Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Happiest of birthdays to Ramona Isbell, who graciously chose to celebrate her special day by sponsoring a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees and sharing her birthday money with them!
Ramona, thank you so much for including the chimps in your happiness and heart! Your gift of sanctuary means the world to the chimps and all of us who love them. Have a beautiful day!
Missy:
Foxie:
The Poppoffs are a one of our favorite families, so we’re pretty happy to be a part of wishing Julie Poppoff a “Happy Birthday from Mom & Dad!” from Mike Poppoff and Gay Dorsey who sponsored this day of sanctuary in her honor.
We go way back with the Poppoffs. as you can see in this post from 2009. The Poppoffs and Poppoff, Inc. have been really great supporters over the years, including being a sponsor for galas many years running, including the HOOT! 2018 gala coming up in May!
But today is about Julie. The chimps hope you have some fun planned, July!
Today is a special sponsor-a-day from supporter Kery Shaw about a rescued senior dog that she and her partner Terran cared for during his last months.
I would hazard to guess that most of the people reading this have had some personal connection to animals who were rescued, and all of you will appreciate Oliver’s story, as shared by Kery.
Oliver was a blind and deaf fifteen-year-old chihuahua terrier mix. Last year he was seen being kicked out of a car and dumped in LA California. A good samaritan witnessed this, and then saw Oliver walking around in circles. He/She picked Oliver up and then shared his story on social media.
A woman named Janie Mudrick, who works with Hand in Paw Rescue, contacted my best friend Piper Wood, founder of that rescue, asking if they could take custody of Oliver. I had been following Oliver’s story for a while and was trying to figure out a way that Terran & I could help.
After months of Piper having him and not being able to find a home, Terran and I offered to foster Oliver, in the hope of relieving some of her burden. After only a few days I had convinced Terran that we were his best option, and that truthfully no one could love or care for him like us. Being a senior dog and so severely neglected and abused, I honestly had no idea how much longer he had for this world, but we knew that we wanted to give him as much love as possible in the time he had.
On Valentine’s Day of this year, we had officially adopted him. Oliver had good days and bad days. He was a fussy eater and sometimes he kept us up in the middle of the night. Often he left us worried and scared with his seizures and feet swelling. Oliver loved the park–since he was blind, he loved being able to smell everything. He also loved salads, his vegetables, and “beyond chicken”. Oliver’s favorite movie was Pretty Woman, I think because it has such a great soundtrack. He loved music. The Opera scene was his favorite. Oliver was easy going. Terran and I would take him everywhere. He loved his stroller and his carry bag. He was always cold, but never fussed, even when I put his onesies on him. Oliver never barked, except for when he dreamed. Overall, he was the sweetest dog and we miss him dearly.
My advice to everyone is to rescue, especially senior animals. They are truly special.
Kery’s story struck a chord with me, having cared for a dog into her senior years. And, more close to CSNW, while you may not realize it between Burrito’s young-at-heart antics and Missy’s always-on-the-move persona, all of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees are considered senior. Each day with them is, absolutely, truly special.
Thanks to Kery for sharing this story and caring for Oliver and to everyone who has taken in someone in need.
Supporter Lisa Stuverud is celebrating a birthday today, and her husband Richard sponsored today’s day of sanctuary with this note:
Sending a “little something” for the chimps in honor of Lisa’s birthday. With every blog post we get a “whole lotta something” in return…so much love, joy and good feelings ! Thank you so much for all you do!!
Lisa and Richard are the kind of people that are often thinking of ways to bring joy to others. They’ve brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees over the years through their support and goodwill.
Today is no exception. Lisa also sponsored the day in memory of Linda Vizzare with this heartfelt and heartwarming message:
Another year gone by without my sister-in-law Linda. She is never far from thought but especially on April 4th when I get to celebrate us on our shared birthday. Linda loved Burrito and his happy dance. We often talked about the chimps and their strength and resilience during her chemo sessions. You just never know where inspiration comes from to get through difficult times. As Burrito, Jamie, Foxie, Jody, Annie, Missy, Negra, the sanctuary and everyone connected to it continue to daily offer strength, resilience, inspiration and much joy they also keep me close to my sister-in-law who every day just hoped for 1000 more days.
There are so many gifts that this job provides, and one of the most significant gifts is being able to honor others. So thank you, Richard and Lisa, for giving us this gift.
Burrito is certainly not one to hide his joy. Here he is in mid-dance:
and here he is really excited about something:
and here he is just hanging out with his pal Foxie while eating some corn:
Friends make everything more enjoyable. ❤
Lynda Ferguson sponsored today in honor of her daughter, Jamie, for her birthday! Lynda shared this sweet message about today:
“I wanted to sponsor the chimps in honor of my daughter Jamie’s birthday. She is a very kind, caring, compassionate person, and loves animals with all her heart. I know she loves seeing the photos and videos of the Cle Elum 7 as much as I do, and she will be very happy to see a donation in her honor, going to such a wonderful organization. I hope we are able to visit the chimps one day soon. Happy Birthday Jamie!”
Thank you so much, Lynda! This is such a lovely way to celebrate Jamie’s special day and we so appreciate your love of the chimps and your compassionate contribution to their lives.
Jamie, all of us here wish you the happiest of birthdays! We hope you have a beautiful day doing whatever brings you a sense of joy, adventure and hope, just as you’ve helped bring the chimps.
Jamie Chimpanzee:
For our second sponsor-a-day of the day, Alrene Okun is honoring her husband Michael.
Arlene shared this message:
I would like to sponsor today because it is our 28th wedding anniversary. I am thankful to be married to wonderful man who makes the world a better place. Michael truly cares about people and animals and doing what he can to help. He makes me feel loved and safe, which are probably some of the same feelings the Chimps have about CSNW and all the people there. Blessings to you all.
Happy Anniversary, Arlene and Michael! Thank you both for helping to make the world a better place for each other and many other humans and animals, including the chimpanzees at CSNW.
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Carole Galuska in honor of her friend, Janice Clayton! Carole shared this really lovely message about her dear friend:
“I wanted to sponsor this 1st day Spring, in honor of my very good friend, Janice Clayton. I can’t say enough about what a good person Janice is. She volunteers and sponsors all sorts of organizations and has a never ending love for animals. She is truly one the most generous people I know, always thinking about what she can do for others. Last year Janice made my childhood dreams come true by bringing me to the chimpanzee sanctuary, I was absolutely thrilled. My love for chimps had started as a small child, some children beg for a pony but I drove my parents crazy with my desire to have a chimpanzee! For a Christmas gift this year Janice is bringing me back to the sanctuary for another visit this summer! She really has no idea how special this gift is to me. So I decided what better way to thank her again but to sponsor a day in her honor. Thank you JC for all that you have done for Steph and I over the years. You are such a special person with an amazing soul and we both adore you! We will see you soon Jody, Burrito, Annie, Foxie, Missy, Negra & Jamie!!”
Carole, this is such a wonderful way to celebrate Janice and we so appreciate you thinking of the chimpanzees and being part of their special home here.
Janice, thank you so much for all the good you bring to the lives of so many and for sharing your love of the chimps! It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate someone who brings so much hope and inspiration to others.
Happy spring hoots from the chimps to you both (and everyone the chimps are so fortunate to call their family and friends)!
In honor of your friendship I couldn’t help but think of dear friends, Annie and Missy:
