Animal Rentals Blog

Evidently the writers  of The Concierge column in the 2015 edition of the CHICAGO magazine know talent when they see it.  ANIMAL RENTALS very own animal ambassador, Mindy the Monkey, led the list of critters available for rent.  Mindy, however, is the only primate available in Chicago making ANIMAL RENTALS  your choice when searching for something different.  Besides Mindy, we offer unique entertainment including “exotic” hands-on animal shows, petting zoos, pony rides and camel rides.  Go to Mindy’s Menagerie and meet and learn more about our animal actors.

ANIMAL RENTALS helped spread some holiday cheer at a party hosted by FISHER CONTROLS in Iowa on Saturday, December 13th. Animal ambassador, Mindy the Monkey, dressed in her most appropriate seasonal garments along with Purse the Alligator, Sylvester the Skunk, Ruby the African Grey Parrot and others entertained the audience. Photo opportunities were everywhere with people taking “selfies” with our pets.

If you want to know more about our exotic animal show, check out Mindy’s Menagerie on our website. You might also want to read our updated page, ABOUT OUR ANIMALS, and see the excellent care our animals receive.

Loyola University was the last stop on our college entertainment tour for 2014. Our animal ambassadors, including Mindy the Monkey brought their hands-on animal show at the invitation of the Loyola University Pre-Vet Club. These future veterinarians shared in the fund with their fellow students as they experienced face to face interaction with members of Mindy’s Menagerie. An alligator,chinchilla,fennec fox, porcupine and skunk were just a few of our animal friends brought for the event. Check out our new “About Our Animals” page and read how well our pets are cared for.

ANIMAL RENTALS visited McNeese State University located in Lake Charles, LA on November 18th, 2014 with their exotic hands-on animal display. The students enjoyed an entertaining afternoon with our animal ambassadors consisting of a porcupine, chinchilla, boa constrictor,alligator,tarantula and others. McNeese State University was just part of our very popular College Entertainment program which criss-crossed the United States. Our Mission is to educate, entertain, and foster caring for and conservation of our world’s animal kingdom by offering people the extraordinary privilege to personally interact with our exotic animals. Go to animalrentals.com for more information.

As Animal Rentals official Animal Ambassador, I love any organization that promotes the conservation and welfare of domestic and exotic animals.  Fortunately there are hundreds, even thousands, of just those types of organizations all over the world.  But out of all of them, my favorite is the one that is dedicated to me and my brothers and sisters like me – the Simian Society of America.

The Simian Society of America is dedicated to a lifetime of care for primates in captivity.   What that means is that they help people understand and care for us monkeys, and they help monkeys live the best life they possibly can.  How could I not love them?!  I am a lifetime member of the Simian Society of America, and they are my personal number one charity.  I even have an ad in one of their magazines!   So it was very exciting for me to take a break from our traveling College Entertainment and Exotic Animal Shows to attend the Simian Society’s National Convention Appreciation Day in early October.

The convention was in Branson, Missouri – about 8 1/2 hours from Chicago – so dad and I road-tripped it once again.  Once we got there, we had tons of fun hanging out and talking to people who love monkeys and other primates as much as we do.  And Dad and I got to give a good talk about living and working and traveling together.  But my favorite part of the whole thing was hanging out with other monkeys…it was awesome!  At home I get to spend time with my Uncle Monk – who tells wonderful stories about “the old days” – but at the convention I got to meet all sorts of different monkeys from all over the country.  AND I had a “date” with a really nice male monkey.  Dad says he is a prospective mate for me.  I don’t know about all of that, but it was nice to get to know him for a while.  Maybe we will see each other at next year’s convention.  Maybe sooner!

So now you’ve heard a little about my favorite charitable animal organization – the Simian Society of America.  What is your favorite animal charity and why?  How are you involved with it?

