Animal Rentals Blog

ANIMAL RENTALS very own “PIWACKETT” the SCARLET MACAW thoroughly enjoyed the Southern hospitality offered from the students of the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA in Mobile, AL on January 14, 2015. Along with Chi-Chi the Chinchilla, Sahara the Fennec Fox, Cuddles the Tarantula and other members of the renowned “Mindy’s Menagerie”, the afternoon was filled with fun, education and of course many “selfies”.

ANIMAL RENTALS is firm in their belief that only by offering people the extraordinary chance to interact with exotic animals in a personal manner, can they foster the caring for and the conservation of our world’s animal kingdom.

Evidently the writers  of The Concierge column in the 2015 edition of the CHICAGO magazine know talent when they see it.  ANIMAL RENTALS very own animal ambassador, Mindy the Monkey, led the list of critters available for rent.  Mindy, however, is the only primate available in Chicago making ANIMAL RENTALS  your choice when searching for something different.  Besides Mindy, we offer unique entertainment including “exotic” hands-on animal shows, petting zoos, pony rides and camel rides.  Go to Mindy’s Menagerie and meet and learn more about our animal actors.

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.

When you live with a bunch of different exotic animals from all different climates around the world, you argue a lot about where to set the thermostat.  Here at Animal Rentals we have temperature wars all year long.   A lot of my friends and I are from warm or tropical climates, so like it nice and toasty warm at home and we love the summertime.  But one of my friends likes it so cool that the rest of us think it is downright chilly!  I’m talking about my friend Chi-Chi the Chinchilla – who should have been named Chilly Willy!

Chi-Chi is a really nice guy with a great big family that he supports by working with us doing our Exotic Animal Shows, Petting Zoos, College Entertainment shows and Animal Displays.  Chi-Chi, his wife Camille, and all of his kids have the most beautiful fur coats I have ever seen.  And they are so soft!  Chinchilla fur is the softest fur of any animal.  But it is also really thick – which means Chi-Chi gets hot easily – which means Chi-Chi likes it cool outside – which is just the opposite of what I like!

Chinchillas are originally from high up in the Andes Mountains, where it is pretty cool all year round.  That’s why they need that thick, soft coat – to keep them warm.  People also like to stay warm with Chinchilla fur, and Chi-Chi’s ancient relatives almost became extinct because of it.  I’m glad they are still around – because they are really cool animals and Chi-Chi is a really good friend.  Chinchilla fur belongs on Chinchillas, not people!  Some people still raise Chinchillas for fur, but at least it is illegal to hunt them in the wild now.

Chi-Chi is looking forward to traveling around to colleges, parties, festivals and other events with us this fall as the weather cools down.  In the mean time, we help him out by cranking the air conditioning up whenever he gets too warm.  Helping each other be happy is what friends do, after all!

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!

When you are a monkey April first isn’t the only day that is all about jokes and pranks.  Every day is fun and games day for us! 

Monkeys love to laugh and fool around all of the time.  And we have excellent senses of humor.  In fact, sometimes it is very hard for us to be serious.  And we definitely get excited about things that are interesting and fun.  I guess I can see why dad tells people that emotionally I am at the level of a two year old human child.  But sometimes I think that dad just doesn’t get my jokes.  He has a great sense of humor too, but I don’t know why dad doesn’t think every single thing that I do is hilarious…because I do!

He didn’t laugh the day that I grabbed the end of the toilet paper roll and ran all over the house unrolling it and wrapping it around the furniture in one big long line.  He didn’t laugh the day I grabbed the truck keys out of his pocket and threw them into the wet, muddy water.  And he didn’t even laugh the night that I turned off the lamp every time he just sat down from turning it on so that he had to get back up out of his chair again if he didn’t want to sit in the dark.

Even though dad doesn’t think that everything I do is funny, I have certainly made him laugh out loud lots of times over the years.  Like the time we were traveling to one of our college entertainment shows and I put my water down on the driver’s seat while dad and Mark were pumping gas and Mark didn’t see it when he got back in and he sat right on it and got all wet.  Or the time I was eating strawberries at one of our live exotic animal displays and got sticky red spots from my hands all over dad’s head when I hugged him.  Or the time I pretended to be Lawrence of Arabia on the camel ride at one of our exotic petting zoos.  And he laughed really hard the time I tried to take a picture of myself with his cell phone on the set of one of the television commercials I was in.

So even though today is just a normal day of fun and games for me, I want to wish you all an especially happy April Fools’ Day!  What kinds of jokes and games and pranks did you do today?