Owning a pet is one of the purer joys of life. Pets can provide us with an unadulterated love and affection, untainted by fear or greed. The most popular pets are of course cats and dogs with their total number being in excess of 140 million, according to a survey conducted a few years ago by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Other popular pets include horses, hamsters, turtles, rabbits, fish, mice, guinea pigs, birds such as parrots, and some people even keep snakes, lizards, and ferrets as pets.
Most pet owners love and adore their pets, and according to the AVMA study mentioned above, more than 60% of pet owners consider their pets like a family member. Talk about a dog being “man’s best friend!” Therefore, when a pet approaches the end of its life due to old age or illness, an often difficult choice is what to do with the body of the deceased pet. While most people may bury their pets at home or in a pet cemetery, some pet owners can’t bear the thought of never seeing their beloved pet again, a pet that brought them companionship and love. Here’s where the services of taxidermists come in. While some may find preserving a pet after it’s passed away as an odd choice, for others, being able to see their preserved pet is a comforting thought. Taxidermy is an old art for animal preservation but one of the relatively newer forms of taxidermy, which is gaining popularity, involves a process called freeze-drying. As the name implies, as soon as possible after a pet passes away, it is put in a special chamber that slowly absorbs all the moisture in the pet’s body. Unlike traditional taxidermy, the process is not invasive, as even the internal organs are preserved. Although it is a long process that may take months and costs can be high, but for those who choose this process, the end result is a very life-like preservation. Such a preserved pet can remind the owner of the joys the pet brought them while it was alive and they can even touch the pet or gently comb its hair if it has fur. Freeze-drying is thus a far better choice, as other options, such as burial or cremation, leave no alternative but to just look at pictures of the pet or visit its gravesite in a pet cemetery to remind themselves of the good memories associated with their former companion.
One of the most experienced and largest providers of such a service is located in Missouri. Eddy’s Wildlife Studios does over a hundred pet preservations per year and have nearly 30 years of experience in the field. With freeze-drying, the company can preserve even the pet’s facial expressions based on a picture provided by the customer. Eddy’s caters to customers from all over the U.S. and some customers even shed tears of joy at the true-to-life preservation work. Freeze-drying can even be considered as the final loving act towards a much-cherished pet.