Animal Rentals Blog

The past few weeks have been sort of strange and sad here at Animal Rentals since my Uncle, Mr. Adam Monk, passed away.   All of my human and exotic animal friends in Mindy’s Menagerie here sure miss him!  But it has been wonderful getting notes from people that knew him.  Uncle Monk was one monkey people never forgot meeting!

Uncle Monk was 43 when he left us – which is pretty old for a monkey.  Even though he lived to a ripe old age, people say that it is never long enough.  The sad truth is, though, that most animals just don’t live as long as humans do.  A lot of my tropical bird friends – like Ruby the African Grey Parrot or Piwackett the Scarlet Macaw – can live 60 to 75 years or longer!  And there are some whales, giant tortoises and other animals that live for more than 200 years.   But most domestic and exotic animals have a much shorter time on earth.  So we should be happy that Uncle Monk had 43 years, and an incredible life.

Dad, of course, misses Uncle Monk the most.  The two of them started Animal Rentals and built the business together.  Of course dad says he did it and Uncle Monk just helped, and of course Uncle Monk said that all the best ideas were his and he was the “real” boss.  I really miss all the great advice he gave me – like when I was learning to be an Organ Grinder monkey and Uncle Monk told me to never take the pennies from people, only the “big money”.  If someone ever handed him a penny while he was working he would actually throw it right to the ground.  If it wasn’t silver or green, he wouldn’t take it.  Lol!

Uncle Monk retired years ago, so he never traveled with us for our College Entertainment shows. But he certainly did his share of touring and working with lots of people and celebrities doing Animal Shows, charity events, theme parties, strolling entertainment, fairs, festivals, corporate parties, birthday parties, commercials, tv shows…you name it and Uncle Monk was there putting on a show and making people laugh and smile.  I am happy and proud to continue the work he started here at Animal Rentals and to carry on his legacy of making people laugh and smile.

Goodbye Uncle Monk…I love you and I miss you!

The other day was bath day here at Animal Rentals, and I got some great pictures of my dad and my uncle, Mr. Adam Monk.  I love seeing the two of them together, and dad loves reminiscing with Uncle Monk about “the old days”.  Uncle Monk is over 45 years old!  And he and dad have been together a REALLY long time…working, traveling and playing.  Uncle Monk doesn’t travel with us doing Animal Shows or College Entertainment any more, he says his days of being on the road are done and he just wants to relax and enjoy his retirement.  I LOVE traveling and don’t think I will EVER want to retire!  But Uncle Monk and I are completely different.

I guess Uncle Monk is really more of my brother than actually an uncle, since he was dad’s first monkey son.  But he is old and sort of crotchety – which dad tells me is a nicer way of saying cranky, lol – and certainly more like an uncle than a brother.  So he is Uncle Monk to me.

Uncle Monk has had an amazing life – even before he met dad.  He was born in the wild in the jungles of South America, and he was captured and kidnapped and SOLD when he was very young!  He traveled from village to village in small, bamboo cages being sold and traded until he finally came to America and met dad.  Dad likes to say that it was NOT love at first sight – lol.  But he and Uncle Monk grew to first respect then love each other, and together they built Animal Rentals from a highly demanded Organ Grinder act to a business that focuses on bringing people and exotic animals together in an educational and entertaining way.  I even think that it was Uncle Monk’s idea to do our Petting Zoos and Pony Rides. At least, HE says it was.  Dad just rolls his eyes and laughs whenever I ask him about it.

Anyway, I guess after such a long life filled with work and adventure Uncle Monk deserves to relax and be pampered in his retirement.  And he sure does love his bath time!  I don’t blame him, I do too!  What about you?  Do you love bath time too?

HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody!

I am tired but happy from my big New Year’s Eve night out with dad and lots of fun, dancing and new friends.  I would love to be sleeping right now, but dad says I need to make a New Year’s Resolution and share it with everyone so that I stick to it…so here I am, writing to you all about my New Year’s Resolution.

Ok, honestly, I don’t get the whole New Year’s Resolution thing.  Dad says it’s a promise you make to yourself so that you have a guideline and a plan to follow for the upcoming year.  Well let me tell you, a monkey brain doesn’t work like that.  Lol!  We live for the day…actually we live for the moment.  A monkey’s motto is “Do whatever feels good!”  We don’t do a lot of planning.

