Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee rescue

Welcoming in the New Year

by

We are all continuously so amazed by how generous our supporters are—truly, you all keep this sanctuary running! We are able to give Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Annie, Negra, and Jody a cozy warm home, good healthy food, long-lasting friendships with caregivers, and an endless supply of trolls, boots, and other enrichment directly because of YOU.

This year, our family of staff and supporters has grown stronger and our hearts have only gotten bigger from how grateful we are to see these seven special beings live their lives without the fear of being in confined biomedical lab cages—not knowing what would happen next.

Now, you can see in their eyes they trust us. They trust us. It truly amazes me after all they’ve been through, that they not only forgive humans, but learn to build friendships with confidence, trust us with their most prized possessions, and even help us out when needed. It’s because of your support that we can maintain these important relationships with these chimpanzees and provide them with hope, love, home, and sanctuary.

Our goal for year-end giving of individual donations was fairly optimistic, but we’re getting closer and closer every minute that we creep toward welcoming 2015. As I write this, we are just $1,512 short of our goal for year-end giving! In just a few short hours, you can help us make it to our goal for this year (or surpass it!)

Dora and friends got dressed up for the New Year’s Eve bash:
Dora the Explorer on NYE

Everyone enjoyed a sparkling apple cider forage, especially Jamie:
jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

Missy had her own technique:
missy drink cider

Everyone else was busy collecting the nuts and coconut flakes we scattered around like confetti:

Foxie:
foxie

Annie:
annie

Jody:
jody forage

Negra:
negra forage

negra forage

Cheers to you and yours, and Happy New Year from all of us at
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!

Monthly favorites

by

Earlier this year, we phased out the individual Facebook pages for each chimp in favor of consolidating posts to our main CSNW Facebook page, with the promise that we would post our favorite photos of each chimp every month. Sometimes they are photos we haven’t posted to the blog before, and sometimes they are repeats, but ones that are definitely worth repeating! This month I selected some that haven’t been posted on the blog or Facebook before. I also wanted to thank everyone for their support during this busy month, and all year long!

You don’t have to be on Facebook to see our posts there — here’s the one from today:

Post by Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Favorite staff photos

by

J.B. and I played a bit of a trick on Elizabeth, Debbie, Katelyn, and Keri recently.

I asked each of them to send me their favorite photos that they had taken, with the reasoning that I wanted to do an end-of-year “staff photo picks” blog post. Our real intention was to get them a Christmas gift with their favorite photo printed on metal. Pretty sneaky, right?

It worked beautifully – they were genuinely surprised by and (I’m pretty sure) happy with the gifts. Of course they couldn’t pick just one photo each, because they are all such great photographers!! Plus they love all of the chimps so much. So I had to narrow it down from the several photos they picked. There were a variety of factors to consider, including which photos would likely look best once printed on the metallic surface.

I figured I may as well go ahead with my cover story and share the photos on the blog so you too can enjoy them.

These are the four photos I had printed for their gifts:

Debbie’s photo (Foxie):

Debbie's fav photo

 

Keri’s photo (Annie):

Keri's fav photo

 

Elizabeth’s photo (Burrito):

Elizabeth's fav photo

 

Katelyn’s photo (Foxie):

Katelyn's fav photo

 

Just because I feel the need to have all of the chimps represented, here are a few more favorites:

 

a photo J.B. took of Missy in her element:

Missy balancing on fire hose

 

Another of Katelyn’s – this one I am guessing will always be a classic of Jamie:

Jamie looking at camera holding boot

 

This was another of Keri’s picks. I really like it because of Jody’s extreme relaxed face:

Jody with relaxed face

 

I took this one of Negra in October, but it might be my all time favorite photo of her (except for the other 15 all-time favorite photos I have of Negra, taken by various staff photographers):

Negra looking at camera with night bag

 

If you have a favorite photo of one (or more) of the Cle Elum Seven, let us know – we’d love to see what your favs are too!

 

A wonderful Christmas time

by

The chimps (and the humans!) have been having a really great Christmas, thanks to all our amazing supporters! We had five people sponsor the day for the chimps today, so we owe a big thank you again to Laurel H., Kathleen K., Molly W., Michael H., and Janine B.

