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Mid 1970s - Puerto Rico was
a lot warmer and as the trainer, Wendy
didn't have to swim. Staying dry
was still a joke though. Delfi
offers a handshake during the show at
Ocean Life Park Sea Aquarium in Pinones
near San Juan.
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Delfi and Lila were best
friends and swam together daily.
They had to be watched carefully because
when Lila tired of swimming the
dolphin would not let her climb out.
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| Lila would do anything to
get close to dolphins. That
included climbing vertical ladders to get
to the stage dressed in various costumes.
She loved biting at the splashing water
the dolphins eagerly produced. She
would get so excited she usually fell in
which amused the audience and the dolphin
greatly. |
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Training Scrapbook- 1970s
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| Wendy
has had a unique animal training career.
Her experience in a variety of species have given her a
broad understanding of animal training and behavior
modification. You can't put a choke
chain on a dolphin or a parrot but they can still
learn to be highly reliable partners in training.
She considers herself lucky to have started her
career with various species that can not be forced to cooperate.
Now those same techniques, applied to dogs, birds
and house cats, build mutually respectful
relationships between pets and their handlers. |
| How
did Wendy get started in animal
training? |
| Synchronized
swimming was her sport in
high school and college.
One thing led to another
and she spent several
years traveling the world
with water shows and
dolphin shows.
"I froze my tootsies
off in more foreign
countries than I care to
remember," laughed
Wendy. "Ah,
the things we do when we
are young!"
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| Here, Wendy
enjoys a free ride
provided by two dolphins
in the "Aquarama" show, based
in Argentina. She
performed in El Salvador,
Costa Rica, and other
exotic South American
locations in the 1970's. |
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(click
photos to see larger versions) |
| When
Wendy wasn't
touring with a water or
dolphin show she worked
as an animal portrait
artist.
Photographing, then
painting clients' pets
drew on all her abilities
with dogs, cats and
horses. Here, Wendy's boxer named
Lila poses beside her puppy
portrait while at a Miami
art show. |
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| Training wild
or aggressive animals: |
| Wendy
didn't know a thing about
sea lions and stories
about their dangerous
bites were not
encouraging, but the
aquarium where she worked had three
untrained animals. She
gave it a try. This
is where she first began
to appreciate the value
of teaching tricks to
problem animals.
Now Wendy counsels parrot
owners to do the same and not worry about taming
them. By simply
teaching a few parlor tricks, aggressive behavior
will no longer be an
issue. |
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In the
photo at left, Flaco taps
Wendy on the rear to say,
"Hey you forgot this
ring on my neck."
He was the most
aggressive of the three sea lions
before training. No
one would get near him!
Training behaviors turned
him into Wendy's best
buddy and favorite
performer. She
was never bitten and all
three became
very trustworthy. |
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