AREA RANCH TRAINS ANIMAL ACTORS.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. On a 20-acre ranch west of the city, the training begins for the talent that has appeared in hundreds of movies and commercials. These actors get paid only a pittance pit·tance n. 1. A meager monetary allowance, wage, or remuneration. 2. A very small amount: not a pittance of remorse. but they never complain. ``Just use a sugar cube sugar cube Drug slang A popular street term for LSD, named for a common delivery “device”, a sugar cube ,'' trainer Cheryl Shawver said of what she uses to coerce her precious four-ton pachyderm Malaika. ``That's her favorite treat.'' Shawver owns Animal Actors of Hollywood, a business she started more than three decades ago when she was a caretaker at Jungleland, the film industry's only supplier of talented animals in the 1950s and 1960s. When Jungleland closed in 1969, Shawver bought the talent and renamed the company. ``This is a job we do because it's something we love,'' Shawver said. ``We get very close to these animals. It's very personal and we all come to love those that we work with. Nobody gets into this for the money.'' Shawver said each of her more than 100 animals fetches a standard daily rate ranging from $250 for a dog to $2,500 for elephant Malaika. The price goes up depending on the tasks an animals has to perform. ``We generally get one of two requests,'' Shawver said. ``Either they want something like a golden retriever golden retriever, breed of large sporting dog developed primarily in Scotland in the mid-19th cent. It stands about 23 in. (58.4 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 60 to 75 lb (27.2–34.1 kg). that will pretend it's asleep or a dog that will lift its leg on command. The more specific stuff takes some time.'' Animal Actors of Hollywood have appeared in more than 250 productions including the popular films, ``Men In Black'' and ``Out of Africa,'' television's ``Home Improvement,'' and countless 30-second commercials. Shawver and a trainer share the money, but Shawver puts most of hers back into the business. Caretaker Deana Gregory spent more than a month teaching Critter, a fat rat, to got through a maze for a piece of macaroni macaroni: see pasta. . Shawver's animals are booked for the next few months, including a project for Ping, a Chihuahua who is getting a script written specially for her. The secret to getting a fickle star to cooperate? A conditioned response conditioned response n. Abbr. CR A new or modified response elicited by a stimulus after conditioning. Also called conditioned reflex. , where the animal is rewarded for performing a task, Shawver said. The insects and reptiles reptiles terrestrial or aquatic vertebrates which breathe air through lungs and have a skin covering of horny scales. They are poikilothermic, oviparous or ovoviviparous, and, if they have legs they are short and constructed solely for crawling. , however, are stimulated by heat and cold, not treats. Where Malaika might want a lump of sugar, the chickens at the Animal Actors farm will go for a bit of mashed corn. ``It's not easy,'' said caretaker Gregory. ``They're pretty smart animals but the trick is being smarter.'' |
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