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near death

Missy and Life

February 8, 2014 by Diana

I’m not sure why I thought of this today. Maybe it’s because The Share the Chimp Love heart is a photo of Missy and Jody kissing or maybe it’s because I was watching Missy and Foxie play today, or it could be because Debbie posted a photo of Annie and Missy on Instagram and Facebook earlier.

In any case, you may not have heard the story of how Missy almost didn’t make it to sanctuary. I use the phrase, “second chance at life” when talking about chimpanzees going to sanctuaries, but for Missy she very literally got a second chance at living.

About a month before the chimpanzees left Buckshire in Pennsylvania (the private facility that owned them and leased them to different laboratories for decades), all of the chimps had health check-ups. During these check-ups, the veterinarian discovered that Foxie and Missy had uterine tumors.

Buckshire quickly arranged for both of them to have hysterectomies. The surgeries went fine, but when they were transporting Missy back to Buckshire, she crashed. She was brought back to the veterinarian under manual ventilation and had a very weak pulse.  From what we were told, they “worked on her for 10 minutes and brought her back.”

We didn’t find out about this until later, and it came as a shock to know that she was so close to not having her chance to enjoy a sanctuary home. It remains a reminder to me that each moment of sanctuary, each moment of life, is invaluable.

Missy seems to have embraced this notion too. She certainly has a special zest for life.

Here is a look back at some photos of Missy over the last few years:

Missy in the transport cage on the truck that transported the chimpanzees from Pennsylvania to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest:

missy on transport cage

 

Missy (left) and Burrito on the day they arrived to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (Missy’s belly is shaved, and you can see the scar from her hysterectomy that was done before she came:

Missy and Burrito first day

 

being groomed by her BFF Annie:

Annie grooming Missy

 

in action – leaping towards Jamie:

missy leaping

 

Missy (left) and Annie demonstrating chimpanzee smiles (notice their top teeth do not show at all):

missy annie smiling

 

doing a headstand before she lays down in her nest:

missy headstand in nest

 

looking a bit like a football player as she runs bipedal back to the greenhouse with a mouth and hands full of food:

missy bipedal with food

 

walking on the fire hose like a tightrope walker:

missy balance

 

riding the bamboo down after climbing up, with Jody looking on from below:

Missy climbing bamboo

 

a very familiar sight: Missy running across Young’s Hill

missy running on youngs hill

 

at the top of a post near the tall bamboo:

Missy top of post

 

just hanging out:

missy swing down

 

using a tool to get treats from the “termite mound” on Young’s Hill

Missy with tool termite mound

 

playing a raucous game of chase with Foxie (Foxie’s on the left):

Missy chase Foxie

 

with all of her activity, Missy does make time to rest too:

Missy on blanket

 

We have a special way for you to celebrate Missy and all of the lives of the chimpanzees by Sharing the Chimp Love this month. We’re now 21% towards our goal of raising $10,000! Watch and share the Share the Chimp Love video below and on the fundraising website.

Thank you to those who have made donations and set up fundraising pages! Check out the donors, their messages of love, and the fundraisers on the Share the Chimp Love site.

Filed Under: Chimp histories, Fundraising, Missy, Play, Sanctuary Tagged With: chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, life, love, Missy, near death, northwest, Sanctuary, share the chimp love

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PO Box 952
Cle Elum, WA 98922
[email protected]
509-699-0728
501c3 registered charity
EIN: 68-0552915

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