Pet Shenanigans: Live! On Stage!

Checking into Shenanigan's Bed & Breakfast

What happens when a couple of tourists in Ireland check themselves into Shenanigan's Bed & Breakfast? They suddenly find themselves caught up in the wacky antics of a menagerie of delightful dogs, cats, rats, parrots, ducks and pigs!

It's Pet Shenanigans at Busch Gardens Williamsburg,
a hilarious and high-energy show featuring a cast of remarkable and amusing four-legged stars!

The animals truly take over the stage in this entertaining production. In fact, for most of the show, there are no human beings onstage at all! The animals perform completely on their own. And when people do join the animals onstage, the animal feats are truly extraordinary.

Sydney the dog does rolls all the way across the stage!

They weave through legs! They jump rope! They roll across the stage! They leap through hoops! They cross the stage upside down on a rope! One canine superstar even lifts a 500 pound weight! Truly amazing!

Stevie the Mealy Amazon Parrot solves math problems!

And the audience is even invited to get in on the act when Stevie, the 58-year-old Mealy Amazon Parrot,

astounds and amazes them by solving math problems that they have suggested. You have to see it to believe it!

Pet Shenanigans is a show like no other. Pure entertainment for all ages from start to finish! The animals are sure to make you smile and laugh and even gasp in amazement! Pet Shenanigans - now appearing at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Puppy pile! Some of our dogs get some rest after a day of shows

The antics that occur behind the scenes at Pet Shenanigans are often as amusing as the onstage entertainment. Of course, this is to be expected when the majority of the cast has fur or wings and names like Twinkie and King!

Click above to meet the cats

There are over 50 animals in the Pet Shenanigans family. That includes 28 cats, 10 dogs, 11 rats, 2 parrots, 6 ducks, a flock of pigeons, and a couple of pot-bellied pigs.

That's a lot of animals (and a lot of barking, meowing, squawking, squeaking, quacking, and oinking)! And there are three human beings who look after the animals, tend to their needs, and work with them in the show: Trisha, Sarah, and David. In addition, their are two technicians: Jamie, the backstage tech, and B.J., the audio tech. So, that's five people total... which still leaves us human beings outnumbered by the animals!

But we are up to the task! It is indeed a lot of work - everyday the animals need to be cleaned up after and fed - but a love for the animals is what motivates us and makes it all worthwhile.

Spending each day, every day, often 12 hours a day, with all of the animals, we have really grown to love each of the animals and come to know each one's distinct personality. They are each unique and talented... and, without them, we'd have no show!

Click above to meet the dogs

Stevie the Parrot and Sims the Cat check each other out

Let's face it: the animals are the stars, and we human beings are just playing second-fiddle to their furry and feathered shenanigans. Most of the show we spend backstage racing around opening and closing doors and releasing and catching animals.

To the untrained observer, it might appear to be chaos straight out of a French farce, but it is actually a carefully timed, very precise production... usually!

As talented and wonderful as our animals are, they are still animals and sometimes unpredictable. Like the time King the Bulldog decided to stop in the middle of the stage and roll around on his back. Or Ricky the Cat decided to sneak up on the roof instead of completing his behavior.

But it is moments like these that keep the job fresh and interesting. It is never the same show twice, and it is always memorable. And the audience loves those little unscripted moments.

So when we have a tough day at work, when we are tired of the smell of cat food, when our legs hurt from not sitting down all day, when the dogs poop again just moments after we have cleaned their kennels, when the cat scratches on our arms seem like they are never going to heal, when the ducks fly at our head when we bring them their food... all we have to do is look around at the furry faces and we remember how lucky we are to have such a unique job. How lucky we are to share our lives with such remarkable animals. How lucky we are to be loved by Itsy Bitsy and Smokey and Vienna and Brat and Squeaky and Slate and Twinkie and Boo and Taz and Pacino and Alex and Fat Albert and Swiss and Starbright and all of the other animals who depend on us for their health and affection. All we have to do is remember how lucky we are to be part of Pet Shenanigans!

Posted: 5/6/05