Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

clinic

Sunning, sleeping, supervising

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This morning, volunteers Rose, Ray, and Fred set out an early lunch forage for the chimps. Negra spent much of her time on the Escher climbing structure – I don’t know if she has a special fondness for this structure or if she just thinks we put more food up there. Either way, it’s great to see Negra climbing so high and enjoying the sun.

Afterwards she showed that in spring you don’t always have to rely on humans for your food. There’s plenty of wild lettuce out here, thank you very much.

Jamie was deep in dreamland after the forage (no doubt dreaming about boots and books and books filled with boots) when she was awoken by some activity out back.

These people look like they need to be supervised.

The welders had arrived with some of the caging that is being installed next week.

While we are still several weeks away from having the new chimp areas up and running, we have already begun putting the human areas of Phase 1 to use. Here’s a shot of the foyer which houses the computer workstation and break areas. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have so much space after working for over a decade out of a one-room kitchen/laundry/enrichment/office workspace.

More important than the new foyer is the new clinic, which has twice the square footage of our mobile unit and includes much more storage space.

Once everything is done, we’ll put together a video tour of the whole facility. And then it’s on to Phases 2 and 3!

Negra’s surgery

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If you read Diana’s blog post on Saturday, then you know that Negra recently sustained an injury to her toe that we’ve been closely monitoring. After careful consideration, we decided that we needed to intervene surgically to help speed the healing process and reduce the risk of long-term complications. Yesterday, our amazing volunteer veterinarian, Dr. Zamzow, along with two skilled and generous volunteer anesthesiologists, came out to conduct the minor operation.

Procedures like these actually begin the night before, when we isolate and withhold food from the chimpanzee being treated. In the morning, we shift all of the other chimpanzees into another area so that the patient can enjoy some peace and quiet during the anesthetic induction. Of course, these chimpanzees have been around the block a few times, so they know what’s going on. Sometimes they express concern and want to see what’s happening inside – especially the group’s den mother, Jody:

The chimpanzee being treated is given an injectable anesthetic in an enclosure designed for this purpose – it’s small and has no furniture or other things to climb on so that they won’t get hurt as they lose their coordination from the anesthetic (right now this is one of the front rooms – the same room you’ve seen in recent videos where the chimps like to watch their playroom parties being set up). Once they are fully anesthetized, we strap them on a stretcher and wheel them to the clinic where they’re put on gas anesthesia and hooked to cardiac and anesthetic monitors for their safety.

Our clinic, which is in the back of a 38-foot trailer, has served us well for the few procedures we have had to do, but part of the expansion project we hope to break ground on this year includes even better spaces for anesthesia induction, medical intervention, and recovery. The new and improved space will help the seven chimpanzees currently at CSNW as well as the new chimpanzees we expect to welcome over the next few years.

Here’s Negra in the clinic being prepped for surgery:

Anesthesia can be hard on a chimpanzee, particularly when they are older or ill. That’s why we try to do as much health monitoring and treatment as we can while they are awake using positive reinforcement training. But sometimes more complicated procedures require full anesthesia. Thankfully, Negra did great throughout the procedure, and she was soon on her way back to the enclosure where she could be monitored during her recovery. As one of our anesthesiologists taught us, anesthesiology is like flying a plane – the most dangerous times are takeoff and landing. So as a chimpanzee recovers, we have to watch them very closely. We position them on their side near the caging, propped up by blankets, so that we can monitor their breathing and pull their ET tube when they’re ready.

Once they start coming to, they feel generally crummy for a little while. But soon they realize that they are on a pile of blankets on a heated floor, and what better opportunity is there to take a nice long nap?

Negra is starting to feel better this morning, slowly but surely. It’s best for her to remain apart from the group for a little while longer to give her toe a better chance of healing quickly. So she’s been grooming with her friends through the caging and getting indulged with special treats. But more than anything, she’s been focusing on what she does best: resting. This is a chimpanzee that knows how to follow doctor’s orders.

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Burrito in Recovery

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Today was Burrito’s big dentist’s appointment. A month ago, after we noticed he had fractured a lower canine tooth, he had an initial exam to help determine the course of action and his ability to withstand anesthesia. You can read about that exam in this blog post written by J.B.

The echocardiogram from his first procedure showed some cardiac disease, as expected, and confirmed that the treatment we have had him on for the last three years was appropriate.

Today, we owe a debt of gratitude to the chimps’ local veterinarian Erin Zamzow and tech Amanda Carner, veterinary dental surgeon Loic Legendre, his intern Adriana Regalado and veterinary technician Barbara Boyle, nurse anesthetist Kurt Smudzinski, CSNW volunteer Rebecca Smudzinksi, and the staff and volunteers who came as support crew. And we are so grateful to everyone who helped us fundraise for the clinic, allowing the chimpanzees to receive medical treatment at home.

