Grieving pet owners can now cope with their loss as they still be with their dead pets, like nothing happened to them. Taxidermy offers a great option for people who want to keep beloved dead pets in their house.
Independent claimed that this practice is most common in Ireland. Ingrid Houers of the Houwers Taxidermy claimed that pet owners are starting to like the idea of making their animal companions "perpetual."
She explained that their shop would usually have 60 requests annually from pet owners who likes to have their cats, dogs, rabbit or even hamsters taxidermied. The term, as per The Free Dictionary, refers to the process of stuffing and preparing dead animals to a state where they look like they are still alive.
The practice has been done previously for wild animals like deers, eagles and even wolves. "For many, the initial contact is made in a moment of grief and they're running out of options. Many just want their pet to stay with them," said Houwers.
She added that customers would usually reach out to them when they are devastated with a death of a pet. "Although we are good at taxidermy, we cannot bring back the dead, only preserve the skin. People usually contact me in a moment of emotional turmoil. They desperately want to hold on," she added.
Houwers also explained that for them to be able to make a perfect taxidermy of pets, they ask from owners a lot of photos and stories about their beloved animals. She claimed that they always want "to try and recapture the character and the amount of work that goes into pet taxidermy often exceeds 60 hours."
A similar service is offered by PerpetualPet.net which claimed that they "freeze dry" pets to make give them an appearance like they are still living. The website noted that the process allows owners to still see, hold and and touch their pets when they want.
