Tham, who has a bachelor’s in zoology and grasp’s in pathology, began practising taxidermy “as a interest” at dwelling for shut pals whose pets died. 

“At that time, we figured that to tackle extra [and] greater stuff, you will have a bodily house and if we get a bodily house, then we have to deal with it like a business and run it like a business,” Jothi mentioned. 

“That was the pure development.”

In 2021, the couple put in about $14,000 to launch the business. Tham mentioned she’s the “artist and the fingers” behind its taxidermy companies, whereas Jothi does every thing else from public relations to scheduling of appointments. 

While they believed there are “loads of folks” who would love an alternative choice to cremating pets after demise, not everybody took kindly to the thought. 

“In Asia, we nonetheless have that taboo towards demise. People even related us with witchcraft,” Jothi mentioned. 

“We additionally had a state of affairs the place folks reported to authorities as a result of they thought we had been killing the pets to do taxidermy.” 

Jothi mentioned preventing misconceptions of taxidermy stays the business’ “largest battle,” and the business operates on a strict no-catch and no-kill coverage.

“Everything that involves us has to die naturally or have a vet put it down,” he added. 

“This taboo in Asian tradition is at all times going to be there, particularly with the older technology, however the youthful technology are extra open to taxidermy.”

Public notion was simply one of many the explanation why the couple wasn’t positive if the business was going to be a success. 

“We are the primary ones [in Singapore] to do it on a business scale, at this stage. There was no kind of template for us to observe,” Jothi mentioned.

“If you open a bar … you might have different folks or competitors that you may examine.”

Given the character of the business, it was additionally troublesome to gauge how a lot they might earn every month. “It’s very depending on what number of pets go away,” Jothi mentioned.

“Last month, we had 12 chickens come in. We did not have chickens for months!”

Tham added that the quantity of animals they get may depend upon the season as effectively. For instance, pet house owners might convey in extra birds that died of pneumonia throughout moist seasons.

“If there’s a warmth wave, there would abruptly be a lot of different pets that go on by chance,” she mentioned.

Despite the doubts, Tham and Jothi shocked themselves after they had been capable of break even “fairly rapidly.”

With the workshops they conduct each weekend, Jothi mentioned they might make round $7,000 on a “dangerous month.” On a good month, they will convey in as much as $22,000. 

For now, the duo mentioned, the variety of animals they will take in is proscribed, given their full-time jobs. They additionally lately prolonged their wait time from six months to a yr for pet house owners who need their pets preserved. 

“The proprietor would convey it to us in the primary 4 hours of passing and we retailer it in our freezers till we get to it,” mentioned Jothi, who’s a pilot. 

“We have specific service which was half the time, at double the price.” 

The value of preservation varies with every species — canine and cats begin at $1,800, whereas smaller pets like hamsters begin at $260. 

Though juggling their day jobs and a side business has been difficult, the couple nonetheless hopes to do extra — particularly in the world of public training. 

They’ve been visiting colleges to offer talks and demonstrations on taxidermy, Tham mentioned, which makes biology extra enjoyable than merely studying phrases on a web page.