Freeze Drying Your Pet's Body

[Sweet72947]

I'm in the "gross and creepy" camp. Once my pet is dead, that dead body means absolutely nothing to me because it's just a shell. To remember my pet, I have digital photography.

I don't see cremating and keeping the ashes in an urn as gross or creepy. Those ashes are in a (usually decorative) container, and they aren't a soulless corpse that resembles a once living creature, just standing there and staring through you.

 

[vanillasugar]

This might be one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. I think if I walked into someone's house and they had their pet freeze dried or taxidermy or what have you, I wouldn't be able to stay. I can't even handle it.

 

[Michiyo-Fir]

I know a girl that does a lot of taxidermy and her entire house is full of dead things but they all look pretty good.

I don't know if I would ever have it done but I don't mind the idea. I don't think I would mind the body of my pet in a sleeping position somewhere in the house *shrug*

 

[Xandra]

To each their own, I'm not saying it should be outlawed, I'm saying it is creepy.

I don't think its healthy for people to have their dead pets sitting around..and "cuddling" them. Its NOT getting over the loss, I don't care how you spin it. Can you imagine if someone did that with a person?

Aww we love grandpa so much and it was so sad when he passed, its nice to just have him sitting on his rockingchair as always!

I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do that to my pets. Not only because of disrespecting their memory, or the money it costs..
but can you imagine the damage to your social life/relationships with people for having a DEAD ANIMAL sitting in your living room?!

$575.00 for a 5-7 pound animal.. plus $50 for each additional pound.. its not like this is running cheap!!

Its says it all right there on the main page of the site..

This allows pet owners to see, touch and hold their pets, and in a sense, "never have to let go."

and some of the testimonials like under the KITTEN

"We didn't have Little Trigger very long, but we were still so attached to him. Now we can keep him forever! He looks just like he was!"
and hes like playing with a thing of yarn.

I can't even wrap my head around WANTING something like this... I love my dog, he is a part of my life.. but Wow.. to not be able to go on living because my dog/cat isn't around? to be willing to spend all that money just to have a nonmoving substitute?? I can't even imagine.

I honestly think some (ok..most) of the people who do this stuff probably should've spent the money on therapy instead.

:hail::hail:

The only way I could see it as less weird is if I was at some old dude's house and he liked taxidermy and he stuffed his best coondog or w/e because taxidermy is his hobby and he liked to be reminded of his dog in the same way he liked to be reminded of the buffalo that he shot or w/e. I would be OK with that (still creepy but not unhealthy), he's not grieving over the dog anymore, he just matter of factly likes to look at it. "....that was a good dog, that dog treed 1,359 coons in his lifetime. And that there is a buffalo I shot in '63..." you get the picture. Like the Roy Rogers animals.

Doing it for ANY reason related to evading reality... cuddling with it, putting it in a position on your couch so "it looks like Minnie's just sleeping, like she never left..." ANYTHING like that (and from the testimonials it seems like most have it for that kind of reason) is not healthy. Like Fran said, if someone did that with their grandfather, would that be OK? Their child?

 

[Kat09Tails]

Losing a family member and losing a dog is NOT the same thing imo for most people. I was sad when my first dog Sam died and cried about it for a couple weeks. I was heartbroken when my Grandfather died and I still tear up a decade later thinking about my grandfather and how much I miss that man.

As far as taxidermy, it's not cheap. It never has been. Really $500 for a detail slow freeze dry is a deal for the amount of natural detail that is left in the end result. It's a fairly non evasive process unlike normal taxidermy and requires far less skill to get it right.

 

[Laurelin]

This might be one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. I think if I walked into someone's house and they had their pet freeze dried or taxidermy or what have you, I wouldn't be able to stay. I can't even handle it.

Honestly, I'd probably freak out too and leave or find a way to leave quickly.

And I really don't think it would look all that much like the living dog anyways. You can very well tell the dog is dead in most of them. Especially the faces look somewhat distorted.

For me, my dogs have all been cremated and laid to rest with a redbud tree planted over them. I keep pictures and all their collars. Nikki's collar is on a shelf in my room.

 

[~Jessie~]

I've never had to deal with the loss of one of "my" pets. It was very hard when we had Lilly (my childhood dalmatian) put to sleep. I can't imagine how painful it's going to be when one of my five die.

When my dogs die, I plan on having them cremated... I want to look into having their ashes turned into one of those life diamonds... and I'm also interested in having their ashes put into a tattoo of their paw prints... that way they'll always be with me

 

[Picklepaige]

See, losing my rat, Brutus, was more devastating than anything I've ever been through. I dunno, maybe there's something "wrong" with me, but I cried more over that little guy than I did for any human's death. I didn't eat for days, and I literally thought I was going to die from a broken heart. I had never been so close to anything, human or animal, and his death about killed me.

But I still would never have done this. I stand by what I said, it's disrespectful. I don't care how much one loved their pet, it's unhealthy to cuddle with a death body "just like he was alive again."

I would love to get one of those rings you put ashes in, though.

 

[*blackrose]

I can't even fathom having Blackie freeze dried and then kept downstairs on his dog bed. That would just be so...disgusting. His body isn't what I loved, it was his spirit, and I don't need his body just laying there to remind me of that. I have his collar, I have pictures, I have memories, and his grave is in the backyard.

I do want to get a hand sculpted miniature statue of him (and all of my dogs), but I collect miniature figurines (I like to get them to remind me of a certain time/place/person) so I don't find that odd. But freeze dry their bodies? Ew.

 

[skittledoo]

Count me in as well with the "creepy" category. I personally could NOT do it to one of my pets. When Bamm is gone there's no way I will be able to have him stuffed or freeze-dried.... It would make it so much harder to let him go and to be honest... it's just creepy... to each their own. If other people don't think it's creepy then to each their own... I personally find it creepy and nothing will convince me otherwise. ESPECIALLY the ones with their eyes still open *shudders*

When Bamm dies I plan to have him cremated. I'll probably use some of his ashes to put in a necklace to remember him by or I may put a little in the ink for the tattoo I plan to have done of him, but the ashes in the tattoo one I'm still unsure about doing.

 

[Laurelin]

Omg this is creepy lol

YouTube - Freeze Dried Pets

 

[milos_mommy]

If one of my friends did this to their pet, I wouldn't stop being friends with them or stop going to their house. Sure a lot of those site testimonials are sad and imply the people are not coping with the death well or at all, but I don't think every person who does this is "not letting go" or in denial.

I don't see how keeping ashes in an urn or wearing jewelry made from ashes or even burying the pet in a backyard is less creepy than taxidermy or freeze-drying in general (ignore the people pretending it's still alive or something).

 

[Brattina88]

If one of my friends did this to their pet, I wouldn't stop being friends with them or stop going to their house. Sure a lot of those site testimonials are sad and imply the people are not coping with the death well or at all, but I don't think every person who does this is "not letting go" or in denial.

I don't see how keeping ashes in an urn or wearing jewelry made from ashes or even burying the pet in a backyard is less creepy than taxidermy or freeze-drying in general (ignore the people pretending it's still alive or something).

For me, its the eyes. That freaks me out. I wouldn't stop being friends with somebody or anything because of it though! But, for ME personally, I don't even like when my uncle had a stuffed deer head hanging in his living room... so glad he took it down :rofl1:

I agree with you... but its pretty hard to get past the people who are pretending they're still there and every things normal or whatever, cuddling them... that's not coping with the loss, its just not healthy jmho

 

[AllieMackie]

I don't see how keeping ashes in an urn or wearing jewelry made from ashes or even burying the pet in a backyard is less creepy than taxidermy or freeze-drying in general (ignore the people pretending it's still alive or something).

I think there is a very REAL difference between your pet's cremated remains being memorialized in a decorative urn or jewelery, and your pet's shell of their body sitting posed a certain way in your living room.

In before this cross-argument: Personally, I differentiate taxidermy when it comes to hunting and pets. Taxidermed hunted animals are trophies of your kills. Taxidermed pets are a husk of a loved one you're holding onto as a keepsake of when they were alive.

 

[LilahRoot]

If one of my friends did this to their pet, I wouldn't stop being friends with them or stop going to their house. Sure a lot of those site testimonials are sad and imply the people are not coping with the death well or at all, but I don't think every person who does this is "not letting go" or in denial.

I don't see how keeping ashes in an urn or wearing jewelry made from ashes or even burying the pet in a backyard is less creepy than taxidermy or freeze-drying in general (ignore the people pretending it's still alive or something).

I wouldn't stop being friends with someone over this, but I would wonder where their mind was at.

People pretending that the pet is still alive and putting water down for it and holding it in their lap and petting it and so on and so forth screams mental instability to me. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Dani]

I'll admit that the idea of a freeze-dried pet creeps me out. I wouldn't take any comfort in having my pet's lifeless body lying around in the livingroom. It would just make me sad and question whether my pet is resting in peace .

Bear is cremated, and any further dogs of mine will be as well.

 

[Miakoda]

I just puked.

 

[ACooper]

Uhm ya, the couple pretending that little dog was still alive? To the point of putting a water dish down for her?

CREEPY

 

[smkie]

I will just stick with letting their spirit go back to the wind and the body go back to the soil. Everything else creeps me out.

 

[MaloreyAnimal]

I'll admit, I think it's cool, but would never do it. It'd make me feel worse if I were to walk into my living room, and have Bruno as an example, laying in his bed, but that's it. Not coming to greet me, or wag his tail, or whine like he usually does. I couldn't handle a lifeless him there....I don't think it would really be him, it'd be his body, but not his personality and quirks.

Photographs would be better for myself as you can see the real him come out of them!

All our animals are buried and that's how it will always be.