Katelyn

Honoring Jody’s birthday

May 12, 2024 by Katelyn

Thank you so much, Tobin, for remembering and celebrating our beloved Jody with this special day of sanctuary in her honor.

“The tradition was to celebrate Jody’s birthday each Mother’s Day. Given that she was the self-appointed den-mother of her troop, I want to honor her birthday once again. During this first year of her physical absence, it’s helped me, as I grieve, to go and look at the different photographs on the blog.”

Jody would have been 49 this year. In the lives and hearts of her chimpanzee and human family and friends she lives forever.

Burrito, Jody and Foxie:

I forgot about this one of Jody and Annie and their fire-hose-built-for-two and it made me laugh. 🙂

Burrito and Jo:

The Great Pumpkin Thief Queen:

Jody and Negra

Jody, Missy and Jamie:

How we love you, Jo…

May!

May 2, 2024 by Katelyn

May always feels like a deep breath. Every month offers something to look forward to, but May and September are perhaps the loveliest months here. Despite having several brief re-appearances from snow over the last week, we are solidly into spring, the world is light-filled and greening, flowers are starting to bloom, birds are singing the sun up, temperatures are neither too hot or too cold, and the chimpanzees and bovines are joyfully roaming with a returned sense of ease as they search for all the spring grass they can find.

I tend to think of May in shades of purple and neon-green, lilac scented. Upon her family’s arrival to the sanctuary, we chose to celebrate Jody’s birthday on Mother’s Day in honor of the nine children (seven sons and two daughters) she gave birth to while in biomedical research. It’s a special day of honoring all our chimpanzee mothers and the children they gave birth to, some who are thankfully living in sanctuary, some who have passed, all of whom are cherished and remembered.

As most of you are probably aware, April 30th marked the first year since Jody’s death. In perfect Pacific Northwest Chimpanzee weather, the chimpanzees had wonderful forages on Young’s Hill and the Bray and received their first bunch of fresh lilacs to enjoy (most love to smell them and eat them!). Jody would have been 49 this year. The lilac trees we planted at her grave site just began leafing.

Truth be told, there were enough lilacs for everyone who was interested to enjoy, but Jamie and Missy said, “This is great! Too bad you didn’t bring enough for everyone else…” As a result, Negra, Annie and Burrito were luckily able to sneak 1-2 each, Foxie declined, and unfortunately, though still new to the concept of eating lilacs, Cy’s group ended up having to wait for the next harvesting. But lilac season is in full swing here, so don’t worry, we’re all on lilac high alert and there will be plenty more before the brief season ends!

Missy is probably the one most fond of lilacs and though she loathes having her photo taken, she tolerated a couple quick photos as long as I kept the lilacs coming:

Also this month, we get to celebrate Jody’s wildly handsome son, Clay! Look. At. Him! He will be turning 37 on May 20th! Thankfully, he’s been living in sanctuary at Save the Chimps for many years now. Clay was taken from Jody at just 10 hours old and spent 12 years of his childhood being used in invasive biomedical research. As a result, when he made it to sanctuary living with other chimpanzees was understandably a huge challenge for him and he spent several years living on his own in Special Needs where he could take things at his own pace. So we could not be more thrilled to know that Clay’s recently been successfully integrated with a family of his own! We know the enormous amount of courage this takes for chimpanzees (and humans), so it’s really the best of news! (Note: Clay is half-brothers with Burrito! They share the same dad, Mack). *Photos courtesy of Save the Chimps.

With his new family in their 3 acre outdoor habitat!

Our beautiful chimpanzee and bovine mamas here at the sanctuary…

Annie, mother to four daughters and three sons:

Foxie, mother to two sons and two daughters (and countless France Doras, Strawberry Shortcakes and trolls):

Missy, mother to one son and one daughter:

Negra, mother to one son and two daughters:

Beautiful Honey and her daughter, Meredith:

And Betsy and her beloved boy, Nutmeg (left), who is missed so very much:

I’d be one of the first to admit Mother’s Day can pack a wallop. Having lost my mama at a young age, in the handful of weeks half-way between my birthday and Christmas, put several holidays forever on the blacklist in one fell swoop. And I know I’m not alone in such sentiments about this, or probably a lot of holidays for many of us, for all kinds of reasons. Celebrating Jody and all our chimpanzee mamas on Mother’s Day has been a balm for me for many years and while I can’t say my heart doesn’t twist up over the newly added bittersweetness of the day, it will continue to be one of our most gorgeous spring celebrations, both at the sanctuary and in our hearts.

Something that soundly resonates with me was expressed by author and professor Kate Bowler, “Life is so beautiful. And life is so hard. For everyone.” And both of those truths can exist in the same heartbeat. “Culture loves to tell us to look on the bright side. Just be cheerful, it’s all about your mindset. But that approach has huge disadvantages. It prevents us from being honest, it bulldozes past real feelings and really it just prevents us from having compassion.” Yet it provides us opportunities to create “more every day empathy and more every day acts of compassion.”

Mothering exists in a special realm all it’s own. It exists beyond gender, societal beliefs and expectations, dates on a calendar, number of or desire for children, profound loss, ever-present grief, wishes, hopes, or even individuals outside of ourselves. And it is by no means limited to humans. Jody exemplified so completely that there are endless ways to give and receive mothering and compassion. To both others and ourselves. Through the sanctuary *you* help make possible, Jody curated a life and legacy that will continue to bloom through all our seasons.

Honey B, Missy’s daughter, in a lilac nest:

In memory of Stephen Breen

May 1, 2024 by Katelyn

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: