Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Meredith

Moo Crew Maintenance

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This week the cattle had a pedicure appointment with the hoof trimmer and a check-up with the Doc. So for today’s blog Dr. Erin shares an update on the bovine girls!

Dr. Erin

“Thursday was hoof trim day for the sanctuary herd.  Like all healthcare interactions with the sanctuary residents, I both look forward to these opportunities to improve their health and well-being and dread causing any stress to these animals that we work so hard to provide with a peaceful and comfortable life.  I arrived at the sanctuary bright and early Thursday morning to secure the girls were in the “Bud Box”, which is a small pen within the upper paddock that they exit via a narrow lane leading to the trimming chute.  My plan to entice them into the box with a yummy breakfast of alfalfa hay (a treat generally reserved for very cold weather days) and some grain was witnessed mid-fail by Krissy, and pre-veterinary student Carly Ledbetter who came to help.  Thirty minutes into my plan, when the trimmer is about to arrive, all three cows are standing at the opposite end of the paddock from where I want them giving off strong “not today doc” vibes.

Meredith & Betsy
Dr. Erin & Autumn with Meredith and Honey


Autumn with Honey

I spent many years working primarily on horses and let me tell you, showing up to a farm call only to see your (known to be elusive) patient not caught and waiting for you can really throw off a day and a mood!  Luckily, John Thomsen and his family of Thomsen Livestock Services are not only professional and kind, they have a sense of humor and are skilled cattle people.  With John’s daughter Autumn and her husband Joel (a medical student from Sweden) we managed to herd all of them into the small pen, performed all the needed procedures in short order and returned them to their current “wetlands” pasture to recover from their ordeal in peace.
By the time I checked on them a couple hours later, they were all more than willing to eat their daily, individualized rations and accept my peace offering of hay.   All three cattle had blood drawn to check basic health parameters and mineral levels as well as routine parasite checks to make sure we aren’t missing anything from a physical/nutritional standpoint.  Because Meredith is on pain medication, routine blood tests are in order to check for adverse effects and Honey and Betsy are now ‘senior cows’ at 17 so occasional blood work is warranted.  Meredith’s most recent x rays show a bit more fusion in the arthritic joint that was treated at Washington State University and hopefully that will continue to progress to full fusion which will mean less pain for her.  While she moves more slowly than the mama cows, she isn’t limping on that foot anymore and is doing relatively well being back on pasture and out of her barn pen.
Honey

John working away on Honey’s hoof
This little herd has been through a lot in the last few months between Meredith’s trips to WSU followed by confinement to treat her arthritic right foot and the passing of our sweet Nutmeg, Betsy’s son.   While Betsy’s appetite is still good, the signs of stress and grief are apparent in her overall appearance.  A bit more thin, her hair coat is somewhat dull with uneven shedding, a little discharge from the eyes now and then. Cattle are herd animals, have a social order, bond to their herd mates and show signs of distress when they are separated or loose a herd mate. Co-director Diana shared this article with the staff recently, Cows have best friends and panic when separated from them | by Go Veg | Medium, that highlights how stressful it is for cattle to be separated from their friends.  I am so thankful that Betsy and Nutmeg had so many years with each other, unlike most cows and their offspring.  We all wish it could have been more.
Dr. Erin drawing blood
The girls will move to a different pasture on the property next week and my hope is that the change of scenery and full time grazing will provide some physical as well as emotional healing for these beloved bovines.”
Moo Crew 2024:  John, Krissy, Carly, Joel and Autumn

Be mine, Meredith

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Last, but not least of our Bovine Buddies, is the lovely Meredith who, shockingly, only has two sponsors, Monica and Jackie, who actually sponsor all four of our cattle comrades! Thank you for being such stellar supporters, Monica and Jackie! If you would like to boost Meredith’s numbers and become her Bovine Buddy, you can do so here.

Watch the video below created by our co-director, Diana, to fall in love with Meredith!

