ANIMAL TRACKERS

“I was always the kind of little girl that brought home snakes in my pocket,” says Chere Hickock. She may not have taught them to act then, but she does now as president of Animal Trackers, the only animal talent agency in Dallas.

Hickock will track down any beast-domestic or exotic, trained or untrained-for movies, commercials, publications, videos, theaters, promotions or parties.

“She’s been a godsend to us,” says an art director at a local newspaper. “Anything we need, she’ll get. She’s amazing.” The paper has been able to expand its animal photo opportunities to include everything from rabbits to tigers.

Animal Trackers Inc. opened five months ago and is financed by Hickock’s partner, Dr. T.E. Childers, a veterinarian who runs the Lovers Lane Animal Hospital. The story of how they became partners is typical of the open-mindedness in Dallas, where, Hickock says, “anything can happen.” When she needed a partner for both financial and moral support, Hickock picked Childers’ name out of the Yellow Pages and called him. The next day they were planning their partnership.

For $5, anyone can have a pet listed with Animal Trackers-provided that it has some talent. Among the animals listed are an 8-foot iguana, a longhorn steer whose specialty is donning his custom-made tuxedo and sitting behind unsuspecting executives’ desks, an elephant that plays a harmonica, an orange-winged Amazon parrot that rides a motor scooter and a Doberman that floats in water on its back.

Even if she doesn’t have the desired animal, Hickock says, “If you give me enough time, I’ll find it.”

But Animal Trackers isn’t just a booking agency. Hickock or another trainer attends each shoot. That’s important when it comes to photographing tigers or persuading an untrained duck to pose with a stethoscope around its neck (“I hypnotized him,” she says).

Hickock studied at Moor-park School for Exotic Animal Training and Management in California and has worked with animals all her life. In the past, she has worked for the City of Dallas Animal Control and at pet stores and has worked catching rattlesnakes, grooming dogs and training birds.

Hickock says that her company is already paying for itself. She has received calls from people in the California film industry and has had several offers to franchise her business.