They were making good time while on the way to do a college show at  Southwest Tennessee Community College last night until the “check engine” light went on. Seconds later, the engine stalled and the ANIMAL RENTALS van slowly crept to a stop about two hours from their destination.  Knowing they would never make it in time to do the exotic animal show, Bill Hoffmann called the Chicago office.  An hour later, Mark pulled away from the curb.  Driving non stop throughout the night he met Bill in the early morning.  After transferring the animals to another van,  Mark continued to the College minus Mindy the Monkey who refused to leave her dad.  While waiting for the tow truck, Mindy amused herself  by playing with the steering wheel, while Bill worried that Mark would arrive on time to do the show.  A phone call from Mark a few hours later eased his pain.  Mark was setting up for the first show, the animals were all fine and the show was on schedule.

Later that day, an exhausted and relieved Bill Hoffman drove back to Chicago with Mindy fast sleep in the passenger seat.  They would be home in no time, with a new alternator flawlessly doing its job.

Neither rain, sleet,  snow or a busted alternator can stop ANIMAL RENTALS from completing their job.  Alternators may die, but the show will go on!

If you like hugs, then you are going to LOVE my friend Sahara the Fennec Fox.  She gives the best hugs ever, and she loves to cuddle.  She is a great cuddler.  And she’s cute.  Cute, cuddly, and huggable…no wonder everyone at our different types of Exotic Animal Shows love her so much!

But don’t let her quiet moments fool you.  Sahara is also an absolute bundle of energy when it is play time.  She and I have so much fun running and playing catch and jumping and wrestling around together!  She is only a year old so she still loves to play just as much as I do.   And she’d rather play with one of us than by herself.   That makes her a great friend and one of my favorites to travel with around the country doing our College Entertainment shows.

Fennec Foxes are really cute small animals with great big ears.  Their ears are like ten times the size of their heads.  Ok, not really, but they are really big.  And believe it or not those big ears aren’t just for hearing – which is so good that they can hear other animals moving around underground.  They actually act like air conditioners in a way, radiating their body heat away from them to keep them cooler in the desert heat.  Sahara and her relatives are actually from the Sahara desert and other very hot areas in North Africa.  But the desert can get pretty cold at night, so Fennec Foxes have a thick coat of fur to keep them warm.  So when the rest of us exotic animals are arguing about whether to turn on the air conditioner or the heater, Sahara is happy either way.

Sahara is one of the most popular animals at all of the parties, carnivals, college shows, corporate events, grand openings and all the other types of events our traveling zoo full of friends go to.  If you look at the pictures on my Facebook page, you’ll see lots of pictures of her cuddling with and hugging all the new people we are so lucky to meet all over the country.  Dad says that Sahara is all “sweetness and light”.  I’m not sure exactly what that means, but people sure do love her!   What do you think?

When you live with a bunch of different exotic animals from all different climates around the world, you argue a lot about where to set the thermostat.  Here at Animal Rentals we have temperature wars all year long.   A lot of my friends and I are from warm or tropical climates, so like it nice and toasty warm at home and we love the summertime.  But one of my friends likes it so cool that the rest of us think it is downright chilly!  I’m talking about my friend Chi-Chi the Chinchilla – who should have been named Chilly Willy!

Chi-Chi is a really nice guy with a great big family that he supports by working with us doing our Exotic Animal Shows, Petting Zoos, College Entertainment shows and Animal Displays.  Chi-Chi, his wife Camille, and all of his kids have the most beautiful fur coats I have ever seen.  And they are so soft!  Chinchilla fur is the softest fur of any animal.  But it is also really thick – which means Chi-Chi gets hot easily – which means Chi-Chi likes it cool outside – which is just the opposite of what I like!

Chinchillas are originally from high up in the Andes Mountains, where it is pretty cool all year round.  That’s why they need that thick, soft coat – to keep them warm.  People also like to stay warm with Chinchilla fur, and Chi-Chi’s ancient relatives almost became extinct because of it.  I’m glad they are still around – because they are really cool animals and Chi-Chi is a really good friend.  Chinchilla fur belongs on Chinchillas, not people!  Some people still raise Chinchillas for fur, but at least it is illegal to hunt them in the wild now.

Chi-Chi is looking forward to traveling around to colleges, parties, festivals and other events with us this fall as the weather cools down.  In the mean time, we help him out by cranking the air conditioning up whenever he gets too warm.  Helping each other be happy is what friends do, after all!