If you live in the Chicago area, don't miss the Circus Cats! These fantastic domestic felines (clicker [0] trained, of course) will amuse and amaze as they ride skateboards, roll barrels, ring bells, push carts, walk the high wire, climb ropes, jump through hoops, and more! The cats finally have a stage to purrform on, complete with lights, sound, and a set-up so the audience can see from any seat in the house. Meet new cast member Neo, as well as all your favorites. These cats even play in a band: The Rock-Cats are a trio of talented felines on drums, guitar and piano.

Samantha Martin's Acro-Cats have appeared on 190 North, WGN, America's Got Talent, CBS and more. Don't miss your chance to meet them live and in purrson. Limited seats available  Book your tickets early.

Purrforming live Saturday, October 11 at  4:00 and 6:00 p.m.

Gorilla Tango Theater [1]

1919 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647
773-598-4549

If you want to learn more about Samantha and her Amazing Acro-Cats [2], read our profile: Herding Cats in Hollywood [2]. 

The organizing committee for the Academy of Veterinary Behavior [2] Technicians (AVBT) and the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians (SVBT) scholarship committee are proud to introduce the AVBT "Faith" Scholarship to the Dog Trainer Program at Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior [3].

The scholarship is named after Faith, the service dog trained using clicker training [3] methods for Julie Shaw's son Dylan nearly 14 years ago. Faith died of lymphosarcoma at the age of six, but her memory will live on through the recipients of the "Faith" scholarship.

Two or three scholarships will be awarded annually, each valued at $2,500. The SVBT scholarship committee, along with the AVBT board of regents, will select a recipient who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing the role of the veterinary technician in the discipline of animal behavior and has a desire and the ability to pursue his or her Veterinary Technician Specialist-Behavior (VTS-Behavior) credentials.

For application details, click here [4].

It all started with a forgotten grocery bag.

Show the world the best of clicker training [4]! The Canis Film Festival is back.

In Mozambique, clicker [4] trained rats save the day--and save lives. From Ireland's Corkman:

Landmines are a huge problem in Mozambique. The country's villages, farming land and roads are a patchwork of minefields, planted by both sides during the 16-year long civil war. The mines remain active, despite the fact that the war ended many years ago. They continue to kill and injure Mozambicans, preventing normal daily activities like farming and movement through the countryside.

Landmines are remarkably difficult to remove. Armored mine-clearance vehicles are only effective on level, smooth surfaces. Metal detectors locate any metal object, leading to numerous false alarms. Dogs are good at detecting the explosives in landmines, but they are heavy enough to trigger the landmines themselves, and they tend to get bored with the repetitive work.

The idea of using rats as mine detectors is brilliant. Rats have a highly developed sense of smell and are easy to tame and train, as my ten year old rat-owning daughter will tell you. They are small, cheap and easy to maintain and transport. They are very adaptable, living comfortably in all sorts of environments. And once they have been taught a task, rats love to perform repetitive tasks. They are more easily transferred between trainers compared to dogs, since for rats, the key motivating factor is the food reward rather than the social kudos of impressing their owner.

 Read the whole article here [5].