Would you preserve your pet?

Sharpschruter22 · January 2014

I was watching a tv show and the lady on it had her small dog stuffed after he died.

I've asked several folks opinions and some are horrified, others think its a great idea and would love to do that if it isn't monetarily prohibitive.

What do you think?

LuckyAngel07 · January 2014

I think that's horrifying. I love my pets dearly, but taxidermy creeps the hell out of me. I would hate to constantly see the shell of what my beloved pet used to be. Without the spark of life and personality they used to have, it would just be a depressing reminder of their absence.

I did have my kitty cremated several years ago when I had to say goodbye to him. He now sits in a lovely wooden box on my dresser with a beautifully simple, white ceramic cat figure on top. It doesn't look a think like him (he was an orange tabby), but it's a far more beautiful reminder of him than some stuffed shell of his former self.

chrisnjay05212010 · January 2014

i agree with Lucky on this. It would creep me out to see them like that without their personality. We have our childhood dog's ashes in a beautiful wooden box with her pink collar on top of it. I think that is a much better tribute for me.

bpphoto785 · January 2014

I agree that, especially at first, coming home to a taxidermy version of our pup would really bother me.

When my childhood dog passed, we buried her in the yard with a nice dog-angel statue as a marker. I thought that was really nice.

H & I haven't discussed what we'll do for Boomer when that time comes. I'm not sure I can bare to think about it!

SmrBrd2012 · January 2014

Definitely not. Taxidermy is super creepy to me. I don't know what I'd do. Hopefully whenever my cat goes, we'll have our own yard to bury her in.

Caz1221 · January 2014

I agree with PPs - it would creep me out. Our older pup passed away in August, and we chose to have him cremated. His ashes are in a nice wooden box with an engraved plaque on a shelf in our office/extra bedroom (which is where our other dog hangs out when we're out of the house). I got a memorial Christmas ornament made with his name and photo as well.

ETA: We chose cremation over burial because we want to be able to take him with us wherever we go (we aren't in our forever home right now), but I know lots of people who have buried their pets on their property because they don't plan to move.

Belthil · January 2014

I have joked about it but in reality having my deceased pet stuffed with fake eyes would creep me out and I would probably cry every time I saw it. My family had our first dog cremated with the plan of spreading his ashes over his favourite path in the woods by my parent's house. It's been almost 10 years and my parents still have yet to do it.

When he passed build-a-bear had a dog that was very similar to what he had looked like so we had one made. We must have looked like a mess, teenagers silently crying as the person stuffed the shell but it was nice to have something that was close to but very clearly wasn't my dog to cuddle and cry into. But I view a stuffed animal that has similarities to be very different that having my deceased dog stuffed and mounted.

A girl I know told me that her parents bury their dogs on their property and then plant a tree over the grave. I think that's a beautiful way to honor a pet and would like to be able to do this in the future.

Sharpschruter22 · January 2014

I agree with you all. If I were to do that to my cats I would have them curled in a sleeping position with their eyes closed. I could never do it though.

For those of you who had your pets cremated, do you mind telling me how much that was? Did the vet do it?

Caz1221 · January 2014

Sharpschruter22 said:

For those of you who had your pets cremated, do you mind telling me how much that was? Did the vet do it?

I don't remember the exact amount, but I believe it was around $150. The cost may vary depending on where you live. When we had to have our pup put down at the local animal hospital, we filled out a form indicating that we wanted his ashes (rather than mass cremation where you don't get the ashes back or burial in a special pet cemetery), and the hospital took care of the rest. They work with a company that specializes in pet cremation and burial, so the cremation is done off-site.

I don't know if our personal vet offers cremation service since he is part of a very small practice.

MrsMac613 · January 2014

I love my furbabies but this would completely creep me out. It would also probably make me sad. I would memorialize them in a different way.

Miclan88 · January 2014

No way! would you have your grandmother preserved??

doeydo · January 2014

No. I think I would cremate my cats.

erollis · January 2014

No way. I would cremate or do a pet cemetery. I don't mind taxidermy when it's well done (to bears, deers, etc). But doing that to my pet? No way.

MariaBend25 · January 2014

A family member of mine preserved her parrot. She loved the thing like a child and struggled after it died. I was against it and wanted the bird to be buried or even cremated, and whenever I am in the house I shut the cabinet door where it is now displayed as I can't stand to look at a shell of an animal I also loved. However, it wasn't taxidermy, it was a process of dry freezing the body to preserve it without altering its appearance. Although, since it was old and very sick at the end, it still looks like it is in the pain it was when it was put down.

However, during her struggle with the death of the bird, I realized some people go nuts over their pets. In her support group there were other ladies who kept their dogs frozen in big freezers, took them out every day, unwrapped them, and pet their deceased dog for 30 minutes. So gross, but to each their own I suppose.

Autumn&Ray · January 2014

my sister talked about getting her cat stuffed after she passes and it horrified me! We just recently had to put a dog down because she was very sick, she was loved dearly so we had her cremated it was the best decision we have ever made. I couldn't think of going on without having her there. She was our baby for 8 years. We have her next to our bed and give her attention every day. I doubt I would've ever been able to stuff her too weird for me.

Would you preserve your pet?

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