U
p before the sun — more impor tantly, up before the chimps — Lesley Day, founder of Chimps Inc., can be found prepping for the day. A dab of this and a dollop of that, Day meticulously prepares Friday’s breakfast, a rice pudding mixture for the eight chimps at the nationally renowned sanctuary near Tumalo. In this quiet morning hour, Day gets back to the basics of what keeps her going. One by one she greets Topo, Pattie, Herbie, Emma, CJ, Jackson, Thiele and Maggie. She coaxes Pattie to take her vitamins, much as a parent would persuade a child to eat her vegetables. Day greets the staff as they begin to trickle in, starting another satisfying day at the sanctuary. Herbie blows them a kiss, his way of saying “Good mor ning.” The chimps are ready for breakfast. They feast on warm pudding and fresh fruit. The staff begins to shuffle the chimps to different areas of the sanctuary. They are ready for another day car ing for them, from cage cleanings, enrichment, lunch, snacks
28 | Ageless | The Bulletin
and dinner to social media updates and reports. Each day is a full day. Fortunately, for a go-getter like Day, motivation has never been a problem. While her role at the sanctuary has grown and changed over the years, it is her closeness, intimacy and passion for her mission — the chimps — that allow Chimps Inc. to thrive nearly 20 years later. Chimps Inc. is a sanctuar y specif ically desig ned to prov ide lifetime care to captive chimpanzees. Nothing states Chimps Inc.’s purpose more concisely than the mission that Day not only created, but also embodies. “We are dedicated to overcoming exploitation and cruelty that they and other captive wild animals can face through advocacy, education and conservation,” it states. “Growing up, I remember having a respect and love for animals,” Day said. “I had always loved primates from afar.” As a spectator at Marine World in the ‘80s, she met the chimpanzee trainers. “I wanted a pet chimpanzee,” she
said. “I didn’t know how wrong that was at the time.” The Marine World trainers put her in touch with a breeder in upstate New York.After corresponding back and forth, Day decided to visit the breeder’s facility. The moment Day stepped into the dingy, dirty trailer is an ex per ience she w ill never forget. Several chimpanzees were living in filthy, run-down, inhumane conditions. “They didn’t have outdoor facilities. It was absolutely horrible,” Day said. “Topo, reached out, grabbed my finger, and it was over. As soon as I looked into his eyes, I knew I just knew I had to get him out of there.” “I didn’t know what I was doing. Chimpanzees are not pet s, w ild a n i ma l s don’t ma ke pet s,” Day added. “I studied, read, asked other sanctuaries what needed to be done and followed their example.” For the next two years, Day set the early foundation for what would become the Chimps Inc. we know today. She purchased used caging, converted her garage into an indoor facilit y, and created an outdoor
enclosure in the backyard. “I flew by the seat of my pants, which I tend to do a lot,” said Day. “Topo’s reaction made it all worth it. It was amazing. He just couldn’t believe it. “Topo was so excited. He ran around the enclosure jumping up and down. Topo thanks us every day. Every day it is rewarding.” Day began her lifetime commitment to Chimps Inc. in 1995. Topo paved the way for future rescues. Seven months later, Marine World closed its chimpanzee department. This is how Pattie, followed much later by Keely and Maggie, came to call Chimps Inc. home. Her sincere passion for her mission keeps Day, and Chimps Inc., moving forward. “Luckily, I have a lot of energy,” she said. “[Day] is a very focused person on her mission for the sanctuary,” said Marla O’Donnell, the sanctuary ma nager. “A s t he fou nder a nd president, it would be easy for her to constantly be tied up in paperwork. She is very hands on and finds the