Animal Rentals Blog

ANIMAL RENTALS  is on the road again, visiting at least several colleges and making new friends.  For the month of November, we will be bringing our educational and entertaining “hands on”  EXOTIC ANIMAL DISPLAY college entertainment to the following schools.

SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE located in Memphis, TN on November 11th and 12th.

MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY located in Erie, PA on November 14th.  We will be participating in a “hands-on” “Fear Factor” themed event.

UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY located in Findlay, OH on November 20th.

Our mission is to educate, entertain and encourage conservation of our world’s animals by offering  a face to face interaction with members of  Mindy’s Menagerie, the ambassadors of ANIMAL RENTALS.  

Follow our adventures by visiting and liking us on Face Book;  Animal Rentals and Mindy the Monkey.

What a great summer it’s been so far!  Even though dad and I are taking a break from traveling the country doing our College Entertainment shows, we have been really busy appearing at fairs and festivals, private parties, trade shows and lots of other fun events.  And of course there is always plenty to do working at the office and taking care of all of my exotic animal friends.  But this summer we are also making a lot of fun changes behind the scenes too.

The most fun change for me so far is re-naming the IQ Zoo to Mindy the Monkey’s Menagerie!  It’s the most fun because it was my idea.  We call it Mindy’s Menagerie for short, but I like the full name better.  All of my exotic animal friends are still included, and we are even adding a couple new friends soon.  But I think the name Mindy the Monkey’s Menagerie really describes us better.  After dad read me the definition from the dictionary, I knew it had to be our new name.

The dictionary says that a menagerie is a collection of wild animals that are kept specifically to be shown to the public.  Doesn’t that sound just like us?  Of course we do more than just let people look at us…interacting with people is so much fun and an important part of my mission to educate and entertain as an Animal Ambassador.  So even though we are more than just ‘props’, menagerie is a perfect name for my group of exotic animal friends.

So Mindy the Monkey’s IQ Zoo is now Mindy’s Menagerie.  You can still learn all sorts of fun facts and interesting things about my friends and I at the Mindy’s Menagerie page.  And you can still pick your favorite exotic animals for your next party or event there.  Everything is still the same but the name!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today dad and I are taking a break from our animal shows and college entertainment tours.  I am at home at Animal Rentals with my friend Tom T Turkey.  We are sharing the things that we are grateful for – like I am grateful for the chance to meet so many wonderful new friends through my job as an Animal Ambassador, and Tom is grateful that he is not on someone’s Thanksgiving table as dinner!  While we were laughing about that and talking, Tom told me some really interesting things about turkeys that I never knew before, so I thought I would share them with you.

Did you know that the turkey could have been our National Bird?  Not just for Thanksgiving, but for every day.  Benjamin Franklin felt that the turkey was a more noble and appropriate symbol for the United States than the bald eagle.  Turkeys were also original natives of America, while eagles were found in many countries.  Of course, we love the majestic bald eagle, but it is interesting to note that Benjamin Franklin, at least, was a big fan of the turkey.

Have you ever met a turkey that can fly?  I haven’t, and I always thought that turkeys couldn’t fly.  But while it’s true that domestic turkeys stay grounded, wild turkeys can fly fairly fast for short distances.  And though they can fly high if they want to, they usually stay pretty low to the ground.  Except at night, when they often sleep in the treetops to protect themselves from predators like coyotes and foxes.

And have you ever heard a turkey gobble?  Did you know that only the males make that noise?  They do it to attract the females – which are called hens (just like chickens!).  That gobble can be heard up to a mile away!  The hens make noises too, but more chirping and clucking sounds – not gobbles.

These are just a few of the tidbits of turkey trivia that Tom told me.   I hope you enjoyed learning them as much as I did!  And I’d love to hear what you are thankful for today!

One of the best things about being an Animal Ambassador is helping people understand what exotic animals are really like.  A lot of animals are misunderstood because something about them keeps people too far away from them to really get to know them.  Because of their unique and stinky defense mechanism, skunks are definitely one of those animals.

