Freeze-Dried Pets

Here's something new for me. Apparently, for an expenditure of a couple thousand dollars, anyone can have his/her dead pet as a fixture by having it freeze-dried. According to Richard Schwenn, owner of Anglers Taxidermy & Freeze-Dry in Milan, Ohio, pretty much any animal can be freeze-dried. He personally has freeze-dried weasels, deer, chipmunks, squirrels, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, and more.

Pet owners ship their deceased pets to a pet-freezing company, along with a photograph that gives an idea of how the pet looked on a good day.

Some of the organs are removed and the eyes are replaced with marble replicas. Then the dead animal is injected with silicone and placed in a pose of the owner's choosing.

Finally, the animal is put in a freeze-drying vacuum chamber. After two to 15 months -- again, depending on the animal's size -- all moisture is removed from the body.

The owner can then take Fido's lifeless carcass home and place it next to the fireplace as a permanent reminder.

One has to wonder to what extent this process is being done on human carcasses and do any people currently have a lifeless relative propped up in a corner of the living room?