I’ve always been fascinated by dead things. Maybe it’s because they have no needs and can’t talk back. I don’t know. I suppose that’s just the crabby, jaded adult in me talking. Looking back, I think the beauty I saw as a child was the complete stillness. A secret glimpse into a frozen moment in time. Whenever I found dead birds or mice, I’d place them among flowers into cigar boxes, and stare at them for hours, closely examining their whiskers, eyes and fur. I can still recall the first cat I ever saw as roadkill. I sat on the curb stroking its ginger head, staring down at the crimson spray that had come from its mouth. Its eyes shone like diamonds, tragic and beautiful all at once. I see it clearly even now.

My first hamster died when I was eleven. It was winter, and I couldn’t dig into the frozen ground so I skinned him, and put him in a heart-shaped box, the very same heart-shaped box he remains in to this day (I will confess to using him as Barbie’s bearskin rug, but only once).

My interest in history, and love of deceased critters led me to Victorian taxidermy. Each one of the creatures I’ve acquired possesses so much magic, personality and charm. After a hundred years or more, these animals remain. They don’t see. They don’t feel. Yet they convey so much, like characters come to life from the pages of Aesop’s Fables.

Dogs are my favorite animal to collect. Some folks say, ‘I don’t mind seeing foxes or rabbits, but the dogs make me sad.’ This is a little shocking to me, as the dogs are not trophies from a hunt. They were not killed, nor preserved to display the beauty of a species. Each of them was somebody’s best friend, preserved purely out of love. This is something I consider very seriously when I add such a creature to my collection. I hope when I’m dead and gone that my critters find a new home where someone else will honor and respect the history of these little beasts. We get headstones to say we were here. Some creatures become their own headstones. They should not be forgotten.

I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends…