For around SEK 700, people in the Philippines can order a replica of their dead pets. 48-year-old David Tan’s company manufactures stuffed animals from deceased dogs, cats and rabbits. – It brings back memories, he tells Reuters. In 2019, Filipino toymaker David Tan’s golden retriever died. Shortly after the dog died, the owner had an idea. The idea became a reality when he recreated his dead pet – as a stuffed animal. Since then, the 48-year-old has made a living recreating pets as stuffed animals. David Tan now runs the company Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory, a company consisting of 20 employees. For years, thousands of people have bought stuffed animals this way, Reuters reports. The stuffed animals become realistic copies of a pet that no longer exists in life. – Even if your pet is no longer there, it really brings back memories just by being able to see it in a place it liked, for example on the sofa, says David Tan in an interview with the news agency. Cats, rabbits and hamsters in the range The range does not only consist of dogs. Cats, rabbits and hamsters can also be recreated at the Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory. Customers submit photos and measurements of the pet that David Tan and the staff use as a reference. They use synthetic fur and then fill the stuffed animal with stuffing – in exactly the same way as when making teddy bears, according to David Tan. He sees no resemblance to real stuffed animals. – This is actually one hundred percent a stuffed toy. According to David Tan, it takes about two days to make the stuffed animals. Buying a replica of your dead pet costs about 65 dollars (about 680 Swedish kronor). – It has reduced the feeling of missing because now we can see that he is only here. Although his ashes and our memories are also here, it is much better to have something that really resembles him, customer Jaja Lazarte told Reuters of her newly purchased stuffed animal. In the player above: See pictures from the making of the stuffed animals and hear David tell more about the business.
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David, 48, makes stuffed animals – from dead pets: Really brings back memories
