# Can I Keep My Dog? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2001, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249 "2001-11-14T02:24:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/1 "2001-11-14T02:24:24Z")
My dog, Rusty, who I rescued from the shelter when he was about a year old, is now 12. He is in good health, but needs to have a surgery on his eyelid to remove a growth, that is guessed to be benign. He must be put under, and there are no gaurantees given his age. The Rust-man is a beautiful dog, and my long time companion. He is a 90+lb, Chow/Samoyed mix, and I really love this mutt. Here’s the question: IYHO, if he doesn’t survive the surgery, can I take him to a taxidermist and have him made into a “bear skin rug”, or a statue ala Trigger? Is this idea just too crazy? I will defer to the Dopers’ consensus. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/2 "2001-11-14T02:41:38Z")
Yep. Lots of people have done just that. However I think it’s quite costly. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/3 "2001-11-14T03:18:42Z")
IMHO (hint: there’s a forum especially for these things), why not? Roy Rodgers had Trigger stuffed and kept him in his living room. I seem to recall though that Dale Evans, Roy’s wife, threatened to have _him_ stuffed for doing it. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/4 "2001-11-14T03:25:34Z")
**DaToad** , my apologies. I was surfing GD when I read this thread. Sorry for the lapse. ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/5 "2001-11-14T03:32:30Z")
I personally wouldn’t have a pet stuffed. I think I’d rather have memories of the live animal than the “presence” of its preserved body or skin. I just don’t think it would be comforting to me. But I don’t think it’s a crazy idea. If he’s in good general health, maybe it’s not too risky. If the growth is truly benign and your vet is worried about the risk of anesthesia, could the best option be to leave it alone? I hope Rusty does OK. Please keep us posted. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/6 "2001-11-14T22:07:43Z")
First, good luck with the surgery. Second, ICK. I personally would never consider this. I would want to remember my fuzz-ball bouncing velcro dog as he was, not as a rug. I think the idea is pretty creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Cyndar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cyndar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyndar)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/7 "2001-11-15T04:21:01Z")
I have my pets cremated (after they are dead, of course), and I keep their ashes in urns about my computer desk. Having their little stuffed bodies around the house is creepy. I’ve heard mummification is now an option…also creepy! ---
**Author:** ![Trucido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Trucido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trucido)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/8 "2001-11-15T04:29:14Z")
The rug idea seems better. Perhaps an item of clothing from the leather? ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/9 "2001-11-15T05:29:35Z")
that is a pretty horrid idea. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/10 "2001-11-15T17:12:35Z")
Damn, **Toad** , I don’t know. I mean, I love my dog, but that sounds a little morbid. Would you still talk to him, and pet him, and stuff? IIRC, they have to use powdered chemicals on the fur to keep the bugs from getting at taxidermied (a word?) animals, and you might not want it on your skin or around your food. I guess that local anesthesia doesn’t work on animals very well. Talk to another vet, preferrably a surgical specialist, about the risk to an older dog, then make your decision. Have some great pictures of Rusty enlarged and framed, and spread them all over your house instead. ---
**Author:** ![ejrn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@ejrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ejrn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2001, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/11 "2001-11-15T22:20:57Z")
Rusty’s age should not be a problem especially if you take him to a veterinary hospital that uses veterinary anesthetists. The new anesthetic techniques are really quite safe for the elderly. I wouldn’t think less of you for going the taxidermy route when the inevitable does happen. Hell, I’d do it to my husband if they’d let me. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-keep-my-dog/93249/12 "2001-11-16T05:05:57Z")
[Domestic Pet Taxidermy](http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/LifesizeArticles/991FE93581.html)