Rhodes' country critters to visit City Fair

Noah, the brown miniature donkey, and Cletus T. Stud, the gray, follow Kim Rhodes around the home paddock like toddlers, even hanging on to her clothes when they can. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Kim and Rob Rhodes did that -- a few comfortable acres on Highway 130, headed toward Petersburg. But for them, "Mini" has a whole other connotation.

"We have miniature donkeys, miniature pigs and miniature horses," said Kim.

Add a miniature cow to that big list of little critters. Oreo, a black and white heifer that will only grow to about 3 feet in height, joined the farm this week.

The animals will all be featured July 12 at the Uptown City Fair, a day of festive events planned for the Square and the area around it.

"The petting zoo will be on Depot Street, in the children's activities area," said Calvin Cannon, the promotions committee for Main Street Shelbyville. "It's being sponsored by Regions Bank."

Kim's business is "Party Animals," and it is just what it sounds like. She takes her menagerie to parties everywhere, from company picnics to day cares, from city festivals to retirement centers. But Kim's favorite destination is any that involves children.

"I love kids," said the mother of six. "And I love animals. This way, I get to bring them together."

And, she confessed, by turning her pets into a business venture, she can cover the cost of their care a little better.

How much can it cost to feed a little-bitty cow, three little-bitty horses, two little-bitty pigs and two little-bitty donkeys? Quite a bit, especially when you consider the family also has five sheep, two goats, a walking horse, two ponies, three dogs, a cat, two ferrets, a llama ... oh, and a chinchilla.

There is probably an animal missing from that list, since it only adds up to 26.

"We didn't realize we how many we had until we started adding them up one day," said Kim. "We have 27! After our last child, my husband said, 'No more children!' So I started on animals. Now he's saying, 'No more animals!' I don't know what I'll do next."

She laughed.

"Well, there are the two ducks I'm getting from my sister ..."

Alyssa Rhodes can't seem to get the tea-cup pig, "Hammy," hogtied. Both "Hammy" and his slightly larger miniature pig friend, "Spammy," will be at the Uptown City Fair's petting zoo July 12. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Her husband, a Shelbyville firefighter, is actually very supportive of the Party Animal venture. He customized their horse trailer so she can fit 16 of the animals inside, each in a particular section, in a particular order. He also helps with the animals, trimming hooves and checking teeth, while Kim and the daughters still at home, Hayley, 9, and Alyssa, 5, help feed, water, groom and entertain their unusual pets.

In fact, if it weren't for the two girls, there would only be two sheep ...

"We had gone to a farm to get two lambs for pets," Kim said. "While we were there, someone came in to pick up three lambs, and I thought, 'Oh, someone else is getting pets.' No, These were for Passover ... they came out in a bag."

The girls spotted three bottle-fed lambs, including one that was partially blind, and when they realized these, too, were headed for slaughter, pleaded with their mom.

"I went for two sheep and came back with five," she said.

The sheep -- Thistle, Thorn, Daisy, Briar and Daffodil, didn't mind at all. They share the barnyard happily with Noah and Cletus T. Stud, the miniature donkeys, and Loverboy, one of the miniature horses. Lucky Larry the Llama gets to visit the big horses in the big pasture, and the goats are perfectly content to share a pen -- and a doghouse -- with the family's Great Pyrenees mix.

"We call him Lucky Larry because he died when he was getting gelded, or wethered, I guess you call it," Kim said of the llama. "My husband did CPR on him for 20 minutes until he came back. So he's Lucky Larry."

Oreo, the miniature cow, will make her petting zoo debut July 12 at the Uptown City Fair. She is the latest addition to Kim Rhodes' "Party Animals" business. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Kim home schools the two youngest, and she started Party Animals because it was something she knew she could do with the girls. Many Bedford County children have gotten to meet Larry and the pigs at the farm day held at the Ag Center, but she's looking forward to more children getting to know and love her big-little menagerie as much as she does.

There are several other events planned for the Uptown City fair for children, including inflatables, face painting and a drawing center. There will be a small fee for the children's area, but it is all-inclusive, and allows them access to everything going on there.

Plans for the fair's car show are also growing, said Cannon.

"US Bank is sponsoring the car show -- it will be lined up right in front of their building," he said. There will be several categories, including Muscle Car, Most Unique and Crowd's Choice."

Some bands have also been lined up, including "Double Take," a popular local bluegrass band that blends fine pickin' with homestyle humor. A new ice cream parlor will be open, and the day will kick-off at the Capri Theater, which is being honored for being one of the oldest businesses in Shelbyville.

'We'll have cake and punch," said Cannon. "They'll have a free movie."

The "You Are So Shelbyville If ..." contest is well under way, he added, saying the booklet containing all of the entries will be on sale at the event and the winner will be announced. There is still time to submit entries, either by dropping the submissions off at any uptown business or by going to uptownshelbyville.com/City_Fair.html.

Other contests include "The Story of my Redneck Family," a scavenger hunt, a chicken-eating contest, a street car show, a husband-calling contest, and a pencil sketch contest. For details, visit the web site.

The event takes place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.