Pets
Related: About this forumPeople are freeze drying their pets after they die: 'They don't want to let go'
Rachel Grumman Bender 1 day ago
Forget taxidermy. Some grieving pet owners are freeze-drying their pets after they die to literally preserve the memory of their beloved furry family members.
Grieving pet owners are freeze-drying their pets to keep their memories alive. While it might sound unusual to put it mildly to freeze-dry a pet, the process isnt as rare as it seems. Search for freeze-dried pets online and a handful of businesses across the country pop up offering the preservation service.
© Provided by Oath Inc. A posed freeze-dried dog by Freeze Dry By Cathy. (Photo: Courtesy of Andrea Huntley)
For freeze-dry artist Andrea Huntley of Freeze Dry By Cathy, its actually a business she never meant to get into. Her mother, Cathy, was a successful wedding florist in Newaygo, Michigan, who started freeze-drying flowers in the 90s to preserve bouquets. She was such a trailblazer that she decided to self-learn the taxidermy trade, and soon she was using her single freeze dry machine to do work for other taxidermists, mainly turkey heads, Huntley tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
The request to freeze-dry pets started in 2007. It was something she wasnt really fond of doing, admits Huntley, referring to her mother, and at the time I wasnt even in the business. But when her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (Cathy passed away in 2018 at age 60), Huntley took over the business, which she says was a sink or swim moment for me.
Huntley, who also does taxidermy work for museums, nature centers and universities, has now been running the business for eight years. She purchased three more freeze-dry machines and says her electric bill is sometimes more than $700 a month, but Huntley says she finds the job rewarding.
© Provided by Oath Inc. A freeze-dried cat by Freeze Dry By Cathy. (Photo: Courtesy of Andrea Huntley)
Her clients come from all walks of life, but the one thing they have in common is that they love their pets. That doesnt mean some clients dont question how this all looks. A lot of my clients worry about what others will think, says Huntley, who studied psychology in college. Some ask me if I think it is weird. Ive had to claw my way to this miraculous point in my life where I truly dont care what others may think of me or what I do. And I advise my clients to try to live the same way.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/people-are-freeze-drying-their-pets-after-they-die-they-dont-want-to-let-go/ar-BBWPqWy?li=BBnb4R7
I don't know...kind of gives me a shiver, but would love to have my girl with me forever. Also pretty expensive. $700 for the first 5 pounds. Each additional pound is $75. So my girl would cost me $1300.
What do you think?
BTW, cat photo looks just like my girl.
Cross post in "DU Lounge"
Cattledog
(5,897 posts)hlthe2b
(101,714 posts)Fla Dem
(23,347 posts)TygrBright
(20,733 posts)And I believe that the souls who come to us to be animal companions would resonate to the idea that what you learned from them led you to save more critters, rather than hanging on to a static representation of their presence...
Learning to deal with love and loss is one of their great lessons for us.
sadly,
Bright
hlthe2b
(101,714 posts)I understand the grief and I fully empathize. Even decades later, I mourn for those I've lost--both human and pets. But, I'm not sure this is the direction we want to go. What happens once the owner passes? Their Pet's freeze-dried beloved statue is summarily tossed in the trash?
The life-like features are amazing though. I will say that.
klook
(12,134 posts)If so, Im in!
FoxNewsSucks
(10,375 posts)it's their own business. Seems to me that it would get kinda odd after a while, and disrespectful to the animal to have it on display in your house like that.
I just got back from a week vacation Friday afternoon, and found my 17 year old black cat had died the night before I got home. He really kept me company, following me around at home all the time. I'll miss him very much, but I don't think having him sitting on a shelf would help.
And the cost is something else. As mentioned, it would be almost $1300 for my cat. My border collie would cost $5000. I really think if someone has that kind of money, it would be much better spent donating to no-kill shelters and adopting more animals when you're ready.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)rose bush in the back yard!
3catwoman3
(23,812 posts)I think I would feel worse to see the body looking so alive but knowing it wasnt ever going to move again, or feel warm and snuggly.
No thanks.
Fla Dem
(23,347 posts)get the red out
(13,459 posts)I cant imagine it, personally. It may help some people, but I would want to remember my sweet ones in happy pics. I havent had to face this in a very long time since my 9 year old Layla is my first dog as an adult (I am 55). But I know someday that I will be more comforted looking back on wonderful memories of her sweet silliness at home and her wonderful dog agility career.
Hav
(5,969 posts)but I agree with you. It's enough of a heartbreak when you dream about your lost pets and in that last second before waking up you realize he/she is no more with you.
Bayard
(21,802 posts)That's just freaky. Kind of like Roy Rogers having Trigger stuffed.
Can't imagine what three 150 lb. Great Pyrenees would cost. Wonder if she does horses?
Jake Stern
(3,145 posts)IMO this is no more creepy than parents who keep their kid's rooms exactly as they were the day they died.
Who am I to question someone's grief?