Testimonials
October 20, 2021
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October 17, 2021
"Such a great experience, from the customer service to the finished product."
October 15, 2021
"I am going to give a full review, which may be a little too much information, but I think may help others. Shortly after we got Snowball 15 years ago, my wife became attached and said that after he died, she wanted to have him stuffed. Being a country boy, I knew this meant skinning the animal and putting the fur on a fake mold, something that I would never allow to something I cared about. Fast forward to the day he died. He had lost a LOT of weight. He started breathing hard. We went to the park and when we came back an hour later, he had died. My wife had given me permission to take him to my mother’s to bury him (that being a more permanent location than present), so I gathered him up and put him in a freezer. Shortly after, she became very upset by the loss and wanted to have him stuffed. We discussed it, and she was adamant. Searching for a taxidermist, I came across freeze-drying. Outside of the internal organs, the animal was left intact. This took the horror out of the process to me. Then I considered what would happen to poor Snowball once he was buried (decay and consumed), and I considered how that was in any way preferable to him remaining with my wife and giving her comfort. I searched around for the best price. I did find some low-cost places, but the pictures they put on their website (and some had no pictures at all) looked terrible. I figured, if the ones they showed off were terrible...what would a bad outcome look like? This was something I only had one chance. If the taxidermist in question screwed him up, he would look like that forever, and for what? To have saved a few bucks? As such, I opted to go with Animal Family Taxidermy. They were very helpful regarding advising the best way to ship him. The wait time is hard. I sent him off in March and got him back in September. This is due to the demand for their services and the time required to do the actual freeze-dry process. I opted to have his organs cremated, and the box they put the ashes in is very pretty, secure, and clearly but tastefully marked. The process fluffed him up a bit. He had been painfully thin, so painful it hurt to look at him much less pet him. The process set the clock back to where he as thinner than his usual obese self, but healthy. He sits on our dresser. He looks peaceful. I look over and it just looks like he was still with us, just napping. My wife’s initial reaction was “He looks so real.” Initially, there is a mix of feelings. I couldn’t bring myself to take him out of the box at first. I was worried about injuring him or that I would touch him and it would be instantly alien to me. The bottom of him is flat and boardlike. This is somehow comforting as he lays securely on the table rather than rocking about. His fur is so soft as it had always been, softer than the scraggly fur it had become as he stopped grooming himself (not to mention he had wet (etc) himself in death and I had merely placed him in a plastic bag as I assumed I was burying him in a couple of days). My wife commented “I’m happy he’s home...but...sad too.” My three-year-old was ecstatic to see her old friend. She has been asking me, “Where’s Snowball?” I told her he went to Ohio. Now my wife happily passes him (after one day) and cheerfully says, “Oh hi, Snowball.” She says it is like he’s still here, just napping when she first sees him. Here’s what I will say: Animal Family may seem expensive. It isn’t cheap, for sure. There are cheaper options that you can find. However, I have another cat that is going to die soon. When she does, I will have her preserved as well. That’s the best review I can give. I made a hard decision, I saw the result, and I will gladly do it again. I hope that this has helped."
September 1, 2020
Very caring and professional
"Wow.....We picked up Sadie today and she is beautiful! The whole experience was great. Everyone there is very professional and caring. We lost our Australian cattle dog after 14 years of having her with us every day, and we didn't want to have her cremated or bury her in the yard. She was such a close friend, we wanted to keep her with us in the house and still be able to see her. You guys really did an awesome job and I could not be happier. I just keep looking at the finished result and thinking how happy I'am that we had this done. Thank you so much! Absolutely amazing A++++++++++"
November 22, 2019