In our house we have a weekly event known as the “Wednesday Weigh-In”, in which we pick up our pup, Benny, and stand with him on a scale in the kitchen. It began as part of an effort to put pounds on an underweight rescue dog and, after getting a bit carried away, now serves to help take off an extra pound or two. We all agree that putting weight on a dog was way more fun.
Keeping track of the chimps’ weights is every bit as important, if not more so, not just for overall health but also because with a moment’s notice we may have to administer medications that, for safety reasons, must be carefully dosed by weight. In the chimps’ case, however, weight must be measured remotely, because when it comes time for Cy to require anesthesia, I am not going to be the one standing on a scale with him in my arms.
We were a little behind on getting a scale installed in the new playrooms but it’s finally in and it has been officially tested for durability by Gordo and Dora and given a multi-point inspection by our resident mechanic, Rayne. Everyone but Lucky took part in yesterday’s Wednesday Weigh-In, and that’s because Lucky is the only chimp in her group that we currently have on a diet and the universe sometimes likes to play jokes on us. I’m sure she’ll get the hang of it soon enough, especially with a little positive reinforcement training.
In case you’re wondering, we record weight in kilograms because most medications are dosed in milligrams per kilogram (“migs per kig” if you want to talk like the cool kids).
