Philippine toy maker creates life-like pet plushies for grieving owners

Herminhilda del Rosario poses for a picture with a realistic pet plushie of her departed dog Luna, at her home in Hagonoy town, Bulacan province, Philippines, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

Philippines toy maker David Tan is flooded with orders from grieving pet owners who want to memorialise their dogs, cats, hamsters and rabbits with stuffed toys or 'plushies'.

Tan and a team of 20 employees use photos sent by customers to create life-like replicas of their deceased pets using synthetic fur that is airbrushed to recreate colours and markings of the animals.

Realistic pet plushies are displayed at the Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory, in Angeles City, Pampanga province, Philippines, March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

The process is different from taxidermy, which preserves the body of the animal, said Tan, owner of Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory.

"It removes that 'ick' factor. This is actually one hundred percent, genuinely a stuffed toy," he said.

Each plushie costs about 3,500 pesos (US$ 65), which 38-year-old dog lover Jaja Lazarte said is a price worth paying for the memory of her Shih Tzu.

A worker paints the face of a realistic pet plushie, at the Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory, in Angeles City, Pampanga province, Philippines, March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

"Although his ashes are here, and his memories are here, it's so much better to see something that really resembles him," Lazarte said.

(Reporting by Adrian Portugal and Lisa Marie David; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

A worker paints the mouth of a realistic pet plushie, at the Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory, in Angeles City, Pampanga province, Philippines, March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

Jaja Lazarte poses for a picture with the realistic pet plushie of her departed dog Kenken and her two other dogs, at her home in Caloocan City, Metro Manila, Philippines, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

Workers make customized pet plushies and clothing, at the Pampanga Teddy Bear Factory, in Angeles City, Pampanga province, Philippines, March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

Jaja Lazarte holds the realistic pet plushie of her departed dog Kenken as she poses for a photo with her two other dogs, at her home in Caloocan City, Metro Manila, Philippines, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David