Meredith is the biological daughter of Honey, the adopted daughter of Betsy, and the adopted sister to Nutmeg. One big happy family! She was born in 2015 during the filming of a reality TV show called Utopia, which aired for only a brief time. Honey and Betsy were purchased for the show from a dairy farm and both were pregnant. After giving birth, Honey had trouble nursing Meredith due to a case of mastitis, which is very painful and is a common complication for dairy cows. Luckily for Meredith, however, Betsy, being pregnant with Nutmeg, prematurely produced milk and eagerly allowed Meredith to nurse. Soon after, Nutmeg was born – impossibly tiny compared to his great size today – and the family unity was complete!

Click here to watch a video of baby Meredith being reunited with her mom(s)!

When the show got cancelled, the four cattle were taken in by Farm Sanctuary in Northern California and when the sanctuary had to close in 2018, they moved to CSNW where they will live out the rest of their lives in cow heaven.

Little Meredith at Farm Sanctuary

I’ve only had about six months to get to know Meredith so far, but she’s been a joy to work with. I quickly learned that she loves to receive scratches and will streeeetch her nose straight up while you scratch under her chin and jaw. She also seems to kindof enjoy gentle eye rubs. I’m told she will forage for willow leaves and wild rose in the summer and I know first hand she loves alfalfa and her daily grain!

Meredith has developed arthritis in her front hoof joints, making it painful to walk, but she’s been a real trooper as the care staff have done their best to diagnose and treat it. She has endured a full season of pokes and prods, transportation to WSU for treatment, limited access to her habitat during recovery, and even chiropractic appointments! She lets us know when she’s irritated, but considering everything she puts up with, she has been very patient. Can you imagine Honey cow in her place?? We would have to wear armor, I think.

Meredith getting scanned at WSU

 

Meredith and her mom, Honey, share a tender moment while Meredith is separated for recovery

Beautiful wintery Meredith

 

If you’ve fallen in love with Meredith like we all have, please consider becoming her Bovine Buddy!

Meredith’s Healing Update

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As J.B. covered in a previous blog, Meredith started slowing down this past summer which we discovered was due to osteoarthritis. She had a procedure at WSU to correct this in her right front foot, and she has been recovering and healing from this procedure. We were happy to welcome her back home to continue her recovery after her stay at WSU in December and early January, and I wanted to provide you all with an update on her progress since returning home.

Honey checks on her daughter, Meredith

She continues to show promising signs of healing, and seems to be feeling very ready to break out of her recovery stall to rejoin her herd! She has been enjoying extra attention from her caregivers during our cattle time, complete with lots of pets and scratches. Dr. Erin has also been coming for extra check ins on Meredith and helping to care for her and the herd. While I know she is ready to fully rejoin her family, I do think she enjoys having her own personal hay feeder to snack on at her leisure and not having to hurry to finish her grain before grain-obsessed Betsy is done with hers and looking around for more snacks! She will be due for her recheck appointment soon, so we will know more about exactly how her foot is healing. We hope for continued good news!

Enjoy some pictures of the rest of the herd as well. We are all enjoying the sunshine today!

Nutmeg showing off his best side (okay, all sides are his best side) and looking a little sassy

L to R: Nutmeg, Honey, Betsy, and Meredith in the back.

Betsy and Honey, looking ready to drop their next album!

Welcome Home, Meredith!

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Last week, we caught a break in the weather and were able to bring Meredith safely back home from WSU. While she has to remain confined to a pen in the barn for a short while during her recovery, she and her herd mates are happy to be together again. Notice in the video that you can see the exact moment when Honey realizes that Meredith is back…Mom sure missed her daughter.

Despite this, Meredith may actually wish she had stayed an extra week at the hospital, as yesterday we woke up to a temperature of -12.5F, which is the coldest I can remember in my nearly 16 years here at CSNW. Despite the extreme cold, the chimps and cattle are all doing well, and we’ve only had to deal with a few equipment freeze-ups so far. As a cold-climate sanctuary, we’re pretty well prepared for winter weather but these extremes certainly put all of our preparation to the test. In a couple days, we’ll climb out of these arctic temperatures and get to enjoy a regular old snow storm.

Caring for Meredith

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Meredith has always been a bit different from her herd mates — standing up when the others are lying down, facing east when the others are facing west, and so on — but this past summer we noticed that something other than her independent streak was causing her to lag behind her herd as they moved between pastures. By fall, a change in her gait became noticeable. Dr. Erin performed several evaluations, and Meredith even took a trip to the large animal hospital at Washington State University (WSU), but the veterinary team was unable to hone in on a specific diagnosis. Pain management and other therapeutics seemed to help, but not enough.

