Adoption Day Gifts.....

Each year on November 18th Adoption Day, Jazzy gets a little gift that I purchased in Vietnam. Here is a little dragon beaded change purse. The silver coin I purchased recently on ebay- Year of the Dog 2006 with the Chinese Zodiac on the back.

Day with the Keepers....

To celebrate Jasmine's Adoption Day anniversary, we went out last night to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant "Pho Van". Jasmine saw some people she knows from Power Brain Training... some teenage girls. She seems to know everyone wherever we go:) *I* don't know them, but *she* does. So, today we spent the day at the Phoenix Zoo with the Zoo Keepers who are responsible for training the show animals. They have a program where you can pay a ridiculous amount of money to spend the day and eat lunch with the keepers. We have only done it once before with the Reptile Keepers, but the show animals were much much interesting. As usual, my photos didn't turn out too well. There are 7 full time trainers who "train" several types of animals- not on regular exhibit to the public. Every morning at the zoo, there is a "show" which might consist of any of the hawks, parrots, large (and I mean large) African porcupine, Eagles, and large rabbits. Each morning, they decide just before going on stage which animals are going to "perform" depending on which ones seem grumpy or good- natured that morning. We spent the first hour or so learning about "clicker training" and how it is done. The kids (only 3 of them) each took turns being the animal vs the trainer. If the animal does something you want it to do just by chance, then it gets a treat and a "click" from the clicker. After many days and sessions, the animal finally learns that it gets the treat or the click when it does that particular move. Even the wart hogs are trained to open their mouths on "command". The hogs are trained much better than most people's dogs and cats. They said that no matter how many exotic birds, eagles, and other animals that go on stage, the favorites are always "Barry White" and "Earl Grey", the two giant rabbits who are trained to sit up on their hind legs. Learning about "clicker training". Jasmine the trainer, and Luke the "animal". Earl Grey:) Barry White:) Josh the Eagle trainer. This particular eagle was approximately 2 yrs old living in Montana when somehow her wings were damaged. They try to get her in front of an audience every single day so she gets used to as many people as possible. Not a good photo at all. He is also the wart hog keeper and has trained them to open their mouths on "command" for teeth examination, etc. That would be *really* nice if people could do that with all of their animals at home:) Josh with Jasmine and another little girl discussing "Barry White".