This little announcement is a long-time coming. I have thought about it many times, and have started to write a sponsor-a-day blog post in my head on several occasions, but somehow just never got it out.
You can skip to the end for actual chimpanzee content!
For those who have been following the blog for a while, you might remember a very important non-primate sanctuary resident – office cat LouLou.
Not surprisingly, after a long and good 23 years of life, she passed away early this Spring.
The office is simply not the same without her. She is buried not far away in the little catio that J.B. built for the cats (we used to have three total) outside of the caregiver house at the sanctuary. I planted a small and haphazard garden over her grave this summer that produced a few tomatoes and lovely sunflowers in her memory.
Shortly before LouLou passed away, J.B. and I took in a foster dog named Nala from a local rescue called Josie’s Misfit Ranch.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, we adopted Nala shortly after she came to live with us. Now, the caregiver house where J.B. and I reside is full of dog energy (don’t let these calm photos delude you into thinking calm is the norm). If you are interested, the dogs have their own Instagram page here.
There is still some cat energy at the sanctuary, however. Barn Kitty (BK), though he comes and goes as he pleases, still frequents the barn and its surroundings.
As you well know, we have many talented artists in our midst who have donated art for various auctions and fundraisers. When LouLou passed away, I reached out to one of them, Sue Cartwright, about doing a portrait of LouLou and one of a previous office cat, Peanut. Sue did an amazing job! Now all three of our cats our represented to purrfection. In the below photo, that’s a painting of Cuba in the middle by a Seattle artist named Vicki Nelson.
So, this is what is called burying the lead. I’m glad you are still with me!
Sue Cartwright has also painted a stunning and large portrait of Cy for our upcoming Comfort & Joy online auction! Are you ready??!!
For an idea of size, the painting is leaning up against a tall dog crate:
There are more original art pieces and some other fun items that will be part of Comfort & Joy. It that doesn’t cause you to immediately register for the online auction, well, I just don’t know what will.
