Animal Rentals Blog

Here is a television commercial (circa 2002) of spokesperson LYNN HAULDREN of EMPIRE CARPETS and ANIMAL RENTALS very own animal actor “TOM T.TURKEY”. During the filming Lynn was a real trooper as TOM could be a bit testy at times. In fact, both TOM and Lynn became good friends. However, for some reason the big bird never returned Lynn’s invitations to be the guest of honor at his home to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Today TOM spends his days as a member of ANIMAL RENTALS petting zoo and animal displays. Few visitors who see the impressive turkey do not realize they are in the presence of a television star.

Lynn Holdren continued as Empire Carpets spokesperson until his death in 2011.

For the last few weeks I’ve been sharing with you what my daily life at home and work with dad is like.  This week I’m going to tell you about what we do in the afternoons, after all of my exotic animal friends are fed, watered and their living areas are cleaned and taken care of.

The first thing that happens after breakfast is grooming time, where everyone gets brushed, clipped, trimmed and bathed.  We all get our nails done on a regular basis so they don’t get too long or sharp.  The birds also get their wings clipped so it is safe for them to be outside.  Dad has a schedule of who gets what kind of grooming on each day.  Bath time is really fun because everyone gets something a little different. I take my bath at home with dad in the sink before we go to work.  The birds like to be misted with a spray bottle.  The chinchillas don’t bathe in water at all – they roll in special dust to keep their fur soft and clean and shiny.  And the alligator gets a sort of reverse bath.  Since he spends most of his time in the water he comes out every day to dry off and walk around.

Next it is time for training and exercise.  Of course I can’t tell you any of our secrets, but I can say that using a reward system is the best way to get anyone to do what you would like them to.  If we have a film or television shoot coming up, we’ll work on the specific things the script asks my animal friends to do.  After all of our work with the animals is done for the day, dad and I work in the office together for the rest of the afternoon.  As you can see, our daily lives are very busy from sunrise until dinnertime!

When we have an animal show, party or event scheduled, it takes lots of time to load everyone into their special traveling carriers and make sure they are comfortable, as well as getting any special clothing or props that we need loaded up and ready to go.  On other days we have the vet come in for our regular checkups and shots.  Sometimes dad and I go out to meet with clients or check out the set for a film or commercial shoot.  There is always something interesting and exciting going on!

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about my daily life at work and home.  Do you have any animal friends at home?  What kinds of things do you do to take care of them?  Is it anything like what dad and I do every day?

Last week I promised to tell you a little more about what it is like to live with and take care of exotic animals.  In many ways it is not that much different than taking care of domestic pets like cats and dogs.  Feeding, watering, cleaning, grooming and training are all a part of dad’s and my everyday life.  Today I’m going to tell you about what we do every morning at our house.

The biggest part of our day is spent washing dozens of dishes and preparing food for all of my animal friends that live with us.  I help dad wash and cut up and mix all the different fresh fruits and vegetables, and then I get to inspect and taste everything to make sure it is perfect.  It takes five or six hours every day to feed everyone and clean up their living spaces.  Fortunately, we have wonderful people that work with us and help us, or we would never get finished!

Most of us eat a combination of fresh food and nutritionally balanced commercial food every day.  Dad is very good about feeding everyone exactly what they need to stay happy and healthy.  We get a good blend of fruits, vegetables, meat, vitamins and minerals, nuts and seeds according to what we like and need.  I like pretty much everything, but some of my friends are very fussy about what they eat.  Some of them, like the snakes and alligator, will only eat live food.  Amy the Armadillo loves crickets, and it is lots of fun watching her run around hunting them!  I also share my monkey chow with many of my friends because they really like it.  The rats have their own rat chow, and the birds have their own pellets, but the opossum, porcupine, skunk and others love the monkey chow.  It is pretty delicious!

Some of my friends – the geoffroy cat, opossum, porcupine and skunk – also eat high protein cat food.  For fresh food, we eat just like you do, with whatever fruits and vegetables are in season.  Lettuce, green beans, corn, squash, peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries, apples, peaches, pears and everything else in the produce section are things that we like.  The birds and I also like nuts a lot, and we each have our favorite types.  My uncle, Mr. Adam Monk, loves chicken and hamburgers so dad cooks special things for him and always brings him leftovers when we go out to eat.

As you can see, our mornings are very busy with fixing so many different types of breakfast for all of my friends.  After everyone has eaten, there is still a lot more to do for the rest of the day.  Next time I’ll tell you more about what we do in the afternoons, and how we get ready for our different kinds of animal shows, parties and events – so be sure to come back to my blog next week!

It’s hardly ever quiet at my house.  Dad says he never gets any peace and quiet with me and all of my other animal friends around.  But I think that the noisiest ones in the whole house are the parrots.  Birds are loud!  Luckily they are very funny too, which makes them great company for me and dad.

One of my friends that lives and works with us is a Scarlet Macaw named Piwackett.  He is a big, beautiful bird with a really long tail.  He always looks like he is dressed in fine jewels, because his feathers are red, green, blue and yellow.  One of his special jobs is in the parrots and pirates show, where he gets to stroll around on the shoulder of a pirate and talk to all sorts of interesting people at parties and fairs and other events.  He even gets to ride on a pirate ship, which is really cool!

Piwackett is really funny and he talks all the time.  In fact, sometimes I wish he wouldn’t talk so much!  But people love to hear him talk and laugh.  Some people think he is very snooty, because he laughs in a very snobbish “ha, ha, ha” way.  But he is actually very friendly and he really likes when people pet and hold him.  He loves attention, and if you ignore him he will keep talking until you talk back to him.

Piwackett also likes to dance.  When he really likes a song, he will lift up his wings, bob head head around, and shuffle his feet from side to side.  He is a very good dancer and sometimes he makes us all jump up and dance around with him.  It’s really fun!  So even though he is loud, sometimes it is really great to have him around.

Have you ever talked to a bird?  What did you say?  What did he say?