Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Katelyn

Today is in memory of Bill Clark

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Shelley Winfrey in memory of her dad, Bill Clark, on his birthday. Shelley is a long-time friend of the chimpanzees and does so much to support their lives in their sanctuary home.

Shelley, thank you so much for sponsoring this day in memory of your dad, Bill. We are touched that you include the chimpanzees when holding your family in your heart and we are honored to celebrate your dad with you today. We are so grateful for all you do for the chimpanzees and our thoughts are with you as we wish you a day full of comfort, love and joyful memories.

A quiet moment from your handsome pal, Burrito:

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Thank you, Karen!

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We are so thankful to also have Karen Bugni sponsoring today for the chimpanzees! Karen shared that she wanted to sponsor today as “A gift for the chimps!” It’s immensely moving to witness how much care and compassion these seven special souls inspire and we are thrilled to see them surrounded by so much love.

Karen, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees and wanting to give them this special Christmas gift! We are so grateful to you and hope you know that you make a difference in their lives. All of us here at CSNW wish you the happiest of holidays!

Foxie with a snow-snack:

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Every year it seems the love for these seven amazing chimpanzees grows more and more and this year is no different. You all have stocked the chimp house shelves for chimps and humans alike with items we needed from our Wishlist, sent donations, and boxes and boxes of gifts for the chimpanzees to have on Christmas day. You are amazing! We are immensely grateful to each and every one of you for your support of these seven special chimpanzees and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving them lives of love, comfort and celebration. From all of the primates here at CSNW, Merry Everything and a Happy Always! And be sure to tune in later today for the chimpanzees’ holiday festivities!

Happy Birthday, Laurel!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Laurel Hecht! Laurel is celebrating her 60th birthday today and generously wanted to share her special day with the chimpanzees! We are always touched when people choose to make a difference in the chimps’ lives and when you add in it being a birthday and Christmas, it’s all the more inspiring.

Laurel, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees today and sharing your celebration with them! All of us here at the sanctuary wish you the happiest of birthdays and a beautiful holiday season!

I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if visions of food are dancing in Burrito’s head today…

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We have another generous Sponsor-a-Day coming up later this morning and of course, the chimp house is all a flurry in preparation for the chimps’ Christmas celebration today so be sure to check back later!

Today is in memory of Soldier

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Amy Ferreira and her family in memory of their beloved pitbull, Soldier. Amy shared this message about today:

“Sponsored in memory of Soldier, our 14 year old Pitbull Rescue. His personality quirks and loving gentle nature made him so special to us. And we love seeing you honour the Chimps’ personalities, quirks, and their day to day choices! The work you do and your blogs sharing with us are good for the soul!”

Amy, we are so touched that you would sponsor a day for the chimpanzees in honor of Soldier’s memory. It makes us so happy to know of rescue animals, especially sweet pitbulls, finding the loving homes they all deserve. Thank you for all you do to make the lives of so many animals better and for having given Soldier such a special forever family all his own. We are so happy to get to share in his life and honor him here today.

Soldier and his human sibling:

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Amy shared that Soldier’s version of troll dolls were his much adored “quacker” stuffed duck toys which he loved to nest with. I suspect Foxie would understand completely:

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Today is for the Taylor Family!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Meg Lunnum in honor of her family, the Taylors! Meg is a wonderful long-time friend of the chimpanzees and humans alike and she shared this beautiful message for her family:

“My little brother, Alan, who chose to be vegan. My sister-in-law, Angie, who is my yoga mentor and an instructor for Mindful Yoga that includes military veterans, and my two nephews, Harrison and Mitchell, who will grow up to be the most amazing persons thanks to their parents! And, hopefully, their Auntie. I love you all!!!!”

Meg, thank you so much for always holding the chimpanzees in your heart and including them in your family! We so appreciate all you do to make their lives, and the lives of so many other animal beings, better.

Alan, Angie, Harrison and Mitchell, you each sound like amazing people, just like Meg! All of us here at CSNW wish you the happiest of holidays! Thank you so much for caring about the chimp. We are so grateful to know how many wonderful friends the chimpanzees have. Even including some from the most unlikely of places…

Foxie and her troll friend:

Troll doll whispering to Foxie

Jamie and her boot friend:

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Negra and her blanket friend:

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Happy Birthday, Arva!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Arva Roland! She shared this message about today: “It’s my birthday and I have loved chimps since I was very little.”

Happy Birthday, Arva! Thank you so much for caring about the chimpanzees and making a difference in their lives! We are so touched that you chose to give this gift as a way to celebrate both their lives and your own. All of us here at CSNW wish you the happiest of days and hope it’s one filled with the love, joy, and comfort that you help provide for the chimps, as Annie brilliantly demonstrates:

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So much to be grateful for

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The past few weeks have been a wild rumpus of weather. Pouring rain, freezing rain, freezing fog, snow and ice. The chimpanzees have been troopers, and even boss lady Jamie has been handling the interruption in walks around Young’s Hill relatively well. But they relish every chance they get to stretch their bodies and minds in between the late autumn storms.

This week we’ve had a couple of beautifully bright, sunny mornings with warmer temperatures (meaning above freezing) and Jamie, Missy, Annie and Foxie, in particular, have been heading outside after breakfast to run, leap, climb and explore. J.B. and I both captured some of the happenings.

Missy (foreground) and Annie (background) both bipedal before they sprinted off through the bamboo in a game of chase.

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Annie (L) and Missy (R):

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I love Missy’s play face in this one:

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Foxie and France Dora pass by on their way to explore:

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Missy contemplates her next move:

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Foxie and her beloved new France Dora decide to take a climb and see what they can see:

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You can just see the river that runs below the sanctuary in the top left corner.

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Jamie has made sure we are making the most of every single walkable moment with the weather breaks. The forecast is predicting a snow storm beginning tonight and through tomorrow so maybe she knows there’s no time to waste.

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And with the holidays fast approaching, all is abuzz as we begin preparations for the chimps’ holiday celebration. Donations, gifts from our Wishlist for the chimps and humans alike, and holiday cards full of love and good wishes have been pouring in! And trolls! So many trolls for Foxie! We are constantly astounded by your generosity and are so full of gratitude to you all! And we would like to share a special thank you for long-time supporter, Diana Petri, for her amazingly generous gift of the new office computers Diana and I put on the Wishlist! Diana has been patching hers together for months and mine is an old PC that has been making crazy noises when it’s forced to wake up in the morning, so to say we are excited is an understatement.

But most importantly, each one of your gifts, whether for the chimpanzees, or to help the humans care for the chimpanzees, not only provides for their direct quality care, but allows us to focus more funds toward maintaining a secure future and beginning our exciting plans for expansion and growing our chimpanzee family. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to each and every one of you who have given your support, in whatever form that has come. Every single thought, dollar and gift makes an immense difference to the chimpanzees’ lives, both now and in the future.

And to get in the spirit of the season, I will leave you with this moment from today captured by Anna. Foxie, her new France Dora (out of sight, but who was being passed back and forth between us) and I sat down to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas” this afternoon. The sweet Vince Guaraldi music is some of my favorite to listen to this time of year (not to mention seeing, and okay, yes, mimicking the Peanuts characters’ dancing scene) and as Foxie loves music and dancing I thought the show might be right up her alley. Sure enough, the second she heard the music she smiled and started head-bobbing along.

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Happiest of holiday seasons to all of you!