Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

christmas in july

Video of Gordo’s 37th Birthday Celebration & Happy Birthday Betsy Cow

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Ellen posted photos of the Christmas in July celebration for Gordo yesterday, and I had the privilege of putting together the video today of clips that Ellen and others captured while preparing for and during the grand celebration.

I think I know mine, but what’s your favorite moment in the video? 

Today happens to be Betsy‘s 18th birthday! The cows celebrated with some homemade applesauce, and it was reported that they loved every last tongue-full of it!

Betsy is a wonderful sentry and protector of her little herd, and was such a great mom to her son Nutmeg, who passed away at the sanctuary last year.

She is also the friendliest cow with us humans.

There’s so much I love and admire about Betsy’s personality. I hope we get to share many more years with her and with Gordo at the sanctuary.

‘Twas A Night Before Christmas… In July

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‘Twas a night before Christmas (in July),

When all through the Chimp House,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even Burrito.

The stockings were washed for the chimps with care,

In hopes that more gifts soon would be there.

The chimps were nestled all snug in their nests,

While visions of new enrichment puzzles danced in their heads.

Ok that might have been a bit of a stretch (and thank you Kelsi for the idea from your blog a few Christmas’s ago), but it’s still fun nonetheless! If you haven’t heard, we are celebrating Christmas in July and are asking you to celebrate it with us by helping us to clear our wish-lists. It’s truly amazing how much support we’ve received and our wish-lists are looking amazingly sparse, but there are still a few items remaining- like Jamie’s favorite bonobo books, one of our important behavioral support medications, and every-day cleaning and office supplies! It’s hard to believe that there are just a few days left before August, but that means there’s just a few days left to help us reach our goal. From all of us (chimp, bovine, and human) here at CSNW, thank you for supporting the work that we do every day.

BONUS PHOTO:

It has been a gloriously cool, rainy day here in Cle Elum, WA and the chimps spent a lot of the morning nesting in their greenhouses where they could feel the breeze and hear the sound of the rain on the roof. A while later the rain stopped and Katelyn, who was on a walk (run? chase? sprint?) around Young’s Hill with Burrito called on the radio that Foxie was climbing on TOP of one of the new structures! Enjoy this mediocre photo of a really special moment from today. The word on the block is that Burrito also climbed one of the trees, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to snag any photo evidence. 🙂 Hopefully next time!

The Christmas in July Celebration

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I have to admit, with temperatures pushing 100 degrees it’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit. But after receiving dozens of items from our wish list over the past week, you can’t help but feel the spirit of giving in the air.

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We’re so grateful for the support you’ve shown us – you helped stock our shelves with office and cleaning supplies; you gave us new medical equipment so that we can keep the chimps healthy; you sent food and treats for the chimps to enjoy and toys and enrichment to keep them occupied; and you gave us two gently used GoPro cameras so that we can give you a different perspective on life at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We are truly humbled and grateful for your generosity.

This morning, we collected many of the items we’ve received so far and threw a little party for the chimps. I hope you can see the difference you make in their lives.

By the way, if you sent an item from our wish list and you don’t hear from us in a reasonable amount of time, please drop us a note. Packages from Amazon don’t always include information about the donor and we’d love to be able to thank you!

Merry Christmas in July!