Check out these dogs! They would be so cute — if they weren’t freeze-dried. Yes, these dogs are dead, but there are some nutters who think it’s a great idea to freeze-dry them so they can hang around their homes.
Freeze-drying your pet seems to be the new rage, if you are sightly mentally disturbed, I suppose. It is not a new process. Also called lyophilisation or cryodesiccation, freeze-drying is a dehydration process. Usually, you apply it to food. You know, so astronauts can eat strawberries in space. It works by freezing and reducing the pressure at the same time. That way, the water goes directly from solid phase to gas phase. The process is designed to preserve any organic matter, avoiding decay.
According to Amy Finkel talking to the New York Times, people do this because they seek comfort:
People are just just doing what offers them comfort. A lot of Mike’s [the owner of Mac’s Taxidermy and Freeze-Dry]customers feel they’ve cheated death in some way.
Well, Mike’s customers clearly need to become customers of other fine establishments. Establishments with padded rooms and free straight jackets. I just can’t imagine myself freeze-drying my dogs, precisely because I love them and they would just be a sad empty furred carcass.
But whatever. Who am I to judge sad, deranged pet owners. I’d probably freeze-dry Matt Buchanan one day, and have him around the house, changing his pose every day. Matt playing Xbox games. Matt tinkering with the latest iPad. Matt preparing gourmet coffee. It will be fun, Matt! FOREVER YOUNG. And dry.
Learn more about pet lovers and freeze-drying at the New York Times.
Disclaimer: Anna Jane Grossman — who wrote the NYT article — is a Gizmodo contributor.
Images: Taxidermyandfreezedrying.com.