A few months ago, one of our neighbors showed up at the Sanctuary with threats and accusations in response to the “singing” of Maynard, a wonderful Gibbon ape, who has resided here at the Sanctuary for four years now. This neighbor had made no previous effort to contact us about his dislike of Maynard’s singing and, in fact had never visited the Sanctuary. This neighbor told us he was giving us one week to have Maynard removed from the property. He said he had already contacted King County Animal Control and that Animal Control would be assisting him in Maynard’s removal. He said he did not care how it was done. His actual words being “I don’t care if he has to be shot and killed”. If that is what needs to be done, they will do it. We informed him that we had been working day and night to try to find a new home for Maynard, but our hands were tied until another facility became available. Maynard is an endangered species and therefore, his life was protected here. We were bound by our license to protect him.
This neighbor states that if Maynard remaines here at the Sanctuary, he would file a class action lawsuit against us, and we would lose our property - home of the Sanctuary. This man claimed that Maynard sings 24/7. This was absolutely is not true! If and when Maynard sings, it is usually
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This is the Beginning a Better Life for This Wonderful Serval.
We were called to help with a Serval that the owners could no longer care for. This little girl, was being kept in a back yard in a busy crowded neighborhood. Her enclosure was a very unsecured small pen, put together with small zip ties and wild bird netting. The owner told us that this cat probably had an abscess and that they had done nothing to treat it. When we first set eyes on her, she was huddled in a corner gnawing on a growth on her leg. It was obvious that it was not an abscess, but a very large tumor.
Prepping for surgery
She had not received any medical care for this very painful, long-time growth. This owner knew it was illegal to own this type of exotic cat in the State of Washington without a USDA license. Probably one of the reasons that he did not seek medical help for her.
When we picked this serval up, we immediately took her to our vet and had her health issues assessed. The tumor was removed the next day and the pathology report came back. This is a very aggressive form of cancer. Although she is in no pain now, we will have to wait to see if she will be able to keep the leg, or even survive this cancer. Because this tumor was left for such a long time, it might have already metastasized to her lungs.
The tumor is finally out!
She is a very happy kitty now! She is experiencing things everyday that are new and exciting – especially with the other animals around her. Only a few days after surgery, she is climbing on platforms, to levels of 15′. She want’s to pounce on her prey and she is getting the diet that she has needed all these years. Jess is already a different serval compared to when we first met her. These cats so deserve to live in the wild, not be somone’s pet in their powder room or garage.
