Keeping my dog's ears after she dies
May 3, 2016 6:20 PM Subscribe
I want to save my dog's ears after she dies, but I'm not sure what I need to know & do.
My vet, who's coming to my house to put down Ella va Dawg on Friday, is on board. (Ella in her younger, mountain climbing days.) He's never done something like this, though, so I'm researching what we need to know. I can handle things after the ears are off her head, but I don't know what to do to prepare. In fact, I'm not even sure what questions to ask.
How long should I wait after she's died to cut them off? What should I do to prepare them, if anything, before cutting them off? Should I expect much blood? What am I not thinking of that I should be?
Suggestions, websites & search terms are all appreciated. Thank you!
My vet, who's coming to my house to put down Ella va Dawg on Friday, is on board. (Ella in her younger, mountain climbing days.) He's never done something like this, though, so I'm researching what we need to know. I can handle things after the ears are off her head, but I don't know what to do to prepare. In fact, I'm not even sure what questions to ask.
How long should I wait after she's died to cut them off? What should I do to prepare them, if anything, before cutting them off? Should I expect much blood? What am I not thinking of that I should be?
Suggestions, websites & search terms are all appreciated. Thank you!
I cannot possibly imagine that a beloved pet is the best place to begin an amateur taxidermy career; much like most relationship AskMes, the mere fact that you have to ask the question causes me to believe that the whole enterprise is a non-starter. Hire a professional if you really want to do this.
posted by charmedimsure at 6:36 PM on May 3, 2016 [53 favorites]
posted by charmedimsure at 6:36 PM on May 3, 2016 [53 favorites]
Absolutely hire a taxidermist to do this. You do not want to do this yourself. Not only is it likely to be grosser and more difficult than you expected, you don't want the process to be fucked up -- you won't get a second chance.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 7:04 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 7:04 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yes. Try to find a local taxidermist to see if they can help. You should try calling, in case they don't advertise doing work on pets. You should plan on refrigerating/freezing the body if you can't get her there on the same day.
posted by oneear at 7:13 PM on May 3, 2016
posted by oneear at 7:13 PM on May 3, 2016
Having had a beloved family pet euthanized at home with us (rather than leaving him at a vet's office) I will say this: You will probably remember everything about the experience in great detail. Good and bad, it's all very fresh and intense for us (even though it's been 5 years). Being there for the last moments of our cat's life was deep, but seeing and remembering all the details of death and suffering, sometimes leads to sad memories popping up that I wish I didn't have.
Think about the memories you want to have in five years, and use that to decide what part of the process you do, or do not want to be physically present for.
We were offered, and chose to have a final paw print in clay - the vet who handled it for us asked whether we wanted to be the ones to press the paw into the clay after death, and pointed out that handling a dead body is weird and uncomfortable.
We elected not to do that part ourselves, and it was the right choice.
Good luck and so sorry for your loss. That picture looks like Ella was one lucky dog to have found you!
posted by soylent00FF00 at 8:24 PM on May 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
Think about the memories you want to have in five years, and use that to decide what part of the process you do, or do not want to be physically present for.
We were offered, and chose to have a final paw print in clay - the vet who handled it for us asked whether we wanted to be the ones to press the paw into the clay after death, and pointed out that handling a dead body is weird and uncomfortable.
We elected not to do that part ourselves, and it was the right choice.
Good luck and so sorry for your loss. That picture looks like Ella was one lucky dog to have found you!
posted by soylent00FF00 at 8:24 PM on May 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
Can you do a plaster cast of them between now and Friday?
posted by asockpuppet at 8:44 PM on May 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by asockpuppet at 8:44 PM on May 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
I believe the recent Judge John Hodgman episode Decease and Desist is particularly pertinent here - in which the husband would like to unbury their family dog to mount the skeleton himself. WARNING (obviously) there is blatant discussion about animal death and decomposition.
I will summarize the ruling in which JH rules that the husband should take a deep dark look at death and realize that his family pet should be remembered in photographs and beautiful stories as opposed to a pile of bones adorning a glass jar. He has a expert witness who agrees that the process is likely much messier and more complex than he thinks.
Now, while somehow preserving ears (which I'm honestly not sure how you'd do because of cartilage) this episode is very in-line. I agree that you should either not do this, or at the very least please don't do this yourself and remember your beloved pet this way. If you'd like to hire a taxidermist to preserve part of your pet, then you're welcome to that. (It's not my thing to preserve a pet, but I don't think you want to cut up your recently dead pet yourself.)
