Taxidermist threw out my mount. How do I handle this?

[Pilsner]

Buy a brewers duck from an aviary and make him mount it for free. I know it’s not the same duck you killed but I believe it’s the best option if you want a brewers on the wall.

I am kinda surprised that the taxidermist didn't do this himself when he realized that he lost your Brewers, or at least offer to do so.

 

[redrock10101]

Mistakes happen and sounds like he genuinely made a mistake but two sketchy things occurred.

Sketchy thing one, not only did he lose your duck, he then mounted either someone else's duck meaning someone else was going to lose theirs also OR he knew and tried to pull a fast one and replace it with another duck.

Sketchy thing two he didn't call you and tell you the he couldn't find it, you had to call him. Clearly he wasn't that concerned about you or rectifying his mistake.

You know better than anyone here since he is your taxidermist, do you think he deserves another chance or not? If I were in your shoes it'd boil down to can I trust him anymore. If he had shown a little more concern or remorse then I think I could say stuff happens, but just from what's posted here I dont think he's done enough to warrant it. Nothing is bringing the bird back sadly, as a waterfowler I know this one has to hurt.

Him never calling me about it was something I thought was really weird as well. This was the first time I had used him as a taxidermist so this being my only experience with him leaves me to have no trust. And him messing up someone elses mount definitely sucks as the mount I requested was probably not what the other customer wanted. I had broken a wing on mine pretty bad so I asked him to do a preening mount on a pedestal to hide the wing. So if someone else wanted a flying or dead mount, they wouldn't have gotten it. Just a crappy situation all around for sure.

 

[roadrunner]

On the flip side, you'd be surprised at how long it can take a customer to pick up and finish paying off their mount after they've been contacted and some even abandon them after time and money has been put into the mount.

But this thread is about bashing taxidermists and not customers...

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

I am in a situation I did not think I would ever have an issue with. I took a Brewers duck (Mallard/Gadwall Hybrid), about a 1 in 100,000 bird, to a reputable taxidermist in my area. I took the bird in about 2 years ago. The taxidermist calls me about a year ago and tells me that the bird is done and I can come to pick it up. I get there and he has a drake mallard mounted exactly how I had asked, but it was not my hybrid duck. Just a standard mallard. After stating it wasn't mine, I could see he was visibly kind of panicked and he said he must have misplaced it in his freezer and would rush order it and get it done. About another year goes by, have heard absolutely nothing from the guy. I finally called because he never reached out and he told me that he had lost the bird, probably threw it out because he mislabeled it.

If this was a normal bird, I wouldn't really be that upset. But, it is a once in a lifetime bird that I probably won't ever harvest again. When I asked how he was going to fix the situation, he didn't offer anything apart from giving my deposit back. Am I being irrational by feeling as though the guy should at least give me a free mount of some sort? Or literally anything? I haven't ever had this happen and am pretty pissed but I don't know what grounds I stand on to demand anything from him other than making sure I get my deposit back.

Thoughts or opinions?

How good is he? My taxidermist created an entire snow owl for a competition from snow goose feathers. He should recreate the features from a Mallard..

 

[tipsntails7]

Everyone saying mistakes happen is being a bit obtuse here in my opinion.

I’ve got pretty good experience with taxi’s as my wife was one, and has apprenticed under several.

There is nothing in that shop that’s not for a job or has been paid for. No one is just throwing random shit out.

I don’t believe the story, I also don’t think he sold it, I think he messed the mount up, or he let it get rotten and unusable and made up the bullshit story.

The problem with Taxi’s and mounts is the value is tied to the work itself, the emotional aspect has no inherent value to anyone else but the owner, so there isn’t a way for him to make it “right”.

Taxi’s mostly run off word of mouth, I would ensure everyone I know or anyone who asked that they heard the story to save them from a similar issue.

 

[Dave Thomas]

If you have pictures can you get a replica mount. Won't fix the problem but at least you have something that resembles your bird. I haven't read the whole thread so I don't know if this was suggested already.

 

[OKHunter84]

No way would I wait that long,and if it was trophy set of antlers I would keep until he's ready to mount. Too many POS's out there screwing people out of their animals.

I always keep my antlers till they're ready to mount. I'm not sure what you would do with a bird though?

 

[Wyomuleskinner]

Your going to have to sugar his gas tank. There's just no other option.

 

[DanMan]

Saying that he shouldn't have to pay for an honest mistake is crazy. In my small service business, everytime I mess something up I pay for me mistake. Sometime there are no great solutions but I have to do my best to make it right one way or the other. That's the incentive to avoid accidents and mistakes.
The lack of accountability attitude in today's society is a huge problem and part of the reason for poor quality, poor service, and ever increasing prices

 

[BravoNovember]

Saying that he shouldn't have to pay for an honest mistake is crazy. In my small service business, everytime I mess something up I pay for me mistake. Sometime there are no great solutions but I have to do my best to make it right one way or the other. That's the incentive to avoid accidents and mistakes.
The lack of accountability attitude in today's society is a huge problem and part of the reason for poor quality, poor service, and ever increasing prices

Some could say that entitlement that someone is owed something from someone else is a huge problem as well

 

[Blowdowner]

One possibility is he accidentally gave it to another customer and this guy was clueless or didn't want to complain but has no idea it's special and would give it back immediately.

 

[Hunt eat repeat]

I had a guy loose some very nice pelts I was having tanned. He ghosted me for about two years. I hounded him so hard he finally said
“Ok what are they worth” I said $1000. He gave me $1000 in cash. I would much rather have the pelts that I worked my butt off for. What would that duck mount sell for ? Maybe there is a number that you could both agree on. I totally get that doesn’t replace a once in a lifetime bird but maybe it’s the least he could do.

 

[Kingofthemountain83]

Betting that your rare bird is somebody else's now... A good taxi doesn't just toss out work... They'd make sure it was the correct bird if somebody with a similar bird cancelled...

 

[fwafwow]

So, what did you do OP?

 

[Weaseltail]

How do you misplace a hybrid like that

 

[Bman5000]

I was hunting with buddy who is p&c insurance agent, telling him about my axis deer that’s gone missing - an employee let it slip that he thought it was damaged - and the taxidermist won’t return my calls. He seemed pretty sure they should have insurance coverage for that sort of thing but I have no idea how any of that works or how you’d value a bird like that. But maybe there’s an insurance angle? I haven’t taken the next step on my deer yet.