Also a huge shout out to Lisa S. and Jayne R. for their decorations that we were able to spread across yesterday‘s and today’s parties! Carol M. sent us seven adorable chimpiñatas which we added to the decor, too. More thank-yous are in order for everyone that sent in new toys which became presents for today’s celebration, including Sharon & Larry C., Diana M., Lisa S., Jayne R., and Helen K. Here’s part of the haul in front of Santa’s sleigh:

web_christmas_party_decor_set-up_pr_dm_IMG_1363

web_christmas_party_decor_set-up_pr_dm_IMG_1368

Volunteer Patti and supporter Anne also picked up a lot of yummy fresh produce for the party and Patti made amazing roasted pumpkins with quinoa, wild rice, and veggies.

web_christmas_party_food_prep_pumpkin_veggies_bread_dm_IMG_1360

The day began with a small forage of tomatoes, pistachios, and shaved coconut in the tree. Negra was the first out to see what we had set up under (and in) the tree.

fb_web_christmas_tree_presents_party_set-up_gh_dm_IMG_1306

web_negra_forage_christmas_tree_party_gh_dg_IMG_1321

web_negra_forage_look_up_christmas_tree_party_gh_dg_IMG_1323

Missy snagged most of the tomatoes, and went through the presents, too:

web_missy_forage_presents_christmas_tree_party_gh_dg_IMG_1328

The party then moved into the playroom, where all the food and presents from our friends near and far brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees!

Annie:

web_annie_eat_forage_christmas_party_pr_dm_IMG_7675

web_annie_eat_food_off_floor_forage_christmas_pr_dg_IMG_1379

web_annie_forage_christmas_party_pr_dg_IMG_1421

Jamie:

web_jamie_forage_presents_christmas_party_pr_dg_IMG_1486

web_jamie_forage_christmas_party_pr_dg_IMG_1453

web_jamie_forage_christmas_party_pr_dg_IMG_1416

Foxie:

web_foxie_eat_forage_christmas_party_pr_dm_IMG_7669

web_foxie_forage_christmas_party_pr_dg_IMG_1384

Missy:

web_missy_drink_christmas_party_pr_dm_IMG_7652

web_missy_forage_behind_sleigh_christmas_party_pr_dm_IMG_7650

Negra:

web_negra_eat_bread_forage_christmas_party_pr_dm_IMG_7647

Jody:

web_jody_forage_christmas_party_pr_dm_IMG_7645

Burrito

web_burrito_model_face_eat_pumpkin_christmas_forage_pr_dg_IMG_1437

web_burrito_model_face_eat_pumpkin_christmas_forage_pr_dg_IMG_1430

web_burrito_eat_pumpkin_profile_christmas_forage_pr_dg_IMG_1433

As if those photos weren’t enough, here’s a video of the festivities of the day. Thank you again to everyone who has helped bring such happiness to the chimpanzees this Christmas and every day!

Today’s gifts of sanctuary

by

This Christmas Day, we are thrilled to say, has been sponsored by so many amazingly generous people! FIVE to be exact!

Laurel Hecht has graciously chosen to make the lives of the chimpanzees better by sponsoring today, which also happens to be her birthday! We all wish the happiest of birthdays to you, Laurel, and thank you so much for your gift of sharing such a special day with the chimpanzees!

Kathleen Kemper sponsored today for Joanna Gabriel to wish her “Merry Christmas!” Kathleen shared that “Joanna has a deep love for the chimpanzees, and great admiration for their caregivers. She is so grateful that the chimps are living out their lives in such comfort after all they have been through.” Kathleen and Joanna, we are grateful for your kind words and all that you do to help the chimpanzees have the lives they deserve.

Molly Wiltshire sponsored today and shared this lovely note: “God bless you, the chimps, and the sanctuary.”

Michael Hamilton sponsored today in honor of Lucinda Almy-Hamilton and wishes her “Happy Christmas!”

And Janine Burr also sponsored today for which we are so very grateful!

We are humbled, inspired, and full of gratitude every single day by the generosity and compassion that exists in people. To each of you who sponsored this Christmas Day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees, we are immensely thankful to you for making a difference in their lives. From all of us here at CSNW, we wish you holidays filled with love, joy, peace, and comfort!

web_foxie_fireplace_look_at_stockings_xmas_dg__MG_6483

And thank so much to all of you who have helped us toward our wish for 50 new Sponsor-a-Days for 2015 – we are only 8 days away from reaching our goal! It’s such a wonderful way to honor or remember friends and loved ones, or even yourself. If you haven’t already done so, please consider heading over to our Holiday Central page to check out all the ways you can help the chimpanzees while celebrating this special season.

Please know that we are so very grateful to each and every one of you for all you do, in so many ways, to ensure that every day is a day of sanctuary for these seven amazing beings.

The Christmas festivities are getting underway so be sure to check back later today and celebrate with us!

A Season of gratitude (and parties!)

by

The chimpanzees (and humans!) of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest have the best friends and neighbors! People far and wide love these chimpanzees and do so many amazing things to ensure their well-being and the forever home they deserve. It’s an honor and a gift to witness this every single day and we are immensely grateful.

