Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for March 2025

Happy Birthday, Cy!

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Our heartfelt thanks to the Parella family for sponsoring this special day of sanctuary in celebration of Cy and his 35th birthday!!

From Aprile, Rob and Robbie Parella: “The Parella family would like to dedicate this day of sanctuary in honor of Cy chimpanzee’s birthday. Cy- you’ve given us all a reason to believe in the goodness of humanity. Your caregivers there take such good care of you and your other friends. Sending you some magazines we hope you enjoy on your special day (no cows or brightly painted furniture, we checked). Love, Your human family in Newark Delaware, Uncle Rob, Auntie Aprile and cousin Robbie.”

Rob, Aprile, and Robbie, thank you so much for honoring your Pal, Cy, today and every day!

Cy is really a special guy and it’s a profound honor to know and care for him. This is the first of two sponsorships in celebration of him today and it makes us so happy knowing others cherish him as we do. We can’t wait to share his party with you all later today!

Aunt Neggie

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You may know Foxie as the Mother of all Troll dolls, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, Disney Princess dolls, and Dora the Explorer dolls.

But what you don’t know is that some of Foxie’s dolls get to go off on a little vacation and spend time with their fun Aunt…

Aunt Neggie.

Negra carries dolls and stuffed animals with her on/off. While she doesn’t play with the dolls like Foxie does, she does keep them warm in her pelvic pocket and takes them with her every time she is on the go. I have compiled photos from staff’s phones from the past couple years for this blog!

Negra carries the dolls infrequent enough that I still whip out my phone and try to capture a picture each time. I think it’s just so sweet.

Negra with twin dolls:

Negra with corn and a Strawberry Shortcake doll:

Negra with a Strawberry Shortcake doll in her pelvic pocket:

Negra with an Eeyore stuffed animal:

Negra with a doll in her pelvic pocket (check out the legs sticking out):

Negra with a sock and a Troll doll:

Negra with twin dolls in her mouth:

Negra offering a kiss while holding a doll:

Negra offering another kiss while holding a doll:

Negra with a Princess doll in her right hand:

Negra with a doll in her mouth:

Negra with a stuffed Eeyore in her pocket:

Negra offering a kiss with a Raggedy Ann doll in her hand:

Negra with a Troll doll stuffed in her pelvic pocket:

Negra and Dora doll:

Negra and Dora the Explorer doll out on Young’s Hill:

And a very old photo… Negra and a Troll doll:

negra with troll doll

We are low on some of our essential cleaning items! Please check out our Amazon Wishlist!

Late Winter on the Hill and A Day in the Clinic

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The weather has been beautiful lately and the chimps have been taking full advantage of this false spring before the inevitable second winter strikes back. Enjoy a few scenes from The Bray and Young’s Hill from the past couple of days.

I also want to share with you that yesterday, Honey B took what we hope will be her last trip to the clinic for a while. Here’s more on that from Dr. Erin:

Yesterday, Honey B had her 3rd clinic trip to manage a bite wound on her left hand. She’s had 2 regional limb perfusions to concentrate antibiotics, including deep flushing of the infected wound. Despite twice daily laser treatments, x-rays, and antibiotics, the swelling and drainage have persisted. A team of medical professionals, including Dr. Jeffrey Friedrich, a board certified hand surgeon, and surgery residents Dr. Thais Calderon and Dr. Emma Dwyer, performed a deeper exploratory surgery, which, unfortunately, resulted in the amputation of the affected finger to prevent arthritis and chronic pain. As sad as we are that we couldn’t defeat the bone infection in Honey B’s finger, we are looking forward to her being more comfortable and regaining better use of her hand. We’re grateful for the expertise of Dan Low MD (chimp anesthesiologist extraordinaire) who introduced us to Dr. Friedrich, CRNA Kate Uselman (anesthesia), Dr. Rachelle Chavez, DC, OB/GYN, and sonographer Huong Johnston who performed ultrasound and a complete pelvic exam. Honey B recovered well and was awake and hungry by dinnertime. Even though she was ready to join a brief fray yesterday afternoon, she will need to be isolated for a few days to monitor her healing. A huge thank you goes out to the entire medical team for their care and expertise!

And a huge thank you to Dr. Erin, too!

One team performs the ultrasound while another begins a regional limb perfusion:

The anesthesia team monitors Honey B’s vitals:

The surgical team at work, while CSNW Vet Assistant, Krissy, and visiting veterinary student extern, Eden, observe and help coordinate:

Honey B in recovery:

And Honey B the next day, ready to explore and rejoin her friends (but not until the doc gives the OK):

Warm Weather Wishes

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As Sabrina mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the weather has warmed up here, the sun is out, and we are thrilled about it! This warm weather has me dreaming of the day the panels come off of the greenhouses, and reminiscing on sweet moments shared with the chimpanzees last spring and summer. It is not quite warm enough to take down the panels yet, as they have an important job of retaining heat when we need to heat the greenhouses and the temperatures are not consistently warm enough yet to put away our winter heaters. In today’s blog video, I’m sharing videos I didn’t get a chance to share with you all last spring and summer of what we have to look forward to!