Animal Rentals Blog

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?

How many of you think that snakes are slimy?  I’ll bet a lot of you do!

One of the great things about being an animal ambassador is showing people the truth about animals and how they live and what they are really like.  It’s always surprising to me how many people raise their hands when my dad asks an audience “How many of you think that snakes are slimy?”  Some of my best friends are snakes, and I can promise you that they are not slimy at all.  In fact, they feel really cool and smooth and soft to touch!

One of my friends is Casper, a Burmese Python who is ten feet long!  Casper is a special snake because he is albino, which means that his skin doesn’t have the same dark coloring that other pythons have.  He is a beautiful bright yellow and white color, and his skin is silky smooth.  He is very friendly and anyone can touch and hold him.  One of his favorite jobs is to work with the snake charmer, who strolls through the crowd at parties and events wearing Casper draped around her shoulders so that people can meet him and touch his beautiful skin.  Sometimes when people touch him they say “Well, he’s not slimy at all!”

After hearing people say this, I asked Casper one time if it hurt his feelings that people think he is slimy.  After all, I think it would hurt my feelings if people thought that about me.  But Casper is a very wise snake, and he told me that there is no point getting your feelings hurt about something that isn’t true.  “I know I’m not slimy,” he said, “and after people touch me they know it too.”  I’m glad Casper is so smart and that he likes his job so much!

Have you ever touched a snake?  What did you think about it?

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!