Would You Stuff Your Pet?

Sunday night, at the close of the Olympics, a new TV show called the Marriage Ref, premiered.  I thought it sounded like more fun than most reality shows, so I watched a bit.  I was surprised to see that the first "case" involved the death of a beloved dog named Fonz.

It seems that Fonz was the husband's dog before the couple was married and the wife never liked the little guy (he looked like a small bull dog).  The problem for the Marriage Ref was that, when Fonz died, the husband had him "stuffed" by a taxidermist and made a place for him to recline forever in the entryway of the couple's home.  Needless to say, the wife found this gross and creepy and wanted the dog gone!  After some discussion and, of course, a lot of jokes about the dog (and the husband), the panel voted in favor of the wife and Fonz was banished to the attic.

One of the most interesting things was a "fact checker" (Natalie Morales of NBC's Today Show) who helped the panel make the decision by providing up-to-date information about the issue under consideration.  She said that, in 2009, only 1,000 people in the entire country chose to have a pet preserved by taxidermy.  Honestly, I was surprised to hear that there were that many! (And also surprised to learn that she could find this information on the Internet!)

I certainly had the occasional client who expressed an interest in this method of body care when I was in clinical practice, but only a couple who actually found a taxidermist who was willing to do it.  Obviously, the practice is becoming more common.

Would you do this?  Honestly, I understand the appeal, but I don't think it promotes the healthy progress of grief and I also feel it's a bit disrespectful to the animal.

Did you see the show?  What would your call have been? (Photo from NBC.com)

--Laurel

Comments

[Daisy the Curly Cat]

I do not want to be stuffed! If I had my way, I would like to become ashes and then go into the earth and nourish other plants and animals and become part of the universe! And then whenever someone saw a pretty flower, they could think of me.

[Jen]

Wow! I didn't see the episode.. but you are right, it truly halts the natural progress of grief.

My aunt had a rabbit stuffed, but it was because her then fiance was a taxidermist and was dying of cancer.

Not that any of my dogs are replaceable, and not that I won't truly lose a bit of my heart when they die... but, life goes on. I would rather memories stay, instead of the shell of their body. It gives me the heebie geebies just thinking about it!

[Laurel]

I'm with you, Daisy! And, Jen, I once had a client who'd had a rabbit preserved and then had moved around the country a lot. In all the packing and unpacking, the rabbit's ears had broken off...now what was she supposed to do with this "animal"? It was no longer comforting to her but she couldn't bring herself to dispose of it. She finally had it cremated.

[Chris]

Saw it, got creeped out, and laughed.

Not something I would ever do. But to each their own.

[Tammy]

We don't have access to TV, so I didn't hear about this show... I'm glad you saw it though Laurel!

I remember a call way back when working at the CSU Vet hospital. The lady calling was trying to figure out how to get her deceased pet to someone who would freeze-dry it for her. She wanted our help figuring out how to get it there via shipping or mail.

I had never heard of such a thing at that time. I was professional (of course) while on the phone with her. But after the call, I had a serious case of heebie-jeebies! I could NOT imagine wanting to do something like that.

Since then, I've heard more about options like this for deceased pets. However, I personally still find it quite creepy. I love my pets, and I miss pets that have died. But, I would never make this choice. I would rather have the photos, memories, claypaws, etc... than to have a stuffed version of a pet.

[Laurel]

I agree, Chris, they did make it funny on the show and the poor dog wasn't the best specimen for promoting this type of body care!

In defense of people who might choose this option, I have seen a couple of beautifully preserved cats. They were curled up like they were sleeping with their tails tucked under them, their fur remained silky and they weren't creepy to look at...when you touched them, though, they were rock hard and that's what I didn't find comforting.

[jan]

Roy Rogers had Trigger and Bullet stuffed. People came to the museum to see them. Not something I would do.

[Laurel]

That's right! I've actually seen them in photos...Trigger especially looks pretty good!

[Ingrid King]

I didn't see the show, and the idea of taxidermy gives me the creeps, too - however, if someone chooses this route as a way to preserve their pet's memory, then maybe it is right for that person. It doesn't feel like the healthiest way to me to cope with loss and grief, but at the same time, I don't think we can judge another's process. One of my Reiki clients had one of her cats preserved that way, and it was a bit challenging for me to do Reiki on her other cat while the deceased cat seemingly stared at us from her perch across the room....but judging by the placement of the stuffed cat, it must have been this person's way of keeping the deceased cat as part of the family (and know, I never had the courage to ask about what made her decide to do this!).

[Debbie]

As much as I desire to keep my furkids with me forever---NOT that way! It seems creepy and disrespectful to the furkid and your relationship---I mean, would you "stuff" any other departed family member??? It also seems to reduce the warm, cuddly wonderful creature to an "it" to put on the shelf. JMHO, but not for me!

[Laurel]

Thanks for all the comments, blog buddies! It seems like we're all in agreement about this one...that it's not our cup of tea, but we understand that it might be right for others.

It seems to me that the true measure of whether or not it's "right" to stuff a pet after death is the "why" of the situation. What is the intent behind the decision...is the pet parent attempting to avoid the grief in some way by 'denying' that the pet is no longer part of his or her life? Or, is the intent to honor the pet by preserving the body and displaying it in a special way.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has considered or actually carried through with this body care option. I'm truly interested in how one makes that decision and what it's based on.

Anyone out there?

[turtlecookie]

I fall into the "not for me" category as well. I'm with Daisy on that one. The thing that made the episode interesting is that while it may have "right" for the husband, it was not "right" for the wife. This is an unusual example (probably why it was chosen for the show), but what do you do when what is right for one person is not only not right for the other person but is wrong for the other person? A less extreme example -- flushing vs burying a goldfish. For some folks it would be really wrong to flush the fish. The difference, I suppose, is that a buried fish is out of sight, out of mind whereas the stuffed dog was right there, a constant reminder day in and day out. If the husband had a "man-cave" or an office that was just his, would it have been ok to have the stuffed dog around? I can see I put way too much into this. ;-) Thanks for the post, Laurel.

turtlecookie

[Laurel]

You make a good point, Susan, that a friend of mine also talked about after the show...she equated it to the trophy heads her husband has and wants to hang in their house. She hates them, so they designated one room as his "den" and he can have as many as he wants in there, but not in the public areas of the house.

This solution wasn't even discussed on the show and would actually be the fair resolution to the problem.

[Laurel Hunt]

I would say "what next" but years ago when I had a business selling upscale pet beds, collars, and pet gifts, I had a booth at a pet fair in Phoenix. Another vendor was a taxidermist and had a stuffed dog on display. She came over to my booth and bought a collar for the stuffed dog! I have saved fur clippings from my deceased dogs, and their collars, and of course their ashes, but I prefer to look at photos when I want to remember them as they were.
Laurel H.

[Dana]

I have met a few clients over the years who have wanted to do this very thing with their pet's body. It took a very open mind of my part...but it was also very interesting!