One of my friends that lives with us is Sylvester the Skunk.  Sylvester is a really nice guy, and I like him a lot, but he always smells like he needs to take a bath.  And he doesn’t even smell as bad as most skunks!  In the wild, skunks spray a really stinky odor to defend themselves against predators – including people.  Sylvester was born on a farm so he doesn’t have the smelly spray, but he still has a gamey odor that is a little unpleasant for most people and monkeys.  It’s too bad that his smell is what keeps people from getting to know how intelligent, interesting and entertaining he is.

Even though he has lived with us all of his life, Sylvester likes to pretend that he is a wild animal.  Sometimes he acts all tough and he stomps his feet and grunts at us.  We all know not to be afraid because he is our friend, but when wild skunks do that we know it is time to run away or get sprayed!  When dad or anyone else picks Sylvester up, he is very sweet and gentle.  He even likes to be petted.  His job is to show people that you don’t have to be afraid of wild animals, but to respect them and not get too close to them when they are in their outdoor homes.  Sylvester loves meeting new people at animal shows and college lectures, and teaching them about what skunks are really like beyond the smell.

Have you ever seen a skunk in the wild?  Have you smelled one?

I’ve been lucky enough to meet thousands of people in my job as an Animal Ambassador.  Since I always meet them while I am working at one of our animal shows, parties or events, one of the questions people always ask is what my life at home is like.  So today I thought I’d tell you a little bit about my daily life with dad.

Just like you, I have free roam of the house. Some of my animal friends have to be separated from each other for safety’s sake, but dad and the dogs and I all get along great and live together in the house.  I love playing with the dogs – they are so much fun!  My favorite thing is to throw the ball for them and have them bring it back to me.  My best friend is Dottie, an Australian Shepherd. We love to curl up together on the couch or a chair after we are all tired out from playing ball.

Some of the other fun games I like to play are pushing stuff off the table, and switching the lamps on and off.  I also love to sit in the window and feel the warmth of the sun on my fur while I watch all the cars and trucks and people go by.  But even though I love to play and relax, there is always a lot of work to do every day, too.  I sleep with dad, so it is easy to wake him up every morning at sunrise so that we can get an early start on our day and have plenty of time for both work and play.

Dad and I eat breakfast together, then I get my shower in the sink.  After that we spend several hours feeding, watering and taking care of all of my other animal friends.  They are always so happy to see us in the morning and I am sure it is because they missed me overnight and not because I have a big bowl of food in my hands!  The birds all yell hello and the alligator smiles and even though it is hard work, it is a lot of fun to help dad take care of everybody.

After everyone is taken care of, dad and I sit down to work in the office together for a while – making calls, setting appointments and planning out the rest of our day.  It is a busy life, but a very good life.  I really enjoy living and working with dad.  Next time I’ll tell you more about taking care of the animals and what we do to get ready for our animal shows, parties, and events – so be sure to check out my blog next week too!

Hi everyone, I’m Mindy!  I am a Capuchin monkey and I have a very special job as an animal ambassador.  Here on my blog I will be telling you stories about what it is like to live, work and play with all kinds of different animals.

I’m so lucky that I get to travel all over the United States with my dad, Bill Hoffman of Animal Rentals, entertaining people and teaching them about wild, domestic and exotic animals.  I have a lot of animal friends that travel with me and help me with our animal shows, and we always have a great time meeting new people and seeing how happy and excited they are to meet us.

Even though I am only six years old, I have already worked at many different events and met hundreds of wonderful people.  I’ve been on television, worked at parties, fairs and festivals, performed on stage and at college shows, gotten all dressed up for corporate events and trade shows, and even danced as an organ grinder monkey.  My dad is really funny and he makes people laugh a lot while he is teaching them about us and what it is like to live and work with exotic animals.  I think my favorite part of being an animal ambassador is seeing the joy on people’s faces when they get to touch a monkey or a chinchilla or a snake for the very first time.  It sure is a great job, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it!

I’m so glad that you found my blog and I hope you come back often to read about all the great adventures that my dad, my friends and I have working and playing together.   And be sure to like my Facebook page, so that I can get to know you too!