The sanctuary is located a few miles outside the small, eastern Washington town of Cle Elum. This year our local Umpqua Bank sponsored a Giving Tree for the chimpanzees and ARRF Animal Rescue! The bank staff including Jamie, Patti, Brenda, Danielle, and Seka put so much time and effort into organizing this, from creating ornaments for each of the chimpanzees listing chosen gifts on the back to spreading the word about the sanctuary:

web_umpqua_bank_giving_tree_kd_FullSizeRender(2)

And did our local friends and neighbors ever come through!

web_umpqua_bank_gifts_kd_IMG_1136

So if you know us and the chimpanzees, you know we had to start celebrating the holidays with a Christmas Eve party! All of the chimpanzees were enjoying time in the greenhouse this morning, unaware of the party preparation, except for the ever clever Jamie. She knew something was going on and even skipped her usual mid-morning nap, choosing instead to supervise things while playing upside-down-Jamie-on-a-barrel, which in caregiver lingo translates to “Jamie’s happy!”

web_jamie_upside_down_on_a_barrel_kd_IMG_1153

Caregiver Debbie graciously served as our Christmas Eve elf extraordinaire and made the chimpanzees hot cocoa (with almond milk and unsweetened cocoa powder), put our snow cone machine in overdrive (since we are still waiting on our winter snow here), and prepped the party decor (thanks to Jayne R. and Lisa S.!). Here are volunteer caregiver, Lizz, and our elf, Debbie, setting up (and yes, we have as much, if not more fun, than the chimpanzees!):

web_lizz_dm_set_up_xmas_eve_party_kd_IMG_1173

No holiday party is complete without the holiday trolls:

web_xmas_eve_trolls_kd_IMG_1172

Burrito was the first one into the play room where he decided to enjoy the cocoa with the trolls:

web_burrito_drink_cocoa_xmas_eve_dm_IMG_1180

This giant present held a new pair of boots for Jamie:

web_jamie_open_giant_present_boots_dm_IMG_1214

Annie opening party favors filled with peanuts:

web_annie_xmas_eve_party_favor_dm_IMG_1210

Missy enjoying snow cones in a Santa boot mug:

web_missy_drink_snowcone_santa_boot_dm_IMG_1266

Jody foraging through her stash of holiday treats:

web_jody_forage_xmas_eve_kd_IMG_7623

Jamie, of course, had collected numerous cups of cocoa to enjoy:

web_jamie_hold_cocoa_kd_IMG_7620

(Unfortunately, no photographic evidence exists of this, but Foxie and one of the holiday trolls spent their time slurping up snow cones and Negra took her stash to enjoy in the comfort of her nest).

Cle Elum friends and neighbors, we can’t thank you enough for welcoming the chimpanzees into your neighborhood and for your generosity and compassion, not only on this holiday, but all year long. We are truly thankful for your support! And thanks again to Gary and Jan Scott for sponsoring today in honor of our neighbors, Jack and Sue Dignum!

We’ve received so many genuinely thoughtful gifts and good tidings this holiday season it would be impossible to list them all, but here is just a glimpse of the love, creativity and inspiration we’ve been gifted with:

Adorable, hand-made ornaments for the chimpanzees from Claudia H.:

web_handmade_ornaments_from_Claudia

So many wonderful holiday wishes and kind words from our amazing supporters:

web_holiday_card_table

This amazingly beautiful Advent calendar created by Kathleen C! (It’s taking all my willpower not to walk over and sneak a peek at the 25th right now):

web_Advent_calendar_from_Kathleen

Please know we are incredibly thankful to each and every one of you who have not only graciously made the chimpanzees’ holiday special, but most importantly, have made a difference in their lives. As I type this, the chimpanzees’ just finished a popcorn forage after a dinner of lentils and roasted squash. With bellies full of healthy food, they are safely asleep in their nests, resting in the comfort of their sanctuary home this Christmas Eve. Each of you through your thoughts, donations, in-kind gifts, and sharing what you know of the chimps with others have made this possible for them. I can think of no more meaningful gift and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. From all of the primates here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we wish you a magical Christmas Eve and holiday season filled with the love, comfort and compassion you so graciously share with us.

And if you haven’t done so already, please check out Holiday Central if you’d like to see how you can celebrate the holidays and help the sanctuary at the same time! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the chimpanzees’ Christmas celebration! Until then, I leave you with a poem sent by another friend of the chimpanzees, Regina Lagrasta:

web_ornament_transparent_regina_poem_for_blog

 

Saving Dora

by

Foxie has an interesting relationship with her dolls. She almost always carries at least one with her, and we wouldn’t think of putting out the enrichment for the day and not including a handful (or several handfuls) of trolls and Doras. As much as Foxie likes having her dolls with her, she also doesn’t mind being separated from them – temporarily. She’ll toss one to a caregiver, or Jamie will swipe one to entice Foxie into a game of keep-away. But Foxie almost always reaches a point where enough is enough and she wants her “baby” back.

Today a Dora doll was stuck in a toy and Foxie was determined to get it out.

After awhile, Foxie had had enough and grew increasingly upset. With one final pull, she freed Dora, and then screamed at the offending toy for good measure.