A growing number of grieving pet owners freeze-dry their furry friends when they die so they don’t have to say goodbye.
Unlike traditional taxidermy, where an animal’s skin can be removed and distort its shape, freeze-drying is more natural and can better preserve its appearance.
A freeze-dried taxidermist, Chuck Rupert, owner of a company called Second Life Freeze Dry, told DailyMail.com that he typically preserves up to 90 animals a year, including ddogs, cats, hamsters, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, ferrets, squirrels, minks and even rattlesnakes.
But this service is not cheap and Depending on the size of the animal, the cost can range from $1,200 to $4,000, and more.
Among those who have used it is Anni Pereya, who was distraught when her dog Nate died in March 2023, nearly 11 years after she rescued the Yorkie-Maltese mix from a puppy mill in Arkansas.
‘I found Second Life Freeze Dry through an Internet search. “I liked the aesthetic of the photos and the healthy poses,” she said. “I didn’t even know it, but as soon as I found out, it made a lot of sense to me.”
“It really helped me a lot with my grieving process.”
Chuck Rupert, owner of a company called Second Life Freeze Dry, told DailyMail.com that he typically preserves up to 90 animals a year, including dogs, cats, hamsters, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, ferrets, squirrels, mink, turtles and even snakes. of rattlesnake
Anni Pereya pictured with her Yorkie-Maltese mix, Nate, whom she rescued from a puppy mill in Arkansas. In March 2023, Nate died and she learned about Second Life Freeze Dry through an internet search that she said helped her with the “grieving process.”
Pereya said when he picked up Nate after he was preserved (pictured) it was an emotional moment. He seemed so down-to-earth, just like when he was alive, she said. Now he sits on her dog bed in her bedroom, so she can enjoy her seeing him every day.
In fact, she was so impressed and fascinated by the service that she is now considering purchasing Rupert’s company when he retires at the end of this year.
Second Life Freeze Dry is located in rural Pennsylvania, but Rupert said requests come from all over the United States and abroad, including a cat mailed from Singapore and a dog from Hong Kong.
Explaining how he handles foreign orders, Rupert said: ‘It can be done, but it is expensive. I have to send them to an agent who can clear customs,” he explained.
The freeze-drying process is a labor of love but also laborious.
Typically, smaller animals take four to five months to preserve and larger animals up to a year.
He explained that the process involves removing the animal’s organs and filling the body cavity with natural wood filling before sewing the animal back together.
Then, place the animal in the posture the pet owner requested: often sleeping with eyes closed, sitting with eyes open, or with a happy expression.
More than half of his clients, he said, ask for a calm sleeping position, but there are others who want a more animated and lively expression. She has done some conservations where the dog is in his sweater or in his dog bed.
“I have a client who told me how her cat placed each paw in her tennis shoes when she came home from work every night, so I’m preserving the cat in the exact position she requested with tennis shoes and all.”
Rupert explained that once the posture is complete, they are placed in a freeze-dried machine that has a vacuum cleaner that extracts moisture from the tissue and preserves it so that the animal does not decompose.
“It’s not magic,” he explained. “It is the low temperatures and the vacuum that preserve the animal.”
Once the drying part is complete, use oil-based paints to give more color to the animal and make it look like it did when it was alive.
It averages 70 to 90 animals per year.
Rupert said: “People think it’s the best thing that’s ever happened, or it’s absolutely crazy.”
And he added: “No one ever regretted the decision.”
A Golden Doodle, one of the largest dogs Rupert has worked on, looks like real life when placed face down and looking up.
Most people ask for a calm, sleeping posture for their pets, like this cat.
The chihuahua is placed in his dog bed according to the client’s request.
A guinea pig is one of the small critters that Rupert has kept for its owners.
In his ten years in the business, he revealed some of the strangest requests he’s ever had, like the time someone called him to freeze-dry a man’s ‘testicles.’
He laughed and told DailyMail.com that “that was a request I denied.” I guess I discovered I have a line.’
“And the truth is, that organ itself would not be a good candidate for the dryer.”
He once accepted a part of the human body: a woman’s foot.
“He was a boy from California whose mother was going to have her foot amputated and for religious reasons they needed her foot so they could bury her completely,” he explained.
Oddly enough, he said the hospital would not release the foot to the family, but after verifying his credentials it was sent directly to him.
He said the foot took much longer to preserve than expected and ended up needing up to nine months in the dryer.
“That request came about four or five years ago and I don’t think he’s passed away yet,” he said. “That was one of the craziest requests.”
The river. “There’s nothing that anyone can call and ask me that would surprise me or make me recoil.” It’s all crazy.
He admitted that while he is in the freeze-dried taxidermy business, he doesn’t think he would choose this option for his own pets when they pass by.
Animals of all shapes and sizes can be freeze-dried, including this snake
“From a personal point of view, I would never want to have a pet of mine preserved and sitting,” he said. ‘It would literally be like getting kicked in the teeth every day when I come home. It’s hard enough to lose them.
He said many of his clients choose this path because it gives them a feeling of “comfort.”
“It gives them the feeling that their pet is home again,” he said. “People are surprised that their pet looks exactly the same as the last time they saw it.”
Pereya said when he picked up Nate after he was preserved, it was an emotional moment. He seemed so down-to-earth, just like when he was alive, she said.
Now he sits on his dog bed in her bedroom, so she can delight in seeing him every day.