The above was written on January 1st.  Today is January 27th.  This is the perfect illustration to my point.  I have been “doing whatever feels good” for the last few weeks and totally forgot about finishing my blog post!  Talk about living in the moment – hahahaha!

Dad says I have the emotional maturity of a two year old child.  I’m not sure that’s a compliment, but I suppose it is true.  Us monkeys get easily excited and easily distracted.  It is such a big, wild, wonderful world out there how can anybody NOT get caught up in the thrill of the moment sometimes?  It is so easy to do!

Ok so back to the New Year’s Resolution.  Mine this year is to spend more time telling you all about my wonderful exotic animal friends and family at Animal Rentals and about all the fun we have living and playing and working together.  Sometimes I get so busy traveling around with dad to our College Entertainment shows, or working locally doing our Animal Shows, Petting Zoos and other fun events, that I forget to get online and share our stories with all of my wonderful human friends out there across the country.  Bad Mindy!  Lol.

The really exciting news that you may have already noticed, is that this year I am sharing my blog space with my human and exotic animal friends of Mindy’s Menagerie, and letting them post here too!  So one day you might read a post from me, another day a post from someone on our staff, and another day maybe even one from Casper the Albino Burmese Python or Cleopatra the Serval Cat or Mrs. Clean the Hairless Rat.  You never know who is going to want to pop in as a guest star here on my blog, so be sure to check back often and get to know us all better in 2015!

ANIMAL RENTALS very own animal ambassador,  Mindy the Monkey, paid a visit to one of her old stomping grounds on New Year’s Eve.  The KISS KISS CABARET on 4707 N. Broadway invited Mindy and her dad Bill to spend a few hours schmoozing with the party goers and possibly take in the show.  Mindy had previously worked at the KISS KISS CABARET when it was on Lincoln Avenue and did not want to disappoint them.  Already booked at a number of parties she managed to allow for a few hours with her friends.  The evening was magic, the people divine and the show utterly fantastic.  People posed for pictures and took selfies with the ever gracious monkey.  What a great way to welcome the NewYear.

KISS KISS CABARET       MINDY CIRCA (2013)    POSING FOR A PICTURE

Christmas arrived early for ADAM MONK, the elder statesman of ANIMAL RENTALS.  What do you get a 42 year old retired monkey for Christmas?

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.

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?

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.

My friend Ruby the African Grey Parrot is the smartest bird in the world.  Well, at least she thinks that she is.  Dad says that African Greys are geniuses.  They understand what they are saying and can even put ideas and sentences together.  Some birds simply repeat words that they hear just to get attention, but Ruby and her relatives can ask for things and tell humans what they feel and think.  Dad even says that some African Grey Parrots are smarter than some monkeys.  But I’m sure he wasn’t talking about me!

I think Ruby is definitely smart, but she’s also kind of a party pooper.  I mean, many of my exotic animal friends here at Animal Rentals are much more fun.  I like to run and jump and get excited about everything.  Piwackett the Scarlet Macaw likes to talk and yell and dance.  Sahara the Fennec Fox likes to chase the ball and roll around and wrestle.  But Ruby thinks it is silly to be loud and wild and spend too much time playing.  All she likes to do is learn and think.  She says that is that is called being an intellectual.  Ruby likes to use big words that most of the rest of us don’t understand.   I say that is called being annoying!  Ha!

Even though Ruby doesn’t play much, she can actually still be fun to be around.  She teaches us new words sometimes, and she once made up a trick that is really funny…she does an impersonation of a Thanksgiving turkey where she lies perfectly still on her back – like she is going to be served for dinner.  She can lay there without moving for a really long time!  She still does that trick, and the people that meet Ruby at our Animal Shows or College Entertainment events love it.

So who do you think is smarter, monkeys or African Grey Parrots?  You know what my vote is!  What is the smartest animal you’ve ever met?  What kinds of things did they do to make you think they were so smart?  What kind of animal do your friends think is the smartest?  Let us know in the comments below!

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!