Animal Rentals Blog

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.

Our magician friend Michael Kent had some fun with Mindy the Monkey, animal ambassador of ANIMAL RENTALS, at a recent party they attended. Mindy loves magic and having associated with entertainers and magicians from all over the country, she was pretty sure how the trick worked. Watch Michael make a monkey out of well, a monkey. It was all in fun and the audience really enjoyed the show. Thanks, Michael, hope to work with you again. Sorry Mindy took a bite out of your ball.

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!

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!

One of the great things about the IQ Zoo that is coming soon to our Animal Rentals website is that you can see pictures of me and my animal friends, and learn some interesting facts about us.  But if you want to know even more about who we really are and what its like to live and work with exotic animals every day, then this blog is the place to be and I’m the monkey that can give you the true 411!

One of the most mysterious members of our animal family is Purse the American Alligator.  I know you are probably wondering why he is an “American” Alligator instead of just an Alligator.  Well there is actually another species of alligator called the Chinese Alligator.  Even though Purse likes a good Peking Duck, he is 100% American.

Purse is very gentle, and probably the most mellow alligator you will ever meet.  I love this picture of him sunbathing at one of our College Entertainment shows…it is the perfect pose to show his laid-back nature.

But even though Purse is very friendly with people, my animal friends and I tend to stay as far away from him as possible.  Alligators are carnivores…meat eaters, and I just don’t trust that Purse has completely overcome his 65-plus million year old reptilian nature.  So when he smiles at people, I think Purse is having fun.  But when he smiles at me, I think he is sizing me up as an afternoon snack!

Some people think Purse’s name is cruel.  But Purse has a good sense of humor and he actually thinks it is pretty funny.  Plus he likes how it reminds people that animal skins look better on animals than on people.  Purse is kind of wise and sarcastic at the same time.  He really is a mystery to me!

So next time you find yourself in charge of planning a party, fair, corporate event or college event, why not invite Purse and some of the rest of us for an Animal Show, Petting Zoo or Exotic Animal Display?  I guarantee you will never forget holding a genuine live alligator…and Purse will love it too!

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!

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?