Kabooki
1995-2006
July 2, 2006
Dear Friends of Jungle Friends,
 It is with an aching heart that I tell you we lost Kabooki to complications from diabetes. Kabooki has suffered with the insidious disease for several years; we have six other diabetic monkeys here at the sanctuary. Diabetes is becoming an epidemic in ‘pet’ monkeys, as well as humans and domestic animals.
I was out of town visiting my family when I got the call that Kabooki was in trouble. It was very difficult not being here when Kabooki was so ill, having to be kept informed and make decisions via the telephone. I thank God that we have such a wonderful, quick thinking and caring staff at the sanctuary.
 
The morning of June 18th, Father’s Day, Greg noticed that Kabooki did not rush to his food bowl when he was serving breakfast, and if you knew Kabooki, you knew that he loved his food. You rarely saw Kabooki without a piece of food in his mouth.
With closer observation Greg realized that something was very wrong. Kabooki was lethargic and his eyes were darting rapidly back and forth (a medical symptom called nystagmus). Greg called Michelle over to take a look and determined that immediate action was needed. Michelle called Lee who came straight away to help one of her favorite monkey friends. Greg moved the other monkeys out of the habitat and when Lee arrived they went in and moved Kabooki into a travel cage. While Michelle and Lee were getting preparing to get him to the vet, Greg held his hand and talked to Kabooki, asking him to hang on.
Lee and Michelle rushed Kabooki to the vet school and he was diagnosed with ketoacidosis. He was bleeding by this time and the vets thought a blood transfusion might help the prognosis, which was very poor. I contacted Greg back at the sanctuary and told him that we needed to bring Goober to the vet school to donate blood to Kabooki.
Goober |
Lee headed back to Jungle Friends to help get Goober to Kabooki’s aid, while Michelle stayed with Kabooki, his hand in hers; he had a friend with him through the entire ordeal. The doctors did all they could for Kabooki, but in the end he was just too sick. I am thankful that Lee and Michelle were there holding Kabooki when he left this world for the next, Kabooki knew how much he was loved and I am sure he knows how much he is being missed.
|
|
Kabooki arrived at Jungle Friends on March 12, 2004 when he was nine years old. Kabooki was a kind and good natured monkey and was loved by so many. Renae, his human, came to visit Kabooki whenever she could. Cody and Kabooki had wonderful grooming sessions and were very good friends.
|
Kabooki & Cody
|
Kabooki & Tyler
|
Tyler is missing the rough-and-tumble play that he and Kabooki engaged in at every opportunity; Kabooki was Tyler’s best friend. Tyler seems a bit lost without his playmate; they had such fun together playing and chasing each other around in their habitats.
|
The sanctuary has felt empty without Kabooki. There is a strange silence without his famous calls and screams when his favorite friends came to visit. We know that Kabooki will always be a part of Jungle Friends in spirit, but it will take time for those of us who loved him to heal from this terrible loss. We will always remember Kabooki with his big ‘play face’ and know how much fun he had with all of his monkey friends.
As with the other monkeys that have left us, all of Kabooki’s sponsorship funds will go toward the Memorial Medical Fund to help furnish our new hospital with medical supplies and equipment so that we can better provide for the monkeys in trouble right here at Jungle Friends.
Lots of monkey love,
Kari and the monks
Please make a donation to the Gizmo Memorial Medical Fund to honor the memory
of these friends whose time with us was all too short. You can also set up a monthly
contribution to the Medical Fund using the links below.
Thank you for your generosity and commitment
to the monkeys' well-being.
More about Kabooki
Back to the Memorial Medical Fund
|
HOME
Research
