Those of you who pay close attention to the blog may be thinking, “Wait…don’t you already have a volunteer named Krissy?” Well, they DID have a volunteer named Krissy, but NOW they have a full-time caregiver named Krissy! How lucky am I??
My journey is a little different than many past and present caregivers at CSNW. I graduated from Washington State University (go Cougs!) in 1994 (not a typo) with a BA in Sociology with an emphasis on Social Work. But, like so many others, I left school and never actually used my degree. I spent the next few years as a bookkeeper, a relocation coordinator for a real estate company, and a software developer.
I’ve always had a great love of animals. While working as a software developer, one of my cats became very ill, which led me to learn about nutrition’s important role in our pets’ lives. A simple diet change had such a profound impact on my cats’ health that I decided to open a healthy pet food store. In 2006, myself and a dear friend opened The Whole Pet Shop in Woodinville, WA, and 18 years later it’s still going strong! 7 years ago, my husband and I moved to Roslyn WA, and opened another Whole Pet location. This is around the time the chimps came in to my life.
I first learned about CSNW at the Roslyn Farmer’s Market. I knew right away that I wanted to volunteer at the sanctuary (how had I never heard of the Cle Elum 7??) My first shift was on December 5th, 2019. By January 2020 I was invited to train to become a level 3 volunteer, which means I would get to have safe interactions with the chimps and to serve meals. Tug of war with Bubs, doll toss with Fox, perimeter walks and grooming with James? Sign me up! I promptly began preparing to train to be a level 3 volunteer, which included various reading assignments and tests. One such reading assignment was Next of Kin, by Roger Fouts, about the journey of Washoe and her signing (ASL) chimpanzee family that ended up at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. This book changed my life. I highly recommend this book, just be sure to read it with a box of tissues!
Unfortunately, my training halted almost before it got started, by a little thing called Covid 19. In order to keep the chimpanzees safe, the sanctuary shut down its volunteer/intern program. I wanted to stay involved with the sanctuary, so I prepped all of the chow bags for the 10 chimps living at CSNW at the time. That’s approximately 10,920 bags of chow in a year (I did the math)! After a long 18 months away from the chimpanzees, I was invited back to the sanctuary and became a level 3 volunteer! Yay!
So how did I become a full-time staff member? I tricked them! Ha – just kidding. I worked hard to show my dedication to the chimps, and I simply started throwing my hat in the ring as job opportunities presented themselves. And here I am now, shifting my career path at 52 years old. Proving you’re never too old to dream, and more importantly to realize your dreams!