Personally, I'd take lots of photos and keep your pet's collar. I'm sorry for your situation and loss.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:28 PM on May 3, 2016 [15 favorites]
I will summarize the ruling in which JH rules that the husband should take a deep dark look at death and realize that his family pet should be remembered in photographs and beautiful stories as opposed to a pile of bones adorning a glass jar. He has a expert witness who agrees that the process is likely much messier and more complex than he thinks.
Now, while somehow preserving ears (which I'm honestly not sure how you'd do because of cartilage) this episode is very in-line. I agree that you should either not do this, or at the very least please don't do this yourself and remember your beloved pet this way. If you'd like to hire a taxidermist to preserve part of your pet, then you're welcome to that. (It's not my thing to preserve a pet, but I don't think you want to cut up your recently dead pet yourself.)
Personally, I'd take lots of photos and keep your pet's collar. I'm sorry for your situation and loss.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:28 PM on May 3, 2016 [15 favorites]
Can you do a plaster cast of them between now and Friday?
I would not want to do a plaster cast on a dog ear, live or deceased. It'd be distressing and messy to a live creature, and a bit fussy for a deceased one, because it's a thin shell.
In my position I'd cast a paw print in plaster and then keep that or use it as the basis for a paw print in ceramic or bronze.
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:04 PM on May 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
I would not want to do a plaster cast on a dog ear, live or deceased. It'd be distressing and messy to a live creature, and a bit fussy for a deceased one, because it's a thin shell.
In my position I'd cast a paw print in plaster and then keep that or use it as the basis for a paw print in ceramic or bronze.
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:04 PM on May 3, 2016 [4 favorites]
My suggestion - collecting some of her fur and creating felted bead earrings from that. They are pretty and easy to make and wearing them will keep your pup close to you. Google felted pet hair beads.
posted by RelaxingOne at 10:20 PM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by RelaxingOne at 10:20 PM on May 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Pet taxidermy is a rather large industry. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a specialist in your area.
posted by toomanycurls at 10:28 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by toomanycurls at 10:28 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I see a lot of people telling you not to do this, but if you are of a mind that you want to go through with it...
It really isn't a tough procedure. You'll want some poultry shears, those heavy duty kitchen scissors. start at the back of the ear, right down flush at the head under the black tuft. Keep them right tight against the skull as you go along. Snip snip.
You'll want to wait 10, 20 minutes after the injection such that it is absolutely clear your buddy is dead. Leave the room, clear your head, prepare the bag or whatever you'll be using to remove the corpse to. When you reenter the room that isn't Ella, it is a body that you are now disposing of. Take your trophy and be quick putting the corpse away and out of sight, because without the ears it is going to look unsettling.
Hang them somewhere dry and well ventilated, they'll dry out and as there is not any meat in there, they won't likely get smelly or decompose.
Good luck.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:28 AM on May 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
It really isn't a tough procedure. You'll want some poultry shears, those heavy duty kitchen scissors. start at the back of the ear, right down flush at the head under the black tuft. Keep them right tight against the skull as you go along. Snip snip.
You'll want to wait 10, 20 minutes after the injection such that it is absolutely clear your buddy is dead. Leave the room, clear your head, prepare the bag or whatever you'll be using to remove the corpse to. When you reenter the room that isn't Ella, it is a body that you are now disposing of. Take your trophy and be quick putting the corpse away and out of sight, because without the ears it is going to look unsettling.
Hang them somewhere dry and well ventilated, they'll dry out and as there is not any meat in there, they won't likely get smelly or decompose.
Good luck.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:28 AM on May 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
Just wanted to second what meatbomb said. When I used to do taxidermy, we would never do anything special with the ears - there's not enough flesh to have to worry too much. Air dry and make sure flies can't get to them while they're drying. If you happen to take any flesh while you cut, make sure to trim it away.
posted by umwhat at 5:59 AM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by umwhat at 5:59 AM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think this would be a very bad idea for you to do this yourself. I just googled "Colorado taxidermy" and a number of companies popped up. That might be a good place to start.
posted by Julnyes at 8:12 AM on May 4, 2016
posted by Julnyes at 8:12 AM on May 4, 2016
I raise poultry and slaughter them sometimes. An unexpected result of that is that my hands know, for instance, the tactile experience of dislocating a bird's hock joint to separate the foot from the drumstick. And so forth.
