Devoted dog owner who could not cope after chihuahua's death has pet stuffed

A DEVOTED dog owner was so upset when her cherished chihuahua died she had the pet stuffed.

Kimmy Walker-Harris, 40, could not cope with not seeing Fifi again.

She took the unusual step after her beloved mutt was put down aged 13 in February.

Kimmy put Fifi’s body straight in the freezer for a week — before paying a taxidermist £400 to preserve her favourite pet.

Fifi now takes pride of place on a chair in the bedroom Kimmy shares with husband Stuart, 44.

The mum of two still says “hello” to the stuffed pooch and strokes her every morning.

Kimmy, of Alford, Lincolnshire, had buried her other pets when they died but said that Fifi was too precious.

She explained: “Fifi was a small dog with the biggest personality — she was just the best dog ever so I wanted her to live on forever.

“I always speak to her and will say, ‘Morning Fifi’.

“She’s on my side of the room but my husband sees her and just says ‘Hi’ to her occasionally.

"She has been here for so many years and is part of the furniture, literally.”

Kimmy — who owns ten dogs — said that, although her chihuahua was the second smallest of the bunch, she was also the boss of their household.

She added: “We’d always joked all through her life that we’d get Fifi stuffed because we didn’t ever want to lose her because she was so brilliant.

"When she got ill in August I started thinking about

it seriously and thought, ‘What would it be like not seeing Fifi every day?’.

“I just thought, ‘I can’t not see her everyday’, and wanted to touch her and see her, so it went from there.

“I did think about just burying her, as people thought taxidermy is a bit weird and not right for pets.

“But I just had it in my head then and started speaking to the taxidermist.

“My husband and the children were a bit sceptical and unsure of having her done and thinking maybe we should just bury her.

“But, ultimately, she was my dog and my baby so they said, ‘Whatever you want to do, fine’.”