chimpanzee sanctuary

Keep the Love Going: Fall in Love with Dora!

February 18, 2023 by Kelsi

Today, we are continuing on with our Fall in Love videos and highlighting the small but mighty, Dora! I think I can speak for everyone when I say, we fall in love with Dora a little bit more everyday. I think for chimps and humans, Dora has something about her that makes you want to spend all your time with her. To learn more about Dora and why she has stolen everyone’s hearts at CSNW, check out the video above!

If you’re interested in sponsoring Dora, you can become her Chimpanzee Pal today!

Do you have any spare magazines laying around? Cy would love to take them off your hands!

Cheers to the Goofy Moments

January 26, 2023 by Grace

No two days of sanctuary are ever the same. When you spend your time caring for amazingly intelligent, complex, and witty individuals you never know what is going to come your way. Some moments are difficult and some are relaxed, but there’s little goofy moments sprinkled throughout them all.

Over the last few months I’ve been collecting as many of these moments as I can, but this is just a small snapshot since I had to mostly rely on the security cameras. Unfortunately, the odds of us having our phones out recording when we spray ourselves in the face with a hose (just an example) is slim to none.

At the end of the day, all moments of sanctuary (whether difficult, easy, or somewhere in between) are precious and are moments I wish could be captured for forever. I guess that’s one of the perks about having a daily blog- along with connecting with our amazing supporters, it gives us the opportunity to record in web-history moments from our days here. Thanks for that. 🙂

Dora and Mave, or Mora, engaged in a grooming session:

Beautiful, sweet Lucky:

Last night, staff and volunteers went out for dinner to celebrate Anthony’s tenure here. While not everyone was able to make it or is pictured in the photo, it’s always a special moment hanging out with everyone in the outside world:

Wednesdays Book Club

January 18, 2023 by Kelsi

Though Jamie and Cy may be in different groups they had the same idea today, Wednesday is for reading.

Jamie’s current must reads are:

1. I’m Lucy by Marian Brickner – (a classic)

And a sequel to the Lucy bonobo book

2. Bonobo Lucy Grows up by Marian Brickner

Cy’s new favorite read is a magazine:

¡Hola!

Other than book club, it was a pretty quiet day, which is why it was the perfect day for reading!

Cy could not put this magazine down:

Jamie with both Lucy books:

Bonus photos!

Burrito:

Rayne:

Annie and Missy playing on the bench in front room 2:

And I will leave you with a series of Negra photos:

Terry: The Whole Tooth and Nothing but the Tooth

January 11, 2023 by Kelsi

Another busy day in the Chimp House! Unfortunately, Terry had to take a trip to the clinic today for a fractured tooth.

Fortunately, we were able to have a skilled group of individuals come to the sanctuary to help with Terry’s procedure. In addition to our vet Dr. Erin and our vet assistant Sofía, we were grateful to have the assistance of Dr. Dan Whitemarsh of Cle Elum Dental Clinic and Mekenzie, CRNA for this procedure! Also a special thank you to Sofía’s aunt Maria A. Loza, DMD, MS for consulting with us about Terry’s tooth!

Through x-rays we were able to determine his canine was completely fractured below the gum line. Dr. Erin opted to extract the broken fragment and clean up the gum to where it could be sutured back together. Out of all the outcomes, this was a good one that will lead to the fastest recovery for him. If all goes well, he can go back to his group sooner! It was exciting to determine, after consulting with other veterinarians and dentists that have worked on chimps, that we could resolve the issue without extracting the entire tooth root. We will keep a close eye on his healing process and do more work if needed, but we are currently happy with the results. Since Terry was already under anesthesia, we also collected all the medical information we could. He got a full dental x-ray, body x-ray, ultrasound, and blood work profile, among other things.

Recently, we received a grant from the Ruth Foundation, a legacy of the Gary E. Millard Family Foundation, for some new medical equipment. With that money we were able to purchase a dental cleaning machine and a dental x-ray, which up until now we had been borrowing. We can’t express how amazing it was to do a full dental cleaning with our new dental machine and x-ray system. We are also awaiting delivery of a new patient monitor, funded by the same grant, which uses new technology for capturing blood oxygen saturation – something that can be difficult to capture in chimps.

Using our new Dental x-ray:

Terry getting his teeth polished by Sofía with our new dental cleaning equipment:

Dr. Whitemarsh and Sofía cleaning Terry’s teeth:

Just finishing up the teeth cleaning with Dr. Erin (left), Sofía (middle), Mekenzie (right):

Dr. Whitemarsh needed to get back to his own clinic, but with the power of technology Dr. Erin was able to consult with him over FaceTime video chat:

Dr. Erin suturing Terry up:

Dr. Erin using the ultrasound:

Caregiver Grace observing and helping out in the clinic:

Dr. Erin (left) doing an eye exam on Terry and Mekenzie (right) assisting:

Sofía doing a blood glucose test:

After stitching him up and doing as many health assessments we could, Terry was ready to go back into the recovery room. He had quite the crowd waiting for him; Terry is a very popular guy! 🙂

Mave, Honey B, and Cy watching Terry come back into his room:

Rayne monitoring Dr. Erin:

Before Terry woke up Dr. Erin was able to do some laser therapy on Terry’s mouth. Laser therapy is very cool, it can help with pain, inflammation, and healing!

Terry did great during the procedure and is recovering very well, just a little sleepy.

Sweet Terry snoozing after a long morning:

Sunday Sillies

January 8, 2023 by Grace

Some days we show up to work with a full on blog concept, ready to go! Some days, we show up and hope something is presented to us throughout the morning that we can write about. And some days we have a blog idea ready, but the chimps decide to do something that we just absolutely have to share. Today was one of those days. 🙂 While we cleaned this morning, Burrito had all his charm on and was caught playing with everyone – even Jamie and Annie! Check out the video for more.

Terry:

Negra:

Sweet Jody, resting and yawning in the front rooms:

Gordo:

Dora:

Cy:

Burrito:

A Very Merry Chimp House Christmas

December 25, 2022 by Grace

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: