Happy Sweet 16 Birthday, Skeeter!

Brother Wolf Asheville -- Happy Sweet 16 Birthday, Skeeter! 
This handsome boy turned 16 and got a new set of wheels! You may remember Skeeter from when we helped rehome him to a sanctuary when his human mom couldn't care for him any more (https://bit.ly/2RuqIzu). He's loving his new life at Primarily Primates and we're so happy for him!

SKEETER IS LEARNING HOW TO BE A MONKEY
You may be most familiar with the work we do rescuing dogs and cats in our community. Or, if you’ve been following the progress we’re making at the Brother Wolf Animal Sanctuary in Leicester, NC, you know we’ve rescued pigs and cows. What you may not know is that our uncompromised compassion extends to all animals… and in April, that led to the rescue of a pigtail macaque monkey named Skeeter.

Skeeter’s human mom, Sandy, bought him in New Orleans 14 years ago, after his parents were killed during Hurricane Katrina. Earlier this year, Sandy’s health began to quickly decline, which gave her less time and energy to devote to Skeeter’s care. With less of her attention, he began to act out.

Sandy knew Skeeter deserved a better life than she was able to give him, and refused to seek treatment for herself until she knew he’d be safe. When she called on us for help, we jumped into action. While we certainly don’t condone keeping wild animals in homes, we simply couldn’t turn our backs on Skeeter and Sandy during their time of crisis.
We’re lucky to have a skilled and diverse Board of Directors, who are always ready to share their experience, knowledge, and connections to help animals in need. One of our beloved board members, Dustin Rhodes, works for a fantastic organization called Friends of Animals. In 2007, Friends of Animals began managing a sanctuary in Texas called Primarily Primates, which currently cares for around 350 primates of varying species. With Dustin’s help, we began devising a plan to transport Skeeter into their expert care.

“There are no animals at Primarily Primates that came from the wild,” Dustin says. “Most of the other macaques came to us from the animal experimentation industry, from medical laboratories. We do have a few others that are former pets. Some of the chimps were stolen out of the wild when they were babies, but they lived in cramped lab cages for their whole lives until they came to us.”

Primates like Skeeter, who have lived their whole lives displaced from their natural environments could never survive if released into the wild. Because of his sheltered, domestic life, other macaques wouldn’t accept him and he wouldn’t even know what kind of food to eat, let alone where to find it. A sanctuary like Primarily Primates gives Skeeter the best shot at living his best life.
“Once animals come to Primarily Primates, we have to care for them for the next 20-30 years of their lives,” Dustin says, “so you can imagine that it is extremely expensive. Because of that, we normally ask for a placement fee, but we waived it for Brother Wolf.” Instead, five supporters pledged to sponsor Skeeter for his first year, covering veterinary expenses and food costs.

Read more about Skeeter