I remember it sometimes at unwelcome times, like when I hold a my little dog, because she's small with thin legs. It's distressing to have it come up out of context. I would, if given the chance, shield you from that. Let your hands remember what it feels like to caress those ears. Don't let them learn what it feels like to cut them. Let the taxidermist do that.
posted by Fantods at 2:07 PM on May 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
I remember it sometimes at unwelcome times, like when I hold a my little dog, because she's small with thin legs. It's distressing to have it come up out of context. I would, if given the chance, shield you from that. Let your hands remember what it feels like to caress those ears. Don't let them learn what it feels like to cut them. Let the taxidermist do that.
posted by Fantods at 2:07 PM on May 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
Nthing a taxidermist, for so many reasons. Also, just in case you haven't thought about this, you do realize the ears will be stiff and hard, not soft? I mean, the fur will be soft, but you can't really tan ears with fur on to soften them like leather, as far as I know. If you're cool with that, go for it. But just know what you're getting as an end product.
If the ears deform or crumple as they dry, you can wet them and use cardstock and paperclips to make an ear-shaped holder so they retain their shape. To wet the ears, soak them in hot water for 10 min or so and then put them in a plastic bag in the fridge overnight. Reshape them and apply the cardstock splint in the morning and wait a week for them to dry into their new shape.
posted by ananci at 5:28 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
If the ears deform or crumple as they dry, you can wet them and use cardstock and paperclips to make an ear-shaped holder so they retain their shape. To wet the ears, soak them in hot water for 10 min or so and then put them in a plastic bag in the fridge overnight. Reshape them and apply the cardstock splint in the morning and wait a week for them to dry into their new shape.
posted by ananci at 5:28 PM on May 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I hope this isn't too much of a follow-up, but I want to share what I've learned. Thank you all for the great responses, here and via memail.
Heavy duty cutters were not required; sharp utility scissors worked fine. There was almost no blood, though the cut was made slightly high on the ear flap to stay well away from the carotid artery and larger blood vessels. The vet did the actual cutting, because it was more important to me to simply be part of the process than to perform the act. That said, I don't think it would be an especially difficult task; it wasn't gorey or disturbing to me, and handling the ears after they were off was interesting. Rather than being traumatic, the experience enriched me.
We didn't wait long to cut them off, because the vet gave her an overdose of barbiturates and she was dead within a minute. Then I took a brief moment to sit with the body. That was quick, though, as once she was dead, the body was not the object of my love or grief. There was about five minutes of preparation - positioning the head, putting down towels & a surgical pad around the ear (we weren't sure how much blood to expect), discussing where to make the cut. Then it really was snip, snip.
Currently the ears are in the freezer, until I get what I need to turn them (open them up and remove the cartilage). You can indeed tan ears, it's just rarely done because there's usually no reason and they can be hard to work with due to shape & size.
Crystalinne, your comment prompted me to seek the approval of the other person who was Ella's companion during her life. He was cool with my intentions.
Thanks again.
posted by Rocky Mtn Erica at 3:54 PM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
Heavy duty cutters were not required; sharp utility scissors worked fine. There was almost no blood, though the cut was made slightly high on the ear flap to stay well away from the carotid artery and larger blood vessels. The vet did the actual cutting, because it was more important to me to simply be part of the process than to perform the act. That said, I don't think it would be an especially difficult task; it wasn't gorey or disturbing to me, and handling the ears after they were off was interesting. Rather than being traumatic, the experience enriched me.
We didn't wait long to cut them off, because the vet gave her an overdose of barbiturates and she was dead within a minute. Then I took a brief moment to sit with the body. That was quick, though, as once she was dead, the body was not the object of my love or grief. There was about five minutes of preparation - positioning the head, putting down towels & a surgical pad around the ear (we weren't sure how much blood to expect), discussing where to make the cut. Then it really was snip, snip.
Currently the ears are in the freezer, until I get what I need to turn them (open them up and remove the cartilage). You can indeed tan ears, it's just rarely done because there's usually no reason and they can be hard to work with due to shape & size.
Crystalinne, your comment prompted me to seek the approval of the other person who was Ella's companion during her life. He was cool with my intentions.
Thanks again.
posted by Rocky Mtn Erica at 3:54 PM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
« Older How to deal with bumping into a stalker-y former... | Should I knock this paper wasp nest down? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kate blank at 6:30 PM on May 3, 2016 [27 favorites]