Animal Rentals Blog

On October 10th Bill Hoffmann, accompanied with well know animal ambassador MINDY THE MONKEY,  attended the Simian Society of America convention in Branson, MO. Bill, a life time member, spent an enjoyable enjoyable afternoon conversing with fellow primate owners about their pets and sharing his adventures with Mindy as they traveled all over the country lecturing about the care, conservation and  preservation of not just primates but of all the members of the animal kingdom.

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!

What an exciting and exhausting Spring it has been!  Dad and I have been busier than a centipede at a shoe store, and loving every minute of it.  I just made up the centipede at a shoe store line…I thought it was hilarious but dad just rolled his eyes.

Anyway, this has really been an action-packed season for us.  We have done more College Entertainment shows this year than ever before…26 colleges from January through April!  We have been in or driven through practically every state east of the Mississippi, and some to the west of it too.  My exotic animal friends and I have also done several Animal Shows and private parties in the Chicago area.  But the big news is the all the new things that dad and I are working on, including my very own “Mindy the Monkey’s IQ Zoo”.

My IQ Zoo will soon be on our website – which dad and I have been working furiously on updating over the past several weeks. At the IQ Zoo you’ll have a chance to online-meet and learn about all of the different exotic animals that I live and work and travel with.  It’s a great way to learn more about me and some of my Animal Rentals friends that you may have already met at a fair, festival, convention or trade show, or to discover which animals you’d like to meet in person when you book an animal show, display or petting zoo for your next party or event.   It’s also a great way to learn about animals you may never have even heard of before – like a Fennec Fox or a Geoffroy Cat.

Stay tuned for more updates and the exciting grand opening of my “Mindy the Monkey’s IQ Zoo” on our website, animalrentals.com.  I’ll keep you updated as we go along.  I’ve got to get back to work now!

This year Superbowl Sunday falls on one of our favorite holidays here at Animal Rentals…Groundhog Day.  I’m so excited that we’ll get to find out whether a Seahawk can beat a Bronco on the same day that Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog tells us if Spring is coming soon or if we’ll have more wicked winter weather!

February 2nd is also a pretty important day for us at Animal Rentals because my dad and his friend Scooter the groundhog starred in the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray. Well, maybe my dad wasn’t the star, but he did get to be in the movie. You can see him holding up Scooter – who played the role of Punxsutawney Phil – to make his prediction in front of a big crowd of people in the town square.

Groundhog Day is a really funny and very popular movie.  Dad says that most people don’t realize how much work goes into making a movie or a commercial or a television show.  For instance, dad and Scooter had to do their same scene over and over again so that the director could get many different angles and the best take. Dad says that even though it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun.

I wasn’t in the Groundhog Day movie because it was filmed before I was even born.  And, I guess, because I am a monkey and not a groundhog.  But I am definitely still a star because have been in other commercial and print ads. Lots of my domestic and exotic animal friends are stars too, and dad has tons of experience providing animal actors for movies, television, commercials, print ads…even operas and magic shows and more!  You can see pictures of me and some of my animal actor friends working in the film and advertising business by clicking here.

As far as the Superbowl…the discussion with all of my exotic animal friends here goes pretty much like this:

“A Seahawk has a great big beak and sharp strong claws so it can beat a horse, of course!”

“Yeah, but a Bronco is big and strong with a really powerful kick so it can definitely beat a bird!”

I guess we will find out who is right this Sunday.  And by the way, did you know that Seahawk is another name for an Osprey and a Bronco is a horse?