Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Diana

Out of the Box!

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Tickets are now on sale for Out of the Box 2011, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s gala auction in Seattle. They are going fast, so get yours while they last!

There will also be an online auction for out-of-town supporters. The online auction site is up and we’ve added information about our important Fund-a-Need project. Auction items will be added in the coming weeks, and there will be some incredible items! The online auction is shorter this year: October 7-9th.

I am looking for a few more Individual Sponsors for the event. We have some specific expenses that need covering, including $250 worth of gas for the truck we are renting to get all of the auction stuff from Cle Elum to Seattle and back ($250 is a Play Face Sponsor level), about $500 (Play Laugh Sponsor level) for really cool volunteer auction t-shirts (we’ll sell a few too), and about $500 in printing costs (another Play Laugh Sponsor could cover this).

Individual Sponsorships range from $100 Head Nod / Table Sponsors to $5,000 Pant Hoot Sponsors, with some fun sponsor levels in between. Perhaps blog readers could team up to donate towards a particular level? Learn more about who’s already stepped up to sponsor and how you can do the same on our Auction Sponsors page or just send me an email: [email protected].

Out of the Box 2011 is truly our biggest event to date. Volunteers worked really hard to procure awesome things for you to bid on. The Seattle event is going to have a wonderful food and wine, thanks to the chef at Bell Harbor and generous donations from Field Roast Grain Meat and Goose Ridge Vineyard and Winery, plus more wine from Dulces Bistro & Wine, Chandler Reach and Saviah Cellars.

Personally, I can’t wait!

auction 2011 logo

Running around

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I just wanted to report that I did in fact run around the outside of Young’s Hill the other day. I was so grateful for all who donated to Missy Games, I felt I owed it to you.

There is a video of it, but it’s frankly pretty boring – just me moving (not nearly as fast as it felt) around the fence in struggled silence. It seemed like it took forever and the uphill was pretty challenging. I tried to go as fast as I could. The video says it took almost exactly 2 minutes. I should have timed it before we hooked up the fence to the raceway, but I’m guessing it would have taken 20 seconds or less to run around the entire building. What I’m trying to impart is that Young’s Hill is enormous. It’s really difficult to capture the size of it in photographs. I tried a few weeks ago from across the river – see the photo below. Just compare the size of the building in that photo to the hill.

Of course the indoor space will always be important for the chimpanzees, particularly in the winter. The design  of the building incorporates vertical space, which is crucial to chimpanzees, and has a lot of options. It’s temperature-controlled and stays pretty cool in the summer and nice and warm even when it’s cold outside.

It will be so interesting to see how the chimps use the hill – where they hang out and what they do out there. There’s endless improvements and structures that can be added, but I think it’s a really great start to more freedom than Annie, Jody and Negra have known since their capture in Africa and more freedom than Burrito, Foxie, Jamie and Missy have ever known.

The next birthday that is coming up is Annie’s on September 10th. The hill won’t be complete by then, but it will be closer. Any suggestions for how we should celebrate?

the hill

Missy Games

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Thanks to Candy, Dawn, Alison, Audrey, Marcia, Judi, Amy, Margaret & Karen, Madelaine, Jeani, Stephanie P., Katelyn, Jody, Karen, Kathy H., Kathy B., Fran and Tanis (did I miss anyone??) for supporting Missy Games! Jackie and I had a lot of fun running through the obstacle course on Young’s Hill yesterday. Debbie was taking photos and decided to perform one of the feats of agility too.

The chimpanzees are going to have so much to do on the hill!

We didn’t quite raise the $1,000, but I’m going to “run” around the habitat this morning anyway. I’ll report back tomorrow. In the meantime, watch this photo montage of the Missy Games from yesterday.

Trouble viewing the video? Go here.

diana jackie leap youngs hill structure

Obstacle course, here we come!

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We now have $600 pledged or donated, so Jackie and I will be running the obstacle course on Young’s Hill in celebration of Missy’s birthday!! Thank you all who gave towards this fun celebration!

