Burrito was intently grooming Jody this afternoon:
Jody was pretty relaxed after the grooming session, as you can see by her drooped-lip facial expression:
animal rights
CSNW’s bundle of energy
Missy has done nothing but crack me up all day today! I posted a short version of the following story on Missy’s Facebook page this morning, but I thought I would share it here as well. When I arrived this morning, I was first greeted by Negra, who was sitting in her nest in her normal spot on the catwalk. With her blanket over her head, she looked over at me and gave me an approving head nod. At first, I thought everyone else was outside, but then I noticed someone else covered in blankets in the loft. All I could see was the top of their head so I really wasn’t sure who it was, and it was a bright and sunny morning, so it seemed strange that someone would still be in bed. After a couple of attempts at getting them to respond, I asked “Who goes there?” and Missy came flying out of her nest and began a rambunctious chase game with me. We made several laps around the chimp house, and then, just as fast as she jumped out of her nest, she dove face-first back into her nest, and did a headstand. She stayed in her headstand for several minutes laughing and playing with a toy and then jumped out and began chasing me again. And this is how she has been all day long. I couldn’t ask for a better play partner!
Young’s Hill getting closer one pole at a time
Last week Keith, CSNW’s founder, and volunteer Laura helped J.B. set some poles for the fence around Young’s Hill. We are building a double fence system with a total of 220 poles, so J.B.’s going to need a lot of help in the coming weeks! If you are interested in doing some physical labor volunteering now or in the future, please contact J.B. – he’d love to hear from you.
Here’s a photo of the first set of poles that went up:
Today Denice and some terrific volunteers from Seattle University’s Animal Advocates and the Seattle Animal Defense League are setting more poles. As a big bonus to all of us, they brought vegan donuts from Mighty O in Seattle!! Mighty O donated donuts for last year’s Out of the Box auction Dessert Dash and they were recently crowned the Food Network’s Donut Champions, so this is no small treat for us humans.
Anyway, enough about delicious vegan donuts. Back to the hill. Below is a photo of today’s volunteers setting posts.
And here’s a photo of Negra and Annie. Negra was watching the poles going up. With the two greenhouse panels off, the chimps can see all the work being done on the hill.
It’s not all about poles, either. If you received our recent e-newsletter, you know that all of the topsoil left over from digging the trench for the primary fence was utilized to make some mounds on the hill. To put these mounds in perspective, here’s a photo of J.B. and Jackie on one set (imagine them as chimps!):
More on the new Annie
The other night, J.B. gave a talk at Central Washington University about the changes we have seen in the Cle Elum Seven since they arrived from the lab in Pennsylvania almost 3 years ago. It’s amazing to think about how far the ghostly beings that arrived here have come since the start of their sanctuary life. J.B.’s talk focused mostly on Burrito, Negra, and Foxie, however, Annie is another great example of how sanctuary can pull someone out of their shell. As J.B. mentioned back in January, Annie used to never play with anyone other than Missy, but lately she’s been playing with other folks more frequently, including her human friends. Connie, who is training to be a volunteer caregiver, got her very first hand tickle the other day– and guess who it was from- Annie! Every time I think about Negra being playful and more extroverted than usual, or Burrito hanging out in the greenhouse, or Foxie nesting with blankets, or Annie playing with new friends, I just have to smile from ear to ear at the testimony that is to sanctuary life. It’s such a joy to watch these chimps change- and to think about what’s to come!
Burrito
I just love this face.
Thanks for the Boomer Balls!
Jody and Missy would like to thank everyone who participated in our recent Chimps’ Choice request by sending Boomer Balls.
Dodge stands up for chimps
If you’re a Primate Patrol member or follow the Primate Patrol page on Facebook, you know that Dodge recently altered their advertisement campaign which had included a chimpanzee named Suzie (Suzy).
Dodge took it a step further and released a powerful statement, which included these sentences:
“Dodge is firmly committed to never using great apes in our advertisements again.”
“We are not a company that hides behind issues or brushes them under the rug. We are a company that meets issues head on and moves forward. And we promise to keep doing everything in our power to be one of the most honest and forward-thinking companies out there.”
This morning, Dodge published the link to their statement on their Facebook page. They have received a bit of flack from Dodge enthusiasts who clearly do not appreciate PETA, who Dodge mentions in their statement.
If you’re a Facebook user, please counter these folks by liking the Dodge Facebook page and politely thanking Dodge for indeed being a forward-thinking company on the issue of great apes in entertainment. Corporations can never make everyone happy, but we should praise them when they make compassionate decisions.
My Dodge Neon was the vehicle that Keith and J.B. drove from Pennsylvania to Cle Elum, following the Cle Elum Seven’s journey to freedom over two years ago. So now I have two big reasons to appreciate Dodge.
