# Porcupine Job



## Tom

This is Stevie. Porcupines are pretty stinky and dirty, so I usually give him a bath before we go to set.

First, you've got to get them to the sink:






Next, you've got to keep them in the tub and give them the bath that they really don't want:





Here we are on set. The commercial was for Brighthouse. I'm not sure what the premise was, but Stevie just had to hang out on the table and look spiky.


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## Laura

Not Spikey? 
Interesting.. at least its a job!


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## N2TORTS

*POKE* ....
GOT METAL GLOVES"? 
TOO COOL .. Tom .. what a superb creature! 
your a lucky man to work with such cool exotics!
JD~


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## Angi

The pic in the sink is very funny.


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## terracolson

i thought a cactus was bad


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## pugsandkids

I want to know how did you suds him up?! Kidding...Stevie did an excellent job of looking spiky. I hope I get to see the ad someday!


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## DonaTello's-Mom

Thanks again Tom for the great pictures!!
Are your animals used for 'print Ads' like in magazines? And if they are do you have any of those to show us?


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## Tom

Laura said:


> Not Spikey?
> Interesting.. at least its a job!



Spell check said "spikey" was wrong and "spiky" was right. I believed my computer. Is it wrong?



N2TORTS said:


> *POKE* ....
> GOT METAL GLOVES"?
> TOO COOL .. Tom .. what a superb creature!
> your a lucky man to work with such cool exotics!
> JD~



I actually have a couple of pairs of heavy welding gloves that go almost to my elbows, but the quills will still penetrate them if you're not careful.



DonaTello said:


> Thanks again Tom for the great pictures!!
> Are your animals used for 'print Ads' like in magazines? And if they are do you have any of those to show us?



Yes they do. I can only think of a few times when I've actually seen the work though. If you go into Target and see the pics of dogs and cats around the pet section, sometimes those are ours. Target has used many different photographers over the years and each photographer has their own preferred animal company. I'll look at the office computer on Monday and see what I can find.


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## DeanS

Why the wheelbarrow...couldn't you just carry him?


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## DonaTello's-Mom

Cool thanks Tom and yeah your PC was right, 'spiky' is correct!


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## Tom

DonaTello said:


> Thanks again Tom for the great pictures!!
> Are your animals used for 'print Ads' like in magazines? And if they are do you have any of those to show us?



This was a Chevy ad, if I remember correctly:





This was a shoot for Vogue. It was something to do with how ridiculous airport security was getting. I'm the "cop" with the dog and that's the best dog in the world right there, Bullet.


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## DonaTello's-Mom

Wow, WHAT a tough job you have....poor guy!
Beautiful dogs though, the girls OK...Lol


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## Tom

She was European. Didn't care to talk much. The lady from the Chevy spot was very nice though.


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## dreadyA

Wow awesome photos, tom. As always :]
Bullet looks like a sweet dog


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## Tom

dreadyA said:


> Wow awesome photos, tom. As always :]
> Bullet looks like a sweet dog



Bullet is kind of like Patrick Swayzees character in "Roadhouse". He's nice... until its time to not be nice.


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## RascalDesertTort

ha! I LOVE that last pic!


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## Nay

Tom,how was it to get started in this? Just being in the right spot kind of thing??
Thanks for taking the time to post, I love it too.
Na


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## Tom

You start at the bottom and work your way up. Its very easy to get into it, but very hard to pay your bills for the first couple of years. You start out as a volunteer or a keeper. If your lucky an occasional day of work will trickle down to you. Once you are on top its really nice.


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## Jacqui

Love the face on Stevie in the tub view. Me, I just want to see a live porcupine up close and you not only get to actually touch one, but bathe it too. I admit, I am green with envy.

I know when our puppies were in a TV commercial every time it came on, it was such a rush. Do you still feel that way or has it become just part of the job?


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## Stephanie Logan

So no one has yet asked the question of why Stevie doesn't get annoyed and discharge some of his spikes in your direction?

Does he really like baths? Is that just a myth about porcupines? Maybe he just likes _you_?


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## Tom

Jacqui said:


> Love the face on Stevie in the tub view. Me, I just want to see a live porcupine up close and you not only get to actually touch one, but bathe it too. I admit, I am green with envy.
> 
> I know when our puppies were in a TV commercial every time it came on, it was such a rush. Do you still feel that way or has it become just part of the job?



I still get excited when I see it, I just hardly ever see it. Bullet had a big role (I had a small role) in the Upcoming "Jonah Hex". I didn't see him in the trailer, so we'll have to see how much dog footage ended up on the cutting room floor.



Stephanie Logan said:


> So no one has yet asked the question of why Stevie doesn't get annoyed and discharge some of his spikes in your direction?
> 
> Does he really like baths? Is that just a myth about porcupines? Maybe he just likes _you_?