During her most recent exam at the sanctuary, however, Dr. Erin found radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in Meredith’s front right foot, which meant that we had an explanation for her discomfort and, potentially, something we could treat with greater focus. Dr. Erin consulted with several large animal veterinarians and Meredith was booked for another appointment at WSU.

Meredith, in the chute, undergoing a recent exam:

Dr. Erin obtaining radiographs of the feet and spine:

Amanda treating Meredith with laser therapy:

Another Dr. Erin (Erin Thorlakson, Family and Animal Chiropractor), evaluating Meredith, with Honey observing:

Nutmeg, Assistant to the Regional Chiropractor:

The treatment, known as facilitated ankylosis, would involve fusing the affected joints and would be performed by the veterinary staff at WSU. With everything arranged, we drove Meredith across the state again and the procedure was performed this past Tuesday.

Getting a cow to an appointment 3 1/2 hours away requires starting early, bribing the herd with hay and grain to sort them, and praying to the cow gods that Meredith will load into the trailer without problems:

One last safety check before we depart on our road trip:

Meredith on the exam/treatment table at WSU, surrounded by faculty veterinarians, residents, and vet students:

Dr. Oliverez performing an ultrasound on Meredith’s foot:

Right now we are making preparations so that Meredith can be on restricted activity for a while within her own cozy section of the barn. Weather permitting, we hope to pick her up on Wednesday and reunite her with her family. It will take some time before we can determine if or how well the procedure has worked, and she will likely have to make repeated trips to see her friends at WSU for follow-ups on this treatment and possibly treatments on other feet, but we are hopeful that she will be able to graze the upper pastures with her herd this spring.

Meredith’s home-away-from-home at WSU while she receives her treatment:

By the way, some of you may know that we’ve been hoping to acquire a more powerful portable ultrasound machine for many years now. Thanks to a a whole team of people, including a wonderful family in Montana, our favorite veterinary cardiologist Dr. Nelson, and supporters Brad and Becky (who generously donated the funds!), we were able to purchase a very lightly used machine from an estate at an amazing price.

Don’t forget to vote in the photo contest – it ends tonight, January 8th at 6:00pm Pacific!

 

Clever, Beautiful, Independent: Meredith!

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Today is Meredith’s 8th birthday! She is celebrating with her bovine family and some much sought after willow branches.

Mere did have some hurdles to overcome this year. She has slowed down some in her mobility so her year included a few physical exams, some x-rays and a trip to WSU for a consult to make sure that our exams and x-rays we did here on site hadn’t missed anything. It turns out no big issues were found and her x-rays at WSU confirmed what Dr Erin had suspected: all signs point to generalized arthritis. Meredith is being treated with pain killers so she can comfortably enjoy the coming days, weeks and years at home with her family here at CSNW and we are so happy to be celebrating her 8th birthday with her today!

 

Dr Erin came to visit Mere today and give her some extra TLC:

Meredith enjoyed lot of willow branches from her friends:

Meredith on her way to WSU:

 

 

 

 

 

The Cattle Apple Saddle

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Please join Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg for lunch! During the colder months, we supplement the cattle’s diet with grass hay, oat hay, and alfalfa. During the warmer months, other than the cattle’s other supplements that we provide, caregivers generally allow the cattle to roam and graze on whatever their hearts desire. In this video, Nutmeg and Meredith are eating some apples from the apple tree in their pasture, Betsy is munching on some willow near the pond, and Honey was just getting done grazing on some grass.

Here are some bonus photos from today!

With the weather holding out with temperate conditions, Negra’s group had a nice lunch forage on Young’s Hill.

Negra

Burrito and Foxie

Foxie

Missy

Here are some Bonus-Bonus photos!

Burrito

Foxie taking it easy

Annie making her bird noises

And Jamie taking notes

Recently, we added Sprout Pencils to our Amazon Wish List as a new type of enrichment. These pencils have a capsule full of seeds where the eraser is supposed to be. When you are done with them, you can plant the pencil and different types of plants are supposed to grow. There are still some on the Wish List if you would like to help us stockpile some of them for the chimps!