Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Happy Birthday, Erin!

by

This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Erin Yuhas! Erin has been a friend to the chimps and the sanctuary for a long time and she shared this beautiful message about today:

“When I make my wish and blow out my candles I would know my wish came true if I were suddenly there with these chimps. I would give anything to spend every day with these chimps and with those of you who do all you do to help them to be free, happy, and healthy. I enjoy your photos and stories every day and can think of no better way to spend my birthday than partying with my friends, no matter what species they are. I would love to spend the day with all of you. Thank you for sharing their stories with me.”

Erin, we are so touched by your lovely message. Thank you so much for giving us all the opportunity to celebrate your special day with you and for making a lasting difference in the lives of the chimps! You are definitely here in spirit! And since you share a birthday month with Foxie and Missy, maybe if you do some flips, carry some trolls and Dora dolls around, drink smoothies and eat copious amounts of tomatoes all day long, it will help bring the spirit of these birthday ladies to you! 😉

Happy Birthday, Erin! All of us are wishing you a fantastic day of celebration, joy and love!

Foxie:

Missy:

One of those weeks

by

There are some days, maybe even entire weeks, when things go wrong at the sanctuary. Not major things, mind you, but an accumulation of small “fires” that need to be put out. Shelves collapse in the kitchen (spraying juice everywhere), an innocent volunteer takes a pile of feces to the face, blankets block doors from closing off an area for cleaning, minor injuries on the chimps (from a small fight) need special attention, staff or volunteers get sick, and Jamie decides to cap it all off by staying out late on Young’s Hill. Did I mention it’s been really hot and a haze of wildfire smoke from Canada is in the air? This is the kind of week we’ve been having at the sanctuary. I debated on whether or not this was maybe a bit too much information, but I think it’s incredibly important to talk about BOTH fun things like Foxie’s birthday party, AND the less charming things that happen around here. Being a caregiver isn’t comprised of 50% games with Burrito and 50% troll tosses with Foxie after all (although that does sound pretty great).

The upside? We LOVE what we do. Through all the fog of craziness in some days, emerge seven pretty special chimpanzees that deserve all that hard work and love, and if that means working a bit late, having plans suddenly change, or being uncomfortably sweaty and smelly for a few hours, it’s all worth it.

Negra:

Happy 41st Birthday Foxie!

by

We made it a day dedicated to Foxie’s favorites: more fruit than normal (Foxie has a sweet tooth), including fruit smoothie for EVERY meal! Mini watermelon salad bowls and tons of new dolls were the highlight of her brunch party. Thanks to donors, volunteers, and staff for all contributing to make Foxie’s birthday a fabulous event!

Happy Birthday, Foxie!!

by

Woohoo!! It’s Foxie’s birthday and a very special day of sanctuary was sponsored in her honor by her (and our) wonderful friend, Tracy Headley! Foxie is 41 and full of sass and spitfire this morning! I think it’s more like 41 going on 14. She started her birthday morning off with a wild game of chase with Annie and Missy, swinging on a firehose while play-kicking at her friends and laughing, and then hanging upside down from the greenhouse ceiling while kicking her feet every which way possible.

Birthday packages arrived this morning, an exciting brunch forage is being prepped, and all the trolls and Dora dolls are lining up for the celebration!

Tracy, thank you so much for helping us make this an extra special day for Foxie! We are so lucky to have you as part of our chimp family. Foxie is such a special soul bringing joy, comfort, love and shenanigans to the lives of us all.

Foxie, if there were a picture of my heart I am pretty sure it would look like you. We all could not possibly love you more. We hope this day full of excitement, smoothies, fruit, crazy chimp shenanigans, more trolls and Doras than you could possibly carry, hug, bite and do pirouettes on, friends, family and love, so much love, is the best birthday yet. Until the next and the next and the next…

Happy Birthday, Foxie!!

Moments of comfort

by

After experiencing over 30 years of deprivation, it never ceases to amaze me (or make my heart burst) to see the chimpanzees so fully embrace a life of comfort in their own unique ways. It physically hurts my heart to think of all they went without for so long and makes each moment of joy and comfort for them all the more meaningful.

The chimps recently received some new SUPER fluffy fleece blankets and they adore them. They look as though they are floating on clouds sitting in their nests, the blankets sometimes as high as their chests. We found two super voluptuous nests this morning while cleaning the playroom. Despite Jamie’s aversion to snakes, she really loves to incorporate the stuffed toy snakes into her nests:

Jamie (we assume) decided to use a chopstick to remove a washer from somewhere yet to be discovered. She is far too smart for our own good:

This beauty was spread out over the catwalk:

Beautiful Annie lounging:

Jody in particular loved the new blankets (naturally) and frequently rubbed her head and face against them:

Jody’s sweet feet in a cloud of fluff as she napped this morning:

Seeing the chimps surrounding themselves in comfort will never grow old.

Happy Anniversary, Susana!

by

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Susana Pataro! Susana shared this lovely message about her gift:

“I visited CSNW last year on the occasion of the NAPSA Workshop that took place in Tacoma. The last day was devoted to meet the chimps and the facilities. To be honest I didn’t have any idea of the place. Needless to say that when I discovered this old lovely farm, the story of the place, Ellie, the very special residents, the care they receive from such a compassionate team, I fell in love. I became a follower of your blog and I share the stories and pictures almost every day creating awareness among my friends on the suffering of chimps in biomedical research. So, on the occasion of my anniversary I decided to share the celebration in joy and love with all of you.”

Susana, thank you so much for celebrating not only your life, but the lives of the chimps (and Ellie! 🙂 ) in such a compassionate way. We so appreciate the work you do to make a difference in the lives of chimpanzees and share their stories with others. All of us at CSNW are wishing you the happiest of celebrations and hope your day is filled with all that brings you the love, comfort, joy and sanctuary you help provide the chimps.

You share a birthday month with these two ladies so you’re bound to have a special day:

Foxie turns 41 tomorrow!

Missy turns 42 on August 23rd!

Missy running

We don’t know for sure when Ellie’s birthday month is, but she’s definitely special!

Jamie and Ellie bottom of Young's Hill