Silly wabbit. Porcupines don't shoot their quills. They just jab them into you if you annoy them. (And remember, camels don't spit either, just to review) No, he doesn't like baths, but he's pretty easy going and tolerant. He doesn't show a preference for one person or another. He's curious, friendly and interested in everyone.


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## Stephanie Logan

Cool.

Though I've got to tell you that when my sister's family went to Egypt last February, their daughter got spit on by an annoyed camel...or so she claimed...she's 18 so was grossed out by a lot of the exotic aspects of Cairo and the surrounding area. Maybe you're just exceptional and Lilly likes her food and care gig right now.


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## Tom

She didn't get spit on. If anything she got puked on. They aren't nice to them over there and when they get stressed they regurgitate into their mouths and it will slop all over the place. They don't spit as in a directional projectile, like a LLama.

So, the moral is, stay out from in front of any stressed camels.


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## Stephanie Logan

Or behind from one, for that matter!


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## DonaTello's-Mom

Bullet is amazing! How old is he Tom? How long have you had him? And is he your 'family' dog as well as an actor?


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## terryo

Tom, I just can't get enough of your pictures...wonderful learning experience for us. Keep them coming.


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## Isa

Tom, your pics are amazing. Stevie is sooo cute in the tub  Thanks for sharing the pics with us!


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## RascalDesertTort

I NEED to know her reaction when you tell her she was puked on instead of spit!! lol!




Tom said:


> She didn't get spit on. If anything she got puked on. They aren't nice to them over there and when they get stressed they regurgitate into their mouths and it will slop all over the place. They don't spit as in a directional projectile, like a LLama.
> 
> So, the moral is, stay out from in front of any stressed camels.


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## South FL Katie

He's adorable! What a face. Can you touch his quills? I picture them sort of like snake scales, you can rub but only in the right direction

And I can attest to llama spit, I just recently got spat on at a petting zoo!


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## ChiKat

So cool Tom!! Thanks for sharing. I can't get enough of your pictures/stories.


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## Tom

DonaTello said:


> Bullet is amazing! How old is he Tom? How long have you had him? And is he your 'family' dog as well as an actor?



He's 8. I've had him since he was 8 weeks and he sleeps in a custom, giant, carpeted, raised, dog bed at the foot of my bed. He's also a 4 time National Champion at the hardest dog sport in the world, PSA. He's competed 21 times and got 1st 19 times and second the other two (both times were bogus, according to my competitors). He's been doing movie and TV work since about a year old. I think he's amazing too.



South FL Katie said:


> He's adorable! What a face. Can you touch his quills? I picture them sort of like snake scales, you can rub but only in the right direction
> 
> And I can attest to llama spit, I just recently got spat on at a petting zoo!



You can pet Stevie if you go with the grain, but not all porcupines will tolerate it. You might get jabbed.


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## DonaTello's-Mom

Bullet truly is a Champ then, how awesome!! He deserves his custom bed for sure!


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## Maggie Cummings

Shepherds have always been my favorite dog species and he is just beautiful. They are the smartest dogs and so easily taught.


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## JourneyTort

maggie3fan said:


> Shepherds have always been my favorite dog species and he is just beautiful. They are the smartest dogs and so easily taught.



Pretty sure that is not a Shepherd it is a Mallinois. Very nice dogs if you get from the right breeder!!


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## Kristina

Porcupines are one of my favorite animals. I get so sad when I see a dead one on the road, which happens to the poor slow things a lot. When you come across them in the woods, they just keep right ambling on, not even bothered. You can walk right up to them.

Always wanted a pet one, but had to settle for a hedgehog, lol.

Llama and Alpaca spit is GROSS. I had Llamas myself, and worked on an Alpaca farm. The Alpacas weren't overly handled, so when it came time to do foot trims or shearing or give them meds, OMG, they spit ALL OVER THE PLACE. Talk about smelling BAD.

One of my Llamas got me once, but it wasn't aiming for me, rather another Llama. I just got caught int he cross fire. Lucky freaking me.

I'll keep an eye out for you when I watch Jonah Hex


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## Tom

JourneyTort said:


> maggie3fan said:
> 
> 
> 
> Shepherds have always been my favorite dog species and he is just beautiful. They are the smartest dogs and so easily taught.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pretty sure that is not a Shepherd it is a Mallinois. Very nice dogs if you get from the right breeder!!
Click to expand...


You are right. He is a Mal. Which is one of the four types of Belgian Shepards. I always say, they make a Border Collie seem slow and a German Shepard seem stupid. Really, they are that good, in the right hands. They are the best workers on the planet, but TERRIBLE pets.


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## TortoisesRock!

wow you probably have the best job in the world and I wish I could have a lil pokey pet lol


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