Animal Rentals Blog

I know that Mother’s Day is not for a few weeks yet, but today I wanted to tell you a little bit about our “mama” here at Animal Rentals.  Her name is Mrs. Clean and she really takes care of me and all my exotic animal friends of Mindy’s Menagerie.  She is really loving, sweet, and small.  Mrs. Clean is a Hairless Rat.

A lot of people are scared of rats or think they are unclean or carry diseases.  But rats are actually very clean  and friendly and incredibly smart…maybe even as smart as monkeys!  When I typed that Mrs. Clean just said, “Yes, dear, we are as smart as monkeys but it is not polite to brag about it.”   I won’t argue, we never argue with “mama”.   She is always right and besides that we wouldn’t want to do anything to upset her because we love her so much.

Anyway, Mrs. Clean is like a cross between Mary Poppins and a schoolteacher and the world’s best grandma.  She loves all of us and she is always making sure we are comfortable and happy while we are traveling and that we have and do what we need.  She’s the one that always asks, “Did everyone use the bathroom before they got in the van?”  And, “Did you all remember to wash yourselves after touching the humans?”  And “Does anyone need a snack?  I’ve got some nice fruit and nuts right here.”

Back home at Animal Rentals, Mrs. Clean helps us and reminds us too.  You will often hear her say things like, “Purse, be sure to brush those big alligator teeth so you can keep your nice, white smile.”  And, “Let’s blow a fan on Chi-Chi the Chinchilla so he is not so hot while the rest of us are so cold.”  And “Bugsy, you Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches need to stop stealing Mindy’s cookies when she’s not looking.”  Mrs. Clean is the best!

She loves people, too…especially children.  She really enjoys traveling to all different types of parties, events and locations for our Animal Shows – she thinks birthday parties are the best because she adores kids and cake.  Her favorite part of working with Animal Rentals is meeting all the new people and hugging them while they hold her.  Most people don’t even realize that they are being hugged by Mrs. Clean – she is so light and gentle and soft!  They think they are just holding her but really, she is holding them right back.

That’s our “mama”, Mrs. Clean the Hairless Rat.  She just loves and cares about and cares for  and takes care of all of us.  We are lucky to have her.  Next time I’ll tell you about Mrs. Clean’s favorite philosophy and why “Bald is Beautiful”.

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!

Being the curious animal that I am, I researched my history and found that my ancestors were domesticated as early as Four BC. Problem was we were raised for our meat and quills.   I could find nothing, however, on how we got the name  “hedgehog.”   A few days later the mystery was solved.  I passed by the kitchen and heard mom and dad eating lunch. Hearing the grunting noises and the racket they made while pushing their food around sounded like two pigs eating out of a trough. It was not a pretty sight.

I must confess I am a lover and not prone to fighting. I follow a simple motto:  When the going gets rough, I get going. In the event of a confrontation, though, I pity the fool who goes against me and my 5000 sharp spines that surround my body.  Thanks Mother Nature.

I’m kind of a loner, sleep most of the day and prefer to be by myself except for when we do our exotic animal show display.  To keep me fit I eat a diet consisting of insects, slugs, earthworms and a nasty tasting commercial hedgehog diet. I sometimes wonder what a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach would taste like.  I know its wrong and I feel bad.  After all, they are members of Mindy’s Menagerie and Bugsy is a friend. But in my defense he also is a BUG.  I take comfort by telling myself that Bugsy would be the last roach to be eaten.

One of the perks of being a hedgehog is that the venom from an adder, a poisonous snake, does not affect me.  But how many adders will I run into while walking the streets of Chicago? The guys around here don’t believe me and are attempting to convince Mindy the Monkey to ask her dad to add an adder to the show.  So not funny!

LIKES:  ANIMAL RENTALS, a clean cage, fresh water, good food (maybe including some Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches), entertaining our audiences and a heavy duty toothbrush for my 64 teeth .

DISLIKES: a dirty cage, anyone who calls me “Pokey Junior” and those times when I have a “bad spine day”.

Here is a list of the Strengths and Weaknesses of our candidates.  Notice how many of them are very similar to our human candidates.  Interesting. If you had to vote, who would you choose.  Please use the COMMENT Section

WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR?

“POKEY” THE PORCUPINE:  (Erethizon dorsatum) born March 30^th, 2011

Pokey is a home body who enjoys the quiet life.  He is a team player when working with his companions in Mindy’s Menagerie but once the work day is done, he retreats to his solitary lifestyle.

STRENGTHS: Thrifty, Practical, Creative, Witty and Sharp.

WEAKNESSES: Shy, Small Stature, a Loner and painfully Sarcastic.

POKEY possesses a very pungent and disagreeable odor that is quite unpleasant, a result of either hereditary or just poor hygiene.  He also possesses a rather “prickly” attitude especially when he is upset, which makes his body shake resulting in more than one of his sharp quills to loosen and stick someone.  Not a great people pleaser.

“SCARLET” THE BOA CONSTRICTOR:  (Constrictor constrictor) hatched in 1999

Scarlet is a laid back and cautious reptile who knows her large size may be intimidating. Her seductive, come hither look makes her very popular in Mindy’s Menagerie where she considers herself to be an interactive and “hands-on” specimen.

STRENGTHS: Quiet, Intelligent, Calculating, Stoic, Charming and an uncanny ability to adapt to change.

WEAKNESSES: No arms or legs and a forked tongue make travel and communication difficult. Not someone you would want to dine with. She looks slimy and hugs too hard.

SCARLET, while very approachable and personable, faces a very uphill battle.  She tends to lash out when cornered into situations she is not familiar with. She is tired of the insulting phrases “snake in the grass” and “lower than a snake’s belly.  She has had to live down the misconception that she was responsible for the debacle with Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden. (She said it was a porcupine who tempted Eve).

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!

"BUGSY" & SOME OF HIS FRIENDS

BUGSY, not his real name, is the self-appointed leader and spokesperson for the  gang of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches  that comprise the “insect only” members of  Mindy’s Menagerie. He says his name is taken from “that 1940′s gangster you see in all the old crime movies” and not because he in fact is a bug. That movie gangster  was portrayed as sneaky, underhanded and a bit of a ham, which just happens to fit the nature of BUGSY and his companions.

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.

 Trixie, one of ANIMAL RENTALS popular models and  animal ambassadors, was no where to be seen early  Monday  morning.   Employees offered various    reasons for her disappearance;  still in  bed, sleeping  in another part of the  building,  exploring another  part of the building,  hiding upstairs  in the apartment  or too busy paying attention to some  new arrivals.  Whatever the reason, Trixie was missing.

Bill Hoffmann, aided by employees and friends, searched the building from the roof to the basement with little success.  However, a set of keys, one of Mindy’s less favorite toys and a handful of missing pens were found.  The police were notified, fliers were printed and shelters were put on notice.  Bill, like any petl lover, was worried.  For Trixie to be gone for such a length of time was highly unusual as she was well trained and a “people and animal person”, happiest when she was surrounded by her friends.

It was Victoria, a few hours later, who heard an unusual scratching sound coming from a corner near her desk.  With all the animals of Mindy’s Menagerie accounted for, that sound could mean only one thing.  Moments later a dusty, but still happy Trixie crawled from beneath the desk with an equally dusty tennis ball firmly in her mouth.  It appeared that while attempting to retrieve it,  the little terrier became trapped.  She walked slowly to Bill, gave him her best “I’m Sorry” expression and dropped the ball at his feet.

Calls were made, posters taken down, sighs of relief filled the building.  TRIXIE WAS HOME!

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.