Animal Rights Extremism - Dixon IL

It's very disappointing to hear the comments from the female protestor interviewed during our time in Dixon, Illinois. I spent nearly an hour speaking with this woman, aware that she was videotaping our conversations as she watched the tigers. She was very grateful for my time and for the care I gave my animals. I challenge her to release that video as opposed to keeping her two minutes of fame with her slanderous "money phrases," unsupported by any facts at all.

http://youtu.be/Kik-ReVGeUg

Ringside Seating Fencing

We are always staying busy, working on improving and expanding our equipment and operations. We couldn't do it without the help of the Brown family, nor could the Kelly Miller Circus. Working with KMC fleet supervisor Dan Brown, we are building new ringside seating fencing for the show.

Practice

We often take video of practice to review during and afterwards to see both what I and the tiger are doing from a third person perspective. My two year old was watching with me her progress in learning to stand on her hind legs. Thanks to Susan Hoss for the photo.

Dixon IL

We had a great visit yesterday with the tiger trainer for the Ringling Red Unit, Taba. It was great to "talk shop" and learn how a different show operates and cares for its animals. Ringling is Grade A all the way and sets a great example for the rest of the circus industry. Azucar !

Waukegan Ill

We are in Waukegan, Illinois, today for three days. It's a tight and rough lot, but they managed to fit us all on late last night.

Robbins IL

Last night in Robbins, Illinois, a spectator in ringside seating pulled out a pair of binoculars to look at the tiger laying several feet ahead. Perhaps they were expecting to be sitting in the nosebleed section of a coliseum to see the circus ?

Elmhurst IL

Susan is a great friend of ours. A keeper at Chicago'a Brookfield Zoo, she comes out on her lunch breaks and day off to hang out at the circus and help with elephant bath time. No one ever offers to help groom the tigers, though...

Veterinary Care

A glimpse at the veterinary care the tigers receive - We recently had blood drawn on the youngest tiger while she was sedated for a procedure. The results came back with some "off" numbers. It was recommended we draw again before proceeding. As such, I have been training this cat to allow for a blood draw from the tail. She did fantastic yesterday ! This kind of husbandry training greatly eases giving the tigers the best of care. Thanks to Mark Rosenthal for the photo.

Bloomingdale IL

I assumed the tigers would like the bench - I didn't realize they would all try to share it at the same time ! Bench number two will be finished this week.

Animal Rights Extremism

What a fantastic quote, incredibly relevant to the battles the animal industry faces against "activists" and extremists.

Feeding Time

We are often asked about the logistics of feeding a large group of tigers while traveling daily. The cats are fed a mixed diet of beef, chicken and organ meat. They also are intermittently given carcass meat. The ground beef comes from several suppliers across the country and often has to be shipped to a cold storage where we pick it up. I love the Chicago area where one company is close enough to deliver. Our freezer can hold up to 900 pounds of the ground beef.

Round Lake Beach IL

All the girls have been loving their new bench except my two year old. She has always been nervous of platforms - seat training was a long process for her. Today, with some coaxing and some meat, she hopped up and learned there was no reason to be scared.

Pecatonica IL

Very excited about the newest addition to the tiger compound ! The first of two benches has been built and installed. The girls had a great time exploring the new feature. It's a lot of fun watching them play "King of the Hill."

Jump

Very excited to receive more photos from Rick Purdue ! I think five is the maximum my seven year old can jump from ground level but she clears them without a problem.

Photo Shoot

Our friend and Kelly Miler Circus' official photographer Rick Purdue came out this past weekend for a photo shoot with the tigers. He sent me this sneak preview last night - can't wait to see the rest !