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August 22, 2005

Dear Friends of Jungle Friends,

In the early morning hours on Friday, August 19, 2005 Louis died in his sleep and at peace, knowing how much he was loved. Louie is free of the body that betrayed him and free of the bars that held him captive. We will all miss him.

During Louie's last weeks here, his monkey friends looked out for him. Tyler and Iris rarely left his side, they watched over him day and night, grooming and caring for him, even covering him up at night. Friday afternoon Connie stayed next to Louie meticulously grooming him. Scooter, who Louie looked up to like a 'big brother', groomed him at the same time. Just before nightfall we could sense the time for Louie to leave us was near, we brought him to my patio where he could still see all of his monkey friends and they could see him. Myself, staff and volunteers stayed with Louie into the night, holding his hand, lip smacking to him and telling him how much we all loved him, while his monkey friends looked on. And Erin, long-time volunteer, had a Reiki session with Louie that night and this is what she said about the experience,

"The session really affected me, in a beautiful way. I was so taken by Louie's energy. His aura was smooth, there were no longer any 'blocks' or 'hot spots'. But his energy was definitely not balanced - his lower three chakras were difficult to detect, while his heart chakra was just overwhelmingly strong (so much so that it was something I've never experienced). The lower three chakras are rooted in "the will to live, life force, survival, enjoyment of life, desire, fear..." So it's clear that he is ready to move on and he's not afraid, his energy is no longer focused in those chakras; he's no longer holding onto or attached to this body, or to this life. The heart chakra symbolizes 'love for self and others, peace, trust, spiritual development, compassion...' Louie's aura is centered around his heart because he is at peace with the transition, he is ready to move on, and it is obvious that he is aware of the love he has always known and is especially now receiving. He is sending that love back to us to help us through this time. He's at peace and now he's helping to heal us. Little Lou really affected me - he reminded me of the strength of spirituality and of love. He reminded me of what we need to accomplish in our lives, and he inspired me to keep going with all my passion. We won't let you down, Louie!"

All donations in memory of Louie will go into the Gizmo Memorial Medical Fund. We thank you for your kind generosity.

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