Dora’s Check-Up

Dora made her first appearance in the veterinary clinic last week for a routine physical exam. Like Rayne, she willingly took the anesthetic injection (this time from Sabrina and Dr. Erin, with a prior assist from the entire positive reinforcement training team). While we have to wait for specialists to review some of the data…

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Rayne’s Exam

Rayne took a trip into our veterinary clinic recently for a physical exam. Take a look at what goes into making such a trip possible. Some of Rayne’s diagnostic results are pending review by specialists, but she appears to be in very good health! If you’re new to this blog, here’s a primer on the…

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Late Winter on the Hill and A Day in the Clinic

The weather has been beautiful lately and the chimps have been taking full advantage of this false spring before the inevitable second winter strikes back. Enjoy a few scenes from The Bray and Young’s Hill from the past couple of days. I also want to share with you that yesterday, Honey B took what we…

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Cooperative Veterinary Care: Rayne’s X-Ray

As avid CSNW blog readers know well, most veterinary procedures for chimpanzees are traditionally carried out while they are under anesthesia, and we don’t like do anesthetize any more than we have to. So we, along with many of our colleagues, try to find ways for chimps to willingly cooperate in their own care. That…

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Moo Crew Maintenance

This week the cattle had a pedicure appointment with the hoof trimmer and a check-up with the Doc. So for today’s blog Dr. Erin shares an update on the bovine girls! Dr. Erin “Thursday was hoof trim day for the sanctuary herd.  Like all healthcare interactions with the sanctuary residents, I both look forward to…

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Honey B Update and a February Day on the Bray Video

Watch the video above to see Cy’s group enjoy another mild February day—a welcome change from January’s relentless cold and snow. Just don’t tell Gordo that I shared that clip of him. And a quick update on Honey B: As you may know, Honey B sustained a laceration to her lower right eyelid a couple…

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Your Questions Answered

After posting about Honey B’s trip recent trip to the clinic, many of you on the blog and social media had great questions. I thought we could take this opportunity to answer a few in greater detail here. How do you isolate a chimp that needs treatment in the veterinary clinic? The first step in…

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Welcome Home, Meredith!

Last week, we caught a break in the weather and were able to bring Meredith safely back home from WSU. While she has to remain confined to a pen in the barn for a short while during her recovery, she and her herd mates are happy to be together again. Notice in the video that…

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Caring for Meredith

Meredith has always been a bit different from her herd mates — standing up when the others are lying down, facing east when the others are facing west, and so on — but this past summer we noticed that something other than her independent streak was causing her to lag behind her herd as they…

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Teamwork

Bite wounds are probably the most common injuries we see in chimps. Our treatment protocols for these wounds tend to be fairly conservative: administer analgesics for pain, clean frequently with antiseptic spray, and monitor closely. There are a few reasons for this. First, chimps have a superhuman (literally) ability to heal. Wounds that would send…

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A Trip to the Clinic for Willy B

Willy B took a trip to the clinic this morning. The main purpose of the procedure was to investigate some swelling in his scrotum. As usual, Dr. Erin assembled a great crew to ensure that Willy would have the best care possible. Dan Low, MD and Leah Bezzo, CRNA, both with Seattle Children’s Hospital, kept…

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Heart Week

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of illness and mortality in captive chimpanzees. As many of you know, we’ve been treating Burrito since 2012 for hypertensive heart disease. What you may not know is that Cy also suffers from cardiovascular disease – in his case, dilated cardiomyopathy. To better manage his symptoms and slow the…

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