If you’ve pledged but haven’t made your donation, you can do that by donating online or by mailing a check to: Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, PO Box 952, Cle Elum, WA 98922. Let me know ([email protected]) if you’re sending a check, and be sure to send me your email address if I don’t have it so we can send you some photos later today. We’ll put together a little video for all and post it tomorrow.

Missy is going to have a terrific birthday with her friends today and we are so happy to have everyone, even at a distance, be able to participate in the celebration.

missy hanging

missy jamie chase

missy jamie swing

playfaces

Missy’s birthday & foolish caregivers?

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Missy’s birthday is this Tuesday, three days from now. Jackie and I were talking the other day about ways we could celebrate. Of course we’ll have a big party for Missy and the other chimps – Robbi and Dick have already delivered bags overflowing with awesome new toys and party supplies.

We had the Troll Olympics to celebrate Foxie’s birthday. Jackie and I were both there, but didn’t participate in the games because I was overseeing the events and Jackie was filming and taking photos. We both had a great time, but, to be honest, we were a little jealous of the participants.

So, we came up with a plan…. we will take pledges from blog readers in any amount for Missy Games.

If we get a total of $500 pledged, we will run a Missy obstacle course on Young’s Hill that J.B. will design for us. If we get $1,000 pledged, I’ll “run” around Young’s Hill on the outside of the fencing. If that doesn’t sound like a big deal, well, it is. The hill itself is really steep and it’s quite the distance for a non-athlete like me, but I should start getting in shape to prepare for games of chase with Missy!

We’re really going to be making fools out of ourselves, but with your support, and in honor of Missy’s athleticism and goofiness, we’re willing to do it.

You can pledge by commenting on this post or emailing me: [email protected] and jackie: [email protected].

We are planning our outfits already – sweatbands and socks that Missy would like are a must.

missy leaping

Seattle Bake Sale September 3rd & 4th

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The Chocolate Shoebox in Seattle is having a bake sale on Saturday September 3rd and Sunday September 4th from 11 to 7pm to benefit Precious Life Animal Sanctuary and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. They are still welcoming bakers for fabulous vegan baked goods. See the poster below for more info.

Enter it in your calendars now! What could be better than eating baked goods to benefit two sanctuaries?

bake sale

 

Chimpanzees in the News

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Last week was a banner week for newspaper articles about chimpanzees and their protection.

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest was the subject of a great article published yesterday (front page of the print edition) in the Yakima Herald Republic. Read it here and be sure to share it with others by sharing the link or scrolling down to the bottom of the article and clicking on the “share” button.

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On Friday, a compelling guest column by our friend Debra Durham was published in the Seattle Times. Debra wrote about her take on a recently released film and the realities within the fictional story in the column Depiction of lab animals in ‘Planet of the Apes’ disturbingly accurate.

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Recently, a very important op-ed in the New York Times appeared from Representative Roscoe G. Bartlett which eloquently described his change in opinion about the use of primates in biomedical research and the reasons for his co-sponsorship of the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act. Here’s a quote from that article:

“Continuing innovations in alternatives to the use of invasive research on great apes is the civilized way forward in the 21st century. Past civilizations were measured by how they treated their elderly and disabled. I believe that we will be measured, in part, by how we treat animals, particularly great apes.”

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And finally, the Washington Post tackled the story of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) meeting that convened last week as part of their investigation into the need for the continued use of chimpanzees in biomedical research. The investigation began in response to protests about moving chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) to a laboratory in Texas where they faced being put back into invasive research.

If you’ve been following this story through our blog and e-newsletters, you know that Jody’s son Levi is one of the unlucky 14 chimpanzees already transferred to Texas. Foxie’s son David, Negra’s daughter Heidi and Jody’s daughter April remain at APF, and their future is in the hands of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH commissioned the IOM to examine the scientific value of using chimpanzees in research, but, as the Washington Post article pointed out, and as we all know, the ethical questions of using great apes in invasive research cannot and should not be separated from the discussion.

For the sake of Heidi, David, April, Levi, and all chimpanzees who are currently considered merely tools and test tubes by some in the biomedical research industry, we are grateful for Jane Goodall, Laura Bonar and others at the IOM meeting who insisted that ethics be included in the discussion and ultimate decision by the NIH.

Heidi
Negra's daughter Heidi