After a family’s beloved golden retriever died, they found a unique way to remember him.
They hired Australian company Chimera Taxidermy to turn the pet into an ornamental rug.
Maddy, who owns the company, explained that "the pelt has been tanned and turned to leather so the fur won't fall out,” so the unusual keepsake would last a lifetime.
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The idea wasn’t for everyone, with several people suggesting that preserving the pet in this way was macabre.
But others were in favour. One replied: “This is someone's pet. They wanted to keep a part of him forever, no different to keeping ashes of a loved one. He wasn't killed for taxidermy”.
Another added that the unique rug was “Super cute,” saying that they had “never seen pets preserved as pelts before”.
Maddy, 29, said that the idea was growing in popularity: "Pet taxidermy has only really become more popular in the last five years or so, so it's a very new thing to see for most people," she told Yahoo News.
"Some are more of a sentimental keepsake, others are on display resting in their beds or however their owners wanted them preserved”.
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However, she accepted that the idea was "definitely not for everyone" and that she "absolutely respects that".
She said: "It's sometimes difficult working with pets compared to other animals ".
"But it's more rewarding to be able to help people with their grief and allow them to keep a part of their pet forever."
She also posted a photo of a pet cat named Milkshake that she had stuffed and mounted in its favourite sleeping position as a keepsake for her owner.
One impressed Instagram commuter wrote: “Pet taxidermy where the pets sleep forever always give me a really special feeling, like they're not forced to anything, they're free and their owners still have them very near at the same time. Such a beautiful and peaceful thing”.
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