Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

In Honor of Rob and Debbie’s Wedding Anniversary – Congratulations!

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Today, we celebrate the 32nd wedding anniversary of Rob and Debbie – the parents of our caregiver family member, Jenna! Thank you, Jenna, for sponsoring today in honor of your parents wedding anniversary!

“December 29, 2022 marks 32 years my parents have been married. Both my parents have always supported me when I decided I wanted to work with apes – I cannot thank them enough for helping me along with all my adventures. I wouldn’t be at CSNW today without them. As avid blog readers, I hope they love their appearance on said blog! 🙂 Love you!”

Congratulations from every one of us here, we are grateful every day for Jenna and for you both! Have a fantastic day!

I thought that a trip down memory lane of some 2022 Chimp House parties was appropriate for today’s festivities!

Annie, lounging after a successful Greenhouse party:

Gordo, enjoying his birthday celebration:

Missy, munching on a yummy dinner roll during a summer celebration:

Mave, snagging a sunflower:

Jody, enjoying her celebration goodies:

Nonstop Christmas Fun!

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Well, what an amazing Christmas it has been! The chimps are still discovering new enrichment every day, like Foxie with the Anna doll from Frozen. While others, like Burrito, are still having fun with items they received before the big Christmas party. Words cannot express our gratitude for all of our supporters, we would not be able to do any of this without you!

This morning Cy’s group received access to the Chute and to say Burrito’s group were excited would be an understatement! The seven were all lined up by the window hooting and hollering, but Burrito especially took great interest! He almost missed breakfast! It had been a little while since the group of nine had received access to the Chute, because it has been so cold at the sanctuary.

I suppose I will share with you all a condensed story about the chaos that unfolded last week! We received quite a bit of snow in the past couple of weeks and it also became extremely cold, getting as cold as -5 degrees. So cold that last Wednesday our well water became frozen.  Our co-directors J.B. and Diana had left for a quick and very deserved trip to go see family over the holiday, however with all these winter storms their flight back got canceled. We went to the store and grabbed lots of water to use for cleaning and for drinking water, but we had to use the water sparingly because we had a few more days of  this extremely cold weather. Thankfully, all of this did not affect the chimps and they were none the wiser- we made sure that they had plenty of water, food, clean blankets, and most importantly a clean enclosure! We had a Christmas miracle because on Christmas eve it finally warmed up and the water started to work again! Finally, we have caught up on laundry and mostly decompressed from the chaos that has ensued. We are sooooo grateful to have J.B. and Diana back safely and that the water is flowing again!

Burrito watching his neighbors:

Cy enjoying some green beans:

Sweet Rayne:

A Very Merry Chimp House Christmas

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We have been counting down for twelve long days (and planning for even longer) and it’s finally here! Today, we celebrated Christmas with celebrations that included wrapped presents, stockings, fireplaces, and a feast with baked sweet potato, fresh green beans, berries, and vegan Field Roast! What a day.

To all of the supporters who donated items from our wish lists for today’s celebration – a very hearty thank you from all of us! We could not do what we do without all of you who support us from home- you are truly the founders of the feast!

No matter what holiday you celebrate, or if you don’t celebrate at all, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season! 🙂 Stay safe, stay warm, and enjoy this special time of year!

Annie enjoying her Christmas Feast:

Annie taking a nibble on the Christmas tree:

Burrito enjoying his holiday drink:

Jamie checking out what she got in her stocking:

Jamie enjoying the drinks!

Jamie and Missy sharing a sweet moment in the greenhouse:

Missy:

More on the Christmas Celebrations & photos from Cy’s side coming tomorrow! Thanks, Jenna. 🙂

On the Eighth Day of Christmas…

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On the eighth day of Christmas, the chimps received cozy blankets. I think you all can guess who put these blankets to good use!

Special thank you to:

CeeCee M. for bidding on cozy fleece blankets for the chimps!

And thank you to everyone who has donated blankets to us over the holiday!

It’s Negra, of course:

Negra in her morning nest. She greeted me and then went back to sleep :).

On the Fifth Day of Christmas…

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Can you believe we’re already at Day Five of our Christmas countdown?! It’s hard to believe that Christmas Eve is this next weekend, even though our foyer is beginning to look like Santa visited early. 🙂 Thanks to everyone who has donated from our wish list! Click here if you want to check it out, there’s still items remaining that we need for the upcoming holiday weekend!

This morning when I went to say good morning to Jamie’s group, I was met with a very playful Burrito who still had the buffalo blanket from yesterday! He had it on his back while he ran across the front rooms to initiate a game of chase. Foxie, on the other hand, was waiting in the Front Rooms with her new Strawberry Shortcake doll. She handed it out to me before twirling away and coming back to take it. On the other side of the chimp house, the Dora Blanket is in the laundry process before being put back in for the 9 to enjoy again. How fun it is to see the chimps enjoying their presents- thank you so much to all those who participated in the Comfort & Joy online auction!

Today, we gave Negra and pals the *fabulous* Negra Blanket! This may be the best Negra blanket to ever exist in all of history. You may ask, how many Neggies is too many Neggies? And the answer is that it’s a trick question – there are never too many Neggies! The blanket features twelve photos of Negra living her best life, which often involves a huge nest and lots of soft blankets. 🙂 Check out the video for more!

Special thank you to:

(our very own) Chadwick de Bree for donating the Negra Blanket

Speaking of Chadwick de Bree – have you seen the news about our exclusive upcoming virtual visit? You will have the opportunity to meet Chad, our enrichment coordinator, and discuss all things enrichment! Click here to learn more and to register.

Handsome Burrito watching the snow fall outside:

Jody enjoying her warm nest:

Negra taking an after-breakfast nap:

Willy B trying to be sneaky:

Willy B watching Cy:

Foxie being silly while playing with her dolls:

Happiest of Birthdays to You, Linda!

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Our sincerest gratitude to Adam and Aimee for sponsoring today in honor of your mom’s birthday!

“Happy birthday to a woman who is full of grace, love and lessons. For always being someone we could look up to. Happy birthday to a wonderful mother. Love Adam and Aimee”

Happy, happy birthday Linda! From all of us here, we hope your day is beautiful and filled with lots of love and smiles.

Celebrate your day with some moments from earlier this year.

Gordo serving some serious side-eye in the Riverfront Greenhouse:

Annie enjoying her lunchtime chow:

Foxie being her sassy self:

Rayne enjoying a lunchtime forage:

Jamie resting on her nest, under a blanket, in the sun:

 

In Memory of Gina & A Celebration of Love

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From all of us here at the sanctuary, thank you Douglas for sponsoring today in honor of your wife, Gina!

“In memory of my wife, Gina, who died earlier this year. Today would be our 32nd wedding anniversary. Although she did not know of the Sanctuary, she loved all animals and wanted to protect them all. I started following your blog because I grew up in Wenatchee and I believe my mother had some relatives in Cle Elum. Now, I am grateful for your care for these terribly wronged chimpanzees and I know Gina would whole-heartedly approve.”

We are so thankful for your support, Douglas, and our hearts are with you!

A flashback to summer forages with Negra and her ear of corn!

Jamie with her summer forage haul:

Annie enjoying her lunchtime chow:

Gordo enjoying the summer sunshine in the Riverview Greenhouse: