Schatov and Maniña tonight at late night supper

Top Maniña with Schatov center.
Who ever said that howlers are expressionless? Just look at that expression on Schatov's face. If that isn't a smile then I don't know what is. They have reason to be happy. A plate of fresh salad and a bowl of orange juice makes a light supper and not too heavy a meal before retiring for the night. Schatov as usual will sleep with Tutti in David's room. Tutti waits for him to arrive and makes happy noises when Schatov jumps on the bed. Schatov has become his big brother and he really does stand up for Tutti. Maniña always shares with me.
Talking about big brother, have you noticed how big these two boys are getting?
Lots happening here this week. We are completing a new enclosure and building a house for it. We have renovated an old washing machine for afternoon naps. Howlers love to sleep in old washing machines. Pictures of course when we have finished.
We received a call from a family in Maracuy, wishing to bring a young male howler to us but more about that if it happens.

Time flies when you are having fun.

We went to Manrique this week to visit Marco, Sussy and Vicky. This was a much overdue visit. I managed a few good pictures of Sussy and spent some quality time with her.
I had to admire Marco, who has become very adult and handsome. He was pleased to see me but I think more by reason of the gifts that I brought him than recognition. Unfortunately, time ran out and I was unable to get any good photographs of him and Vicky.

Tutti Italiano

Yes I know you saw the last posting and you know that Tutti and Rosita had an Italian meal but I thought you would like to see the elegance with which Tutti handles his spaghetti.

Tutti and Rosita are great pals

Last night Tutti (right) and Rosita shared an Italian meal. You see them busy eating cheese and spaghetti. Not a diet that I would recommend for a healthy Howler but as you can see they love the Italian flavor.
When Tutti arrived with us he was suffering from a vicious mite attack. This photograph is interesting because it shows the extent of the damage that the mite infection did to the hair on Tutti's head. This has been completely cured and there is now vigorous new hair growth.

Our Birthday honours list

It is difficult to give an exact date of birth for most of our children. They come from diverse locations. Some come from confiscation at the roadside and others come from good homes. But universally we cannot pinpoint the exact birthday or even year in some cases. It has been our policy at Cañaote to give everyone a birthday related to when they arrived here. Their arrival date is their birthday.

Emma 24/06/05
Eslabon 02/08/07 1 year old when arrived
Maniña 11/04/06 2 years old when arrived
MonaLisa 29/10/03 1 year and 9 months when arrived
Marco 17/12/03
Nancy 28/10/06
Rosita 14/07/06
Schatov 21/01/06
Sophie 12/02/04
Sussy 31/08/03 13 years old when arrived
Totto 17/06/06 ? when arrived
Tutti 09/06/07

If any one has more information about age or original date of birth, please mail me.

Totto and Sophie at home.

We don't often show pictures of Totto and Sophie together and perhaps it is not realized how Sophie has grown. From being a small monkey alongside Totto, she is now quite a large person. Truthfully we expected her to show signs of pregnancy by now but that hasn't happened yet. She is of course still very young. She has a complex mentality which we have found difficult to analyze at times. We will write more about her in another posting soon.
Our pictures tonight, show them both having just returned from Rosita's party.

Rosita's birthday party.

Well it all began quietly enough. Rosita stood at the door early looking at birthday cards. There was one from Sussy and another from Marco and Vicky. She was thrilled when William the delivery boy, brought in the birthday cake. She resisted the temptation to steal a bit from the side where the cream had overflowed slightly. She set the cake down on the big table next to the cucumber and salmon sandwiches. Taking their cue from her, all the guests started to arrive early. Totto was first in with Sophie on his arm. His coat was gleaming with good grooming. Obviously Sophie had helped him dress for the evening.
Schatov and Maniña were the next to arrive. Schatov was carrying a mysterious black bag. Whilst Maniña pressed a piece of half chewed biscuit into Rosita’s hand and said, ‘Happy birthday dear Rosita’.
MonaLisa arrived with Emma and Nancy; they were already wearing their party hats maybe the ones left over from Christmas.
Last of all came Tutti, he rushed up to Schatov because being very new he did not know any of the other guests. Since his arrival at Cañaote, Schatov has taken the little fellow under his wing.
Someone switched the player on and there was a gentle background of music against the chatter of conversation.
There were the usual assortment of party games and everyone was having a good time. After a time, Maniña stood up and announced that a famous magician called Shattering Schatov was here at the party and would do some tricks. At this point Schatov got up on the little stage and began to do some conjuring. His card prestidigitation has become quite famous. This all went fine until he said, ’for my next trick’, and proceeded to open the mysterious black bag he had been carrying all evening. Suddenly there was the incredible flapping of wings and Tweety Pie the Laurel bird emerged from the bag. Obviously confused and frightened, she began flying erratically around the room. First landing on the partly eaten cake, where she got a wingful of cream. As she continued her journey around the room she daubed this wing like a paintbrush on everything she touched. In an attempt to control the situation, Nancy threw a large piece of green jelly at the bird but missed. Unfortunately it hit Totto on the side of his face and he let out a roar. As he swiped the jelly of his face his hand hit the plate of jelly and it catapulted across the room, covering everybody in its path with jelly.
MonaLisa, with characteristic good sense said ‘calm down everyone, it was just an accident, Tissues and towels are available in the bathroom.’
Well everyone did calm down, which just goes to show what sensible folk howler monkeys are.
With lots of enthusiasm they all sang ‘Happy birthday dear Rosita’, and the assembled party began to drift towards the door.
‘It been a great party and thanks for having us’, said Sophie and the whole party echoed her sentiments.

Happy birthday Rosita

Rosita is one year old today. In spite of all our efforts she is still a small person. I have previously mentioned that she is a great eater. Because she is so slim, she is able to leave her enclosure at will. During mealtimes she visits all the other enclosures, (except Totto and Sophie) and joins in the meals. At first we suspected worms, but our tests show negative. Next we considered her diet, but this is a well balanced meal and she has a great appetite. Finally we have decided to stop worrying about it and accept that she is just a small person. Recently we noticed some hair loss on Emma, who lives in the same enclosure. After taking a careful look we discovered that she has fleas and her scratching has caused the loss of hair. We were able to shampoo MonaLisa and Rosita but Emma is aggressive and resistant to being washed and Nancy is very protective of her foster mother. With them we resorted to flea powder and we are waiting to see the result. In the meantime it made sense to separate MonaLisa and Rosita to another enclosure. Without any difficulty, Rosita changed her own abode to be with her foster mother, MonaLisa. They are inseparable, Rosita really loves MonaLisa.
Later today we think a party has been arranged for Rosita’s birthday but it is all being kept hush hush. More about that later. Our picture shows Rosita enjoying her birthday breakfast this morning.

Sussy on Vacatiion

Sussy is on vacation in Manrique, to see her foster son Marco and his wife Vicky. By the sound of things she is having a great time. You will remember that Manrique was Sussy's first home, before she came to live at Cañaote. Vicky by all accounts is pregnant, so I imagine that Sussy, having been a mother many times has good advice to give her.
Naturally we are receiving many post cards from Sussy saying 'wish you were here, the water is fine'.

Maniña has good table manners.

Howler monkeys are not known for their dexterity. Usually if a monkey interacts with human articles it is disastrous. Cups plates and pots go flying and usually end up broken on the floor. Monkeys live in trees and are not accustomed to handling human things. And that is the way it should be. However, from time to time one meets a Howler with exceptional skills. Maniña is one of those. Before he came to Cañaote, his owners allowed him the run of the house and took him out to restaurants. He is very sophisticated in human ways. He is emotional and has been known to sulk if he does not get his own way. He likes to embrace and to kiss if you will let him. He loves music and will encourage you to dance with him if he gets the rhythm. His idea of siesta is to curl up in a ball on your lap. He definitely has the human touch. He is skilled in table etiquette as you can see from our photograph. He is able to raise a cup or pot and lift it so he is able to drink out of it without spilling. He then places the cup back on the table without breaking it. Now that is clever.

Five thousand six hundred and thirty two dogs.

Last Sunday at about ten A.M. a procession of vehicles arrived at Cañaote and after a short period of organizing the car parking, the Asoguau Foundation ambulance arrived.
(A voice was heard from inside one of the enclosures, we think it might have been Maniña, ‘Oh no! Not again’).

Three Veterinary doctors and assistants as well as a support party came to carry out the neutering and spaying of dogs from the area. The ambulance has an electrical port on the rear for 220 volts, this we were able to provide.
Gabriela, our friend from Manrique also arrived and gave us great help on the organising side.
An invitation had been sent to all the local villages and farms, to bring their dogs for treatment. Eleven dogs were treated. In all cases the work went smoothly with no cause for concern. Looking back today in retrospect, we can say that all the dogs have been examined whilst giving them the follow up medication and all the patients were successful with no complications.

This is wonderful work that the Asoguau Foundation carry out and completely free of charge to the dog owners. A moment’s reflection shows that eleven dogs having eight puppies is eighty eight. Eighty eight having eight puppies is seven hundred and four and seven hundred and four having eight puppies is Five thousand six hundred and thirty two. And ………
We saved the world from being completely inundated with dogs.

At the end of the day the party relaxed for a while over a meal and then after our grateful thanks the party left for home near Valencia.

We are impressed with the professionalism and care and the shear hard work that the team showed. We made some new friends and are certain of future co operation with Asoguau Foundation. In particular we thank Nathalie, Roberto as well as Maria and Gabriela for making this visit possible.