CRITTER VISITORS; ANIMAL ACTORS TURN ON CHARM IN PERFORMANCE AT SENIOR CENTER.Byline: Annette Burget Bailey Daily News Staff Writer They're cute, cuddly, and making their way to the big screen. They don't have Screen Actors Guild cards, but they are, in fact, actors - animal actors. Friday, a group of furry and feathered critters direct from Animal Actors of Hollywood made an appearance at the Fitzgerald Senior Day Center in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. and dazzled a crowd of 25 onlookers. ``The interaction between the seniors and the animals is a very positive way to get them out of their shells, and it's a way of giving and receiving unconditional love This article is about concept of unconditional love. For other uses, see Unconditional love (disambiguation). Unconditional love is a concept that means showing love towards someone regardless of his or her actions or beliefs. ,'' said Sherri Trout, program coordinator. Two fantail fantail a horse's tail cut and pulled so that it protrudes only a few inches beyond the end of the butt. pigeons, an African pygmy hedgehog and a couple sugar gliders took center stage and gave the group more than their share of unconditional love. The pigeons seemed to enjoy the spotlight, and wasted no time showing off their talent by climbing up a small ladder, while the hedgehog and sugar gliders seemed to be suffering from serious bouts of stage fright stage fright Performance anxiety, see there . No problem for the seniors, they still took delight in seeing the small stars up close and personal, and finding out interesting facts about the cuddly critters. Jack Klinger took a real shine to the sugar gliders, members of the opossum opossum (əpŏs`əm, pŏs`–), name for several marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Didelphidae, native to Central and South America, with one species extending N to the United States. family from Down Under. ``I've never seen these animals before today - they're really cute,'' Klinger said. Fellow animal lover Grace Paloutzian went one step further. ``I really would like to take one home, but my cat Delilah would probably end up eating it,'' Paloutzian said. Christy Schultz, an apprentice animal trainer for the past year, told the seniors about the animals. She explained that the African pygmy hedgehog does have sharp quills, is not poisonous and likes to eat worms and cat food. The sugar glider, found in Australia and New Guinea New Guinea (gĭn`ē), island, c.342,000 sq mi (885,780 sq km), SW Pacific, N of Australia; the world's second largest island after Greenland. , can jump from 5 to 10 feet and likes fruit - especially grapes. Animal Actors of Hollywood is a 30-year-old Thousand Oaks-based organization, and has seen its share of talented critters hit it big in Hollywood. ``We trained the 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). on the `Drew Carey Show,' and the dachshund dachshund (dăks`h  nd, –ənd, dăsh`–), breed of small, short-legged hound developed in Germany over hundreds of years. It stands from 5 to 9 in. on `The Norm Show,' '' Schultz said. Although the pigeons, hedgehog and sugar gliders may still be striving for that one big break, they definitely managed to win the hearts of the group Friday. ``Most seniors have had pets that they've grown very attached to at some time in their life, and this provides a great opportunity to give back that unconditional type love,'' Trout said. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Minnie Denansky reacts to her introduction to a sugar glider, a marsupial marsupial (märs  `pēəl), member of the order Marsupialia, or pouched mammals. from Down Under, Friday at the Fitzgerald Senior Day Center. (2--Color) A fantail pigeon climbs a ladder held by trainer Christy Schultz of Animal Actors. (3) Fitzgerald Senior Day Center visitors Bea Regh, left, and Grace Paloutzian get a close look at an African pygmy hedgehog Friday. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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