Since most of our tiger's birthdays are in October we put on an annual Birthday Bash! This year it will be October 9th from 11am-3pm. It will only be $5 this year, kids under three will get in free, also if you bring an item from our wishlist you get a $1 off! There will be games, crafts, tiger tours, and many other fun activities. Please spread the word! We would like this event to as big as the Free Day which brought in over 700 people.

We are lucky to have acquired a new volunteer! She took a tour with us yesterday and donated lots of stuff from our wishlist. We are super excited for the extra help, especially from someone who enjoys tigers as much as us. With that mentioned, we are ALWAYS looking for volunteers. We also need volunteers for the Birthday Bash. If you would like to volunteer you can contact Jeri Meeker at 573-330-7334 or at jmeeker@crown-ridge.com. Trust me, you do it once and your hooked! I fell in love from the very first day.

Thor has been teaching the other tigers some bad habits. Whenever Thor is in Izzy's yard she hides underneath the platform so you can not see her. Now Izzy is hiding in the same spot! He used to never go under his platform. Also Thor has taught Gracie to go potty in the pools. I caught her in the act yesterday while doing a tour. The worst part is that they get in afterwards. Mohan has taught Thor to enjoy only the finer foods. Thor has been getting pickier with what she eats. She wants chicken but we can't always give her chicken because we have to purchase it ourselves and Mo will ONLY eat chicken. I guess we now know where they got the phrase "copy cat".

Since we are closed on Mondays we have more time to put new stuff into the tiger's yards. Today we put a big barrel on a zip line in Gracie and Thor's yard, although Alexis is in there today. Izzy supervised from his enclosure next door. He was really hoping the barrel was for him! When we were testing out the barrel by pushing it down the zip line Izzy went crazy. We let Alexis out and all she did was sniff it. Once she figures out that it will make Izzy jealous I'm sure she'll play with it some more.

Yesterday the vet came by to do a visual check up on all the cats. He said they all look like they're doing well.

We are starting to prepare for the Birthday Bash on October 9th. We are looking for entertainment, so if you know someone or if you would like to do some entertaining please let us know! Thanks!

Everyone has been very playful today! The heat has let up and everyone is enjoying it. Even Mohan has been up and playing around. We moved Izzy next to Mohan and they have been running up and down the fence together and watching each other all day. They walk down the fence together and at the very end Mohan gives Izzy a little roar and they continue on. Mo jumps in and out of his pool while Izzy stalks him from behind a tree. Mohan's playfulness is a sign that he is feeling well.

Thor and Gracie were moved into Izzy's yard where there is a larger pool, more platforms and a hill to run up and down. Thor found Izzy's scent and was rubbing against it and drooling, although earlier in the morning Thor was growling and hissing at Izzy. Thor loves to hide under the platforms in this enclosure and has wedged herself underneath so that you can barely see her. Gracie enjoyed running down the hill and plopping down into some cool dirt.

Raja was given a box with the cologne Brut sprayed on it. This is Raja's favorite scent! She rubbed all over the box and tried to eat it. The box is now a slobbery mess. Raja's tail is swollen at the base and has a raw spot on the underside. We have been trying our best to medicate the raw spot before it gets worse and it seems to be doing a lot better.

Before Alexis went outside she found a bone we had given Raja for breakfast. Alexis loves bones and this one was no exception. She guarded it with all her might from us. If we even looked at it she would growl and carry on. Finally she lost interest and went outside for the day. We put a watermelon in her enclosure this morning and when she found it she carried it around like a prize. She dug her claws and teeth in and ripped it apart all over her yard. At least it smells a lot nicer than a bone!

So far has been a good day for everybody at the sanctuary! We hope the weather stays nice!

Today we hosted our first birthday party! We decorated the education center with birthday decorations and served Fizzy Izzy Rootbeer floats. The kids got to go on a tour and make jungle boxes to throw to the tigers. We had lots of fun!

Izzy has been trying to move his big tractor tire into the pool for the past few weeks and finally he was succesful. As amusing as it was watching him get the tire into the pool and then stand on it in the water, it was not so fun trying to get it out of the pool. It took three of us to pull the tire out! Let's see how long it takes him to put it back into the pool. Izzy is always full of suprises.

Izzy is our 3 year old Siberian-mix tiger. He already weighs 500 lbs and has another year left to grow. Izzy came from a carnival where they used him to take pictures with young kids, but when he was only three months old he was too big for his job and they were going to euthanize him. Luckily he was able to come live with us and is doing great! Don't forget to try our Fizzy Izzy root beer, visit fizzyizzyrootbeer.com. Enjoy this Izzy photo collage!

A new bill has been passed requiring owners of large carnivores to have a permit and take better care of the animals. You can read more about the bill at http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x212198311/Bill-requires-permits-for-tigers-other-large-carnivores?start:int=15. This is a HUGE accomplishment. Missouri has hardly any laws regulating ownership of exotic animals. Unwanted or abused animals end up in sanctuaries like ours, when they shouldn't have been in bad homes to begin with. As much as we love our tigers we still know they are wild and are not pets. Any legislation helping exotic animals is a great improvement. We hope more regulations will be put into place in the future.

Don't forget to Goodsearch for the Scott Foundation! (goodsearch.com)