One thing that we’ve learned about Burrito with these past two procedures is that he can tolerate A LOT of sedative and anesthetic drugs. Once he was finally completely sedated, he was in the skilled hands of the veterinarian team. The canine tooth that was recently fractured was extracted, and a front tooth that had been broken for some time was also pulled after reviewing x-rays taken on the spot.

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Right now, he has a whole circle of compassionate people watching over him (we feel your concern and caring too!)

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Based on his quick bouncing back last time, we have no doubt that he’ll be back to his usual self, toy in mouth, with the girls in no time… just with two fewer teeth.

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Burrito with blue stick in mouth

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Burrito with block in mouth on YH

If you’d like to add your support for Burrito and crew, we have a wishlist full of a variety of needed things that you can gift to the sanctuary, and / or you can make a donation in Mr. B’s honor. Thank you for all of your support!

 

Burrito’s exam

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Recently, Burrito fractured a canine tooth. We don’t know how it happened exactly – in fact, we only became aware of the injury when we noticed it pointing straight out of his mouth, perpendicular to his other teeth. As with other significant injuries, we began by administering oral antibiotics and pain relievers and arranged for our local veterinarian, Dr. Zamzow, to come take a look. Dr. Zamzow then consulted with Dr. Mensching, also a veterinarian and a member of our board of directors, and Dr. Bezner from Save the Chimps, to come up with a plan to deal with Mr. B’s broken tooth.

If you don’t know this already, I should point out that chimpanzees are remarkably tough. Believe it or not, Burrito never missed a meal, and didn’t even seem to favor that side of his mouth when chewing. It’s really hard to appreciate how stoic chimps can be until you witness it yourself.

Despite his own lack of concern about the injury, a broken tooth can present serious risks for more severe pain and infection down the road, particularly the canines which are large and deeply rooted, so we decided that it would have to be repaired or extracted by a veterinary dentist. But as you may know, Burrito is already being treated for symptoms of heart disease, and that makes decisions about medical interventions a bit more complicated due to the risks of anesthesia. But when an intervention is required, for whatever reason, it presents an opportunity to learn more about his overall health, so we gathered an amazing group of people to help with Burrito’s treatment. And it was all made possible because you helped us build an onsite veterinary clinic.

Before we can make any decisions about how the treat the tooth, we need x-rays. Yesterday, two vet techs from Valley Veterinary Hospital in Ellensburg came to the sanctuary with digital radiography equipment to get pictures of his teeth and jaw. These x-rays will be shared with a board certified veterinary dentist, who has agreed to come to our clinic to treat Burrito, whatever that treatment may be. And because of our concerns about Burrito’s heart, we were grateful to have the assistance of a huge team of veterinary cardiologists, anesthesiologists, residents, and vet students from the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, all led by Cardiologist Dr. Lynn Nelson.

After receiving anesthetic injections inside the chimp house, Burrito was wheeled to the mobile clinic where he was intubated and placed onto gas anesthesia for the procedures. The anesthesiologists were able to ensure his safety by monitoring his airway gases and reading his vitals using ECG, blood pressure, temperature, and pulse ox equipment. Dr. Zamzow drew blood for CBC and chem profiles and obtained an urine sample.

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With such a huge group of people, teams worked in shifts as much as possible.

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But the clinic turned out to fit more people than we had expected. Technicians obtained dental x-rays while the cardiology team began the echocardiogram.

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This imaging of Burrito’s heart will help us evaluate his initial diagnosis and may potentially provide avenues for better treatment. It will also help us determine how well he might handle the anesthesia required for a longer dental procedure. We will share the information we obtain with the Great Ape Heart Project to help improve the lives of other captive chimpanzees.

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When the tests were complete, Burrito was placed back inside into one of the front rooms to recover from the anesthesia. The girls had to wait outside in the greenhouse until he was ready to deal with all of their excitement.

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After a few hours of rest, he was ready for visitors on the other side of the caging. Jody and Foxie were particularly concerned about their buddy, but eventually all of the girls came to groom him through the bars. For his safety, he was not allowed to return to the group until he was 100% recovered from the anesthesia.

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Both the general and injectable anesthesia can upset the stomach and make you feel all worn out, so Burrito took an additional day to lounge around by himself, waited on at all times by his staff of caregivers.

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With the help of some anti-nausea medicine, he was feeling good enough this evening to join the gang for a dinner forage on the hill.

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In the coming weeks we will learn more about Burrito’s health from these tests, and the veterinary dentist will be able to decide the best coarse of action based on his x-rays and what the other tests tell us about his ability to tolerate prolonged anesthesia.

Exams like this aren’t easy on a chimp, and they’re pretty tough on the people who care about them too. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Zamzow, Dr. Mensching, Dr. Bezner, Valley Veterinary Hospital, and the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital for providing the best care a chimp could ask for. And to everyone who helped us build and equip our onsite clinic: You made it possible for him to receive this level of care. And I know you would agree that this guy deserves nothing less.

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Progress

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We’ve started to put the finishing touches on the veterinary clinic. This project, like many others here at the sanctuary, was kicked off with generous gifts from Karen and Don Young. It was completed with support from the National Anti-Vivisection Society and Marsha Perelman, and with gifts made at our annual gala from donors too numerous to name but equally as important.

