# bad taxidermist central ohio artist touch



## rausch193

To whomever would like to hear a taxidermy nightmare, here's my own personal story...
Here is how it all began, I lost my taxidermist i had been going to for years. Then i was lucky
enough to find another good taxidermist, however he only mounted deer. My fifteen year old son
and I were fortunate enough (after five years, or more.) to have finally got two longbeards, plus a
white fazed turkey, my son shot. So I searched around for a taxidermist nearby where i live, in
Sunbury, Ohio. So here is where it all starts... first i took my sons white hen in, in January of
2011, for 350 dollars. ( i know i should have known, its a little on the cheap side, for here in Ohio)
Then i took her the two gobblers in spring of 2012, at 400 dollars each, with a base. Soon after i
dropped off my birds i found out from many people, she is very rude and does not do a very good
job. (I have seen first hand, of a friend of my sons deer, it was a terrible mount) Anyways, from
then on all i could do was hope and pray that my turkeys turned out decent. After a year of
waiting i called her to see how my birds were doing, once again she was very rude, but i kept
being as polite to her as possible... mind you she had my birds and three of my deposits. So
here we go... she calls today (May, 28, 2013) 16 months later, saying that the white bird was
FINALLY done. Then i rushed to her house within 20 minutes of getting the call (as you can see i
was very excited). Then when i got there she said that the beak was broke so she had to fix it,
then i looked at the gobbler of my sons turkey, which was also finished, but i asked where the
base was... and she replied with, that's extra. Even though we agreed earlier that if i brought
both birds in she would do the bases for free. Then after some talking she remembered. My bird
was going to be done next thursday, again very happy to finally hear that. But she told me that i
could let it dry at my house if i took it home after it was finished... but i would have to pull all of the
tape off. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) So i paid for my sons turkey and told her i would be back for
the other two when they were dried and done. So then when i got home, my wife noticed that
there was a hole in the chest of the turkey... The size of a golf ball, where she had not sewn all
the way. Then i noticed that the beak looked terrible. ( It looked like she put playdough on it it and
didn’t bother to paint it... it still had fingerprints in it!) After more examining i saw skin pulling
everywhere and a piece of tape holding the wing feathers together. WOW. So then i called her
and she told me to bring the bird back. (Meanwhile, i am being as nice as possible because she
still has two of my birds.) Twenty minutes later i arrived at her house, only to find my sons
gobbler laying in her yard with my turkey also in her yard... in a ziplock bag in pieces, stinking
badly, with the 180 dollars i paid her to pick up the hen in the bag. And her nowhere in sight. So
then i called the police just in case i could do anything about it.. But they just said to get your
things out of her yard for now and take the case to small claims court. Plus my sons gobbler
looked just about as bad as the hen. (All these 6 years of hunting to get a nice turkey and it
comes down to this? It just looked like trash laying in her yard.) I am posting this on taxidermy net
because just this past year i went to a taxidermy school and loved the experience, and i would
never do this to a person, let alone a paying customer and a kid. This is taxidermy in Centerburg,
Ohio. This should not be taken as slander because this is all facts, i am a hunter, and to all those
who are, you know these three birds were irreplaceable. So let me know what you think.... ( So
next time you want a good taxidermist... do your homework. I have had four taxidermists and i
am not picky, if its a duck and it looks like a duck... i’m happy... these looked like ******ed
chickens!) Jim


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## cfred70

Being in Sunbury your not too far from Wildlife by Design in Pleasantville......Matt does it all and does it all top notch. No one will being touching any of my mounts unless I get it done here.


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## TimberlandTaxi

There are a lot of terrific taxidermists out there, and with a little research you can avoid this next time.


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## beaverman

Wow that stinks. So after 16 months you got 2 of the birds back mounted and in poor condition and the 3rd in pieces? When she gave the money back I'd assume that didn't include the deposit you left from the start?


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## Bone8Collector

You definitely have to do your research when picking taxidermist, research the quality, price list , some references , obviously previous work, 9 times out of 10 if the price you receive is cheap you probably have a part time basement bill practicing on your animals. The taxidermy industry is flooded with crap work so take the time to find the person to do it right.


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## Matt D

Thank you for the kind words cfred. It is unfortunate and frustrating, hopefully it works out for you. There are a lot of people in this business, but we are not all created equal quality wise. It is always best to visit a studio and view the work first hand before any decisions are made. In all honesty, the price should be the last thing to look at. Remember, you are doing look at these "memories" for the rest of your life.


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## bucknut1

man that's rough


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## ohiobowhunter75

A hard lesson learned.


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