This post includes photos of the day along with information about this year’s HOOT! sponsors.

First, in case you didn’t see this little video on Facebook, take a look and share:

In reference to the video, the sanctuary continues to provide a wonderful and full life for the chimpanzees and is poised to expand only because of people who have supported the chimps over the years. We can’t say thank you enough, and we are excited to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the arrival of Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra to the sanctuary!

HOOT! 2018 sponsors have made generous contributions this year to help with the costs of the event, and many have gone above-and-beyond throughout the years.

You can join them in making a donation at the HOOT! event on May 19th or right now if you’re unable to attend the event.

Before I get into the wonderful sponsors, below is a photo of Jody. One of the best things about the sanctuary is that the chimpanzees have choices about what they can do in any given moment. In this moment, Jody was choosing to relax in the greenhouse while Jamie was walking around the hill with volunteer Becca.

Now for some sponsors that make these choices possible:

HOOT! 2018 Happy Hour Sponsors are:

Tracy Headley
Tracy is a dedicated donor and Foxie Pal. Tracy is a great friend of the sanctuary and supports the chimpanzees in so many ways. We were lucky enough to bring her onto the gala committee for the last two HOOT! events, and she’s really helped this year with ideas and planning. It takes a lot of work to put on the event, and I’m so grateful for everyone who is on the committee!

Pam Lehnert & Marc Warner
Pam was one of our first chimp house volunteers and a key part of our gala for years, and Marc has always been willing to help with whatever creative project Pam comes up with to add to events. Pam was also an early participant in our Chimpanzee Pal program and continues to be a monthly Missy Pal donor. Pam and Marc now live full-time on “this side of the mountains” as they say around here, so they are the chimps’ neighbors too.

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you probably know we’re big fans of this family-owned business. Gay Dorsey was on our board at a critical point in time and we were so appreciative of her leadership and support. Poppoff, Inc has not only donated funds over the years, but has also given in-kind support with various construction projects. We can’t wait to see Poppoff, Inc out here when we start the foundation for Phase 1 of the expansion!

Pet Connection Magazine is the only free publication in the Puget Sound region that focuses on people, pets, community, and the connections we share with each other. It provides fresh content with each release and is dedicated to supporting and highlighting local businesses and nonprofits helping animals, including past articles on CSNW. You can see all of the locations where you can pick up the magazine and information about the latest issue on their website.

While Jody was relaxing and Jamie was walking, Burrito was inviting me to play. I think the photo below captures Burrito’s charming but mischievous qualities pretty well.

Here are a couple of Burrito fans who are also HOOT! sponsors (let’s face it, anyone who knows anything about Burrito becomes a fan pretty quickly).

HOOT! 2018 Chimpanzee Champion Sponsors are:

Julie Gralow and Hugh Allen are newer supporters, having been recruited and inspired by their friend Tracy Headley (see Happy Hour Sponsors above). Tracy is also a friend of their rescued dog Sheldon. Julie, a physician, has dedicated her life to fighting breast cancer and Hugh is an aesthesiologist–we’re big fans of anesthesiologists in general now that we’ve had first-hand experience with procedures requiring anesthesia on Burrito and Negra. We’ve utilized our on-site medical trailer for these procedures, and we are really looking forward to having a medical room connected directly to the building, which is part of the Phase 1 expansion. Even though Julie and Hugh have never seen the sanctuary in person or attended the gala (maybe next year!), they were Play Laugh Sponsors last year and increased their sponsorship level this year.

Martha Faulkner was introduced to the sanctuary through the HOOT! event and then became a board member a couple of years ago. In addition to her event sponsorships and donating a portion of her commission from real estate sales, she’s been infinitely helpful these last few years as we were investing in the future of the sanctuary buy acquiring land. Her advice and expertise helped the sanctuary purchase the original 26 acres from founder Keith and increase the total sanctuary land to 90 acres. Martha also uses her real estate business to help other nonprofits. Definitely get in touch with her if you are buying or selling property in and around Seattle because you can help the animal cause of your choice in the process!

We are SO LUCKY that we met the owner of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, Gary Tashjian, at a community fair in Seattle several years ago. Darwin’s makes fresh and healthy pet food using produce from Charlie’s Produce and Gary immediately realized he could help the chimpanzees by donating produce to the sanctuary. Not only has this arrangement saved CSNW many thousands of dollars in the last several years, but it has provided the chimpanzees with wonderful and nutritious food. All seven of the chimpanzees are well-beyond middle age, and keeping them healthy is a top priority. Big thanks goes to Gary, Darwin’s and Charlies Produce for doing just that.

Burrito, the consummate lover of food, was really pulling out all of the stops to get me to play, including “kissing” through the caging in the greenhouse:

Obviously, I had no choice but to stop taking photos and play with him. He was being pretty goofy–throwing a blanket around and laughing. And that’s a perfect segue to the next sponsor level!

Big thanks also to HOOT! 2018 Play Laugh Sponsors:

Merritt & John Atwood

Melanie Kelsey

In addition to all of these featured sponsors, we have had many more supporters who have donated at amounts less than the $500 Play Laugh level. Every single donation is appreciated!

To round out the photos of the day, here’s Negra, who, like Jody, was lying on the “top shelf” of the structure in the greenhouse. To get this photo, I moved a bench over so I could stand on it and be eye-level with the chimpanzees. Negra thought I should also dance while I was up there, which of course I did. I was stomping around on the bench and she was nodding her head in appreciation.

I love this job.