Earlier this summer, our friends at Poppoff, Inc. donated their services to install sidewalks around the facility. This also allowed us to widen our entry gate and mount it on a wheel so that it would be easier to get the clinic trailer and other vehicles in and out of the security fence.

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Just recently, we built a pole barn shelter for the trailer to protect it from the elements. None of us are excited about the fact that winter is approaching, but at least we will be prepared!

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Speaking of preparedness…just look at the lengths that our volunteers will go to help us make sure we are prepared for any emergency. After we finished the sidewalks, volunteer Becca played the role of a chimpanzee as CSNW veterinarian and board member, Donna, and I did some drills with our newest stretcher donated by our local fire department. I promise that no volunteers were harmed in these drills, though we appreciate the courage it took for Becca to be our test subject.

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Finishing up the clinic has made me think a lot about where we are as a sanctuary. To be honest, there are times when progress at the sanctuary can feel painfully slow, if only because our hearts and imaginations are always one step ahead of our wallets. But then I remember that it was only six years ago that a small community of people with very limited resources was able to free seven chimps from the laboratory basement where they had been housed for decades. And in the time since, as that caring community has grown, we have transformed the chimps’ home, filling it with light from chimp-proof windows and warmth from greenhouse panels, and giving those seven chimps their first experience of grass underfoot and sky overhead on Young’s Hill.

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We’ve been experiencing a lot of that grass and sky lately. Hikes around Young’s Hill have only grown more numerous and more frequent over the years – always spurred on by Jamie, but lately joined by Missy, Burrito, Jody, and Foxie. It’s quite a climb to the top, especially when it’s the tenth walk of the day.

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But the effort is always worth it, because the view from the top is incredible.

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I’m convinced that chimpanzees experience awe. I have no doubt that when Missy looks out across the valley, with the river flowing by and the fall leaves changing color, that she is struck by the beauty and magnitude of it all. And watching her reminds me to step back and appreciate all that our small community has accomplished in such a short time. From a windowless basement to the top of the world in only a few years. And now an onsite veterinary clinic to boot.

Just think of where we can go from here.

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Veterinary Clinic Progress

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I’m happy to say we have more progress to report on the veterinary clinic!

With the help of our supporters and some generous foundations and businesses, we’ve been able to check more items off of our wishlist. Patrick and Carrie Hardie facilitated the donation of a steam autoclave, an automated external defibrillator (AED), and many other supplies. And Project V.E.T.S. has come through for us again. First, they connected us with Willamette Equine Veterinary Services in Oregon, who donated an automatic x-ray processor. Then, they awarded us with a grant that allowed us to shop for new and reconditioned equipment at apexx Veterinary Equipment, and apexx generously donated the first 25% of the cost of every item. This allowed us to purchase a laryngoscope set and an IV fluid pump (pictured below).

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We’ve also been busy at the sanctuary making a place for the clinic next to the chimp building. One reason for this is this is that we don’t want to have to travel too far with an anesthetized chimpanzee on a stretcher. But more importantly, it’s best for the clinic to be in a secure environment in the event that a chimpanzee comes out of anesthesia unexpectedly. We could either reinforce the trailer to make it chimp proof, or simply park it within the perimeter fence that already surrounds the building. We chose to do the latter, but that entailed extending the fence 10 feet to the west, relocating the entry gate, and adding 60 feet of gravel driveway. Thankfully, volunteer Mark spent some cold mornings with us setting posts and running wire.

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With the fence modifications complete, we were also able to begin the installation of the wildfire sprinkler system, a project made possible by a grant from the ASPCA. A high-pressure pump will send water through PVC pipes around the base of the fence and up to sprinklers mounted on the tops of the fence posts. The pump will be powered by a generator and the sprinklers will soak the chimp house and surrounding area in the event of another wildfire.

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It goes without saying that the health and safety of the chimps is our top priority, so we are incredibly grateful to all of our supporters that make improvements like these possible. Thank you!

More medical equipment

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Exciting news – we received an ultrasound machine! The machine (pictured below, on the left) comes courtesy of Pacific Vascular in Bothell, WA and is capable of doing cardiac, abdominal, and, as you might have guessed, vascular imaging. A million thanks to Pacific Vascular, to supporter Karen Gates and her son Jack for making the connection and advocating for us, and to Bob for giving us a tutorial.

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Providence Medical Center in Everett, WA has come through again, this time with a centrifuge (below, on the right). Thanks Dan!

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And Kittitas Valley Healthcare has donated both an endoscopy tower and a mayo stand. Thank you Judi and everyone at KVH!

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We’re still looking for a steam autoclave, a laryngoscope, and a portable x-ray machine. And ideally, we’d love to have a second, more portable, ultrasound machine for doing imaging inside the chimp house when the chimps aren’t under anesthesia (especially for Burrito). So if you know of any companies that might be willing to donate these items, please let us know!