Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

veterinary care

An exam for Foxie

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As I type this, Foxie is recovering uneventfully from anesthesia after a full workup.

Diana mentioned a while back that Foxie hadn’t been feeling well, and while she did get her appetite and energy back it took longer than we would have liked and thus warranted further investigation. As many of you know, we’ve long referred to Foxie as “Tiny” due to her diminutive stature. She simply can’t afford to get too much tinier.

As always, we are grateful to Dr. Erin as well as the medical and veterinary professionals that volunteered their time and expertise to help ensure that Foxie stays well.

Anesthetist Dalila Fairchild intubates Foxie in preparation for gas anethesia
Anthony assists Dr. Erin with the dental exam and cleaning while veterinary radiologist Dr. Middleton performs abdominal and cardiac ultrasound
Foxie’s hand is taped to the x-ray detector so that the staff can stand safely out of the way during imaging.

We’ll know more once we run labs and consult with other specialists on the imaging, but so far we haven’t seen anything alarming. And her recovery from the procedure has been great – before she had even regained enough balance to walk, she managed to find and hold onto a Dora the Explorer doll. For the rest of the afternoon she’ll sip Sprite and rest up, and then hopefully get a good night’s sleep so that she can rejoin her family in the morning. Jody, in particular, did not want to leave her side this morning and will be relieved to be with her again.

A welcome distraction

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I’m happy to report that our patient is doing very well. He’s taking his meds without too much cajoling, leaving his bandage on, and even playing with his caregivers. This last procedure doesn’t seem to have phased him much at all. It may even feel like a relief.

Typically, chimps in recovery require lots of distraction techniques to keep them from removing bandages and picking at their sutures. You can’t just stick a cone on a chimpanzee, so instead we stick random pieces of surgical tape all over their bodies and occasionally add “distraction sutures”, which are shallow absorbable sutures that the chimps can focus on without causing any harm to the actual incision. Overwhelm them with things to pick at and just maybe they won’t pick at the one that matters. At least not right away.

But none of this was necessary, because we woke up to a couple inches of snow this morning and it’s all Burrito can think about. Snow balls. Buckets of snow. Snow drizzled with juice. I don’t remember him being this crazy for snow in winters past, but it is a welcome distraction right now.

Trending Upward

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I must admit that I got quite sentimental in my latest blog post. I even tried to be insightful.

Today’s entry will contain nothing of the sort.

Instead, here is a dry update on everyone’s progress accompanied by images from my phone camera.

Burrito continues to heal and appears more active by the day, but he is still nursing some ugly wounds. We continue to monitor him for potential complications (including but not limited to bacterial infection). Getting him to take meds is a full-time job, so caregiver Katelyn had the tedious task of preparing various foods and trying to sell him on each. As J.B. recently explained, this has been the most challenging aspect of Burrito’s treatment plan. He did get a few bursts of energy today and spent quite a bit of time interacting with the female chimps through the mesh windows separating him from the Playroom. He even climbed up onto his favorite bench, although his movement was a bit shaky and he appears to only have a fraction of his normal strength. Still, it was good to see Bubba being Bubba.

Burrito licks his wounds while reclining in his nest.
Burrito ventures down to the farthest bench so he can see into the Greenhouse.
Burrito enjoys some medication-laced yogurt, even licking it off of the caging.
Our medication board is quite full at the moment.
Burrito presents his injured hand to the females.
Burrito relaxes atop the highest bench in the front rooms.

The girls (Annie, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra) have been back to business as usual. They seem to appreciate a return to routine, although they spend a lot of time monitoring Burrito and watching the windows and doors for signs of their chimpanzee neighbors on the other side. Whenever Willy B makes an appearance, they shower him with submissive pant-grunts and excited gestures. The weather was chilly and windy today, minimizing the appeal of Young’s Hill, but Jamie recruited volunteer Chad to walk the boundary with her anyway. When not patrolling and policing, Jamie has been enviously watching us give all sorts of foods to Burrito and has been asking for similar treatment. Jody has been obsessively helping Burrito to groom his wounds and he seems glad to have such an attentive nurse.

Jody grooms Burrito’s hand.
Jamie chills out on a firehose “vine” after breakfast.

Honey B has been an absolute star when asked to present her wounds for inspection and treatment. Her toe and backside are healing well and she is behaving like her normal self. She’s been more interested in grooming my freckles than she has been in her own injuries, so our concern for her recovery is minimal even though we continue to treat her lacerations with topical and oral medication. Honey B is an ideal patient because she is comfortable with our presence close to the steel caging and she is generally accepting of any flavor of yogurt, even if it tastes like antibiotics or Ibuprofen. As long as she gets to hold the spoon and hang out with caregivers, she’s happy.

Honey B inspects the camera lens on my phone. She really doesn’t seem to mind having humans operating within her personal space.

Willy B and Mave have been dealing with the unfortunate loss of their new social partners now that the groups have been split up and integration efforts have been halted. Instead, they’ve been focusing on reinforcing their bonds with each other (and with Honey B, to a lesser extent). We’ve also been showering them with enrichment and allowing them to sunbathe in the outdoor chute during the afternoons.

Willy B (left) and Mave (right) engage in some rough play before dinner.
Willy B used my phone camera to inspect his teeth…
…and groom his nails…
…and fix his hair.

Overall, everyone is trending upward. However, we continue to place an emphasis on helping Burrito to recover while keeping the other chimps busy and comfortable as the fall weather gradually fades into winter.

The river meanders its way past the sanctuary this afternoon.