of few words, but he was also very mischievous. Most people didn’t expect it. So I know he would have gotten such a kick out of hearing the chimps’ antics. Like the infamous Miss Honey B, dismantling the building and getting contraband. He would have adored Jamie and her affinity with cowboy boots, construction, power tools, and her tell-it-how-it-is personality.

I miss my dad everyday, some days I feel it more than others. The grief, as I have mentioned before, ebbs and flows in my life. Often, while I walk with Jamie, after she has requested a specific boot and we begin our adventure on Young’s Hill, my mind always wanders to my dad. He would have certainly wanted to know Jamie. My dad loved John Wayne and western movies. He and Jamie have a shared love for western wear. Whenever Jamie requests cowboy boots and a walk, I think about how much he would love this and how much I wish he could be here to experience it. My dad use to tell my brother and I every time we left the house to drive somewhere, “remember, slow and easy”. My brother and I took that as a life mantra too. Life goes by so fast, and we need to remember to take a moment and enjoy the people and things we have around us. The chimp house is such a busy place, so while I walk with Jamie, I think about my dad and how excited he would be for me. And I take the walk, slow and easy.”

I think it is safe to say that Jamie would have been utterly smitten with Kelsi’s dad, Stephen, just as much as he would have been with her: