What should I do?

[Old Gobbler]

I met a guy at a check station duck hunting one time , he said he had to kill a bunch of ducks for his uncle the taxidermist ......story goes the refrigeration went bad and all his hunters mounts went bad


Your story sounds similar , he even put his foot in his mouth my stating you had to bring a second mount ...


He owes YOU money the way I look at it

Take him to small claims and let a judge make the call

[TauntoHawk]

I don't think I'd settle for anything other than my beard spurs and money. At the very minimum a truthful answer and your money with a good apology. I hate everyone suing everyone these days but sometimes that's the only way to push a crook into doing what's right

[chadly]

That sucks big time.  Post up some pictures of the bird.  Sounds like whopper.

[Houndstooth Game Calls]

I would say someone bought your bird for a hefty price! Get you a lawyer, tell him he either gives your beard and spurs back and money.. Or your going to take legal action sue him for cost of tag, deposit, cost of trip, court cost and lawyer fees.. Bet you win!!

[RAY]

Who is this shady taxidermist? I live in Ohio and don't want to take any to him!

[Bigspurs68]

Just reading what happened makes me all kinds of mad! I know what is do but I won't recommend that to you.

[WV TURKEY THUG]

called the gw and bring him with u i believe he is poaching he is taking game illegally. he has the beard and spurs somewhere. they just dont go bad.just like horns on a deer they dont throw them away when the cape goes bad. i would sue him for everything he gots.

[Cove]

I went for a visit today after examining the pictures I have of the bird from last year. I spent way too much time looking at these pictures but I wanted to pick out some small details I may be able to find to in fact determine whether this was my bird.

I'm almost certain this is the beard from my gobbler. All of my small characteristics matched up. The main spurs are also very close to what I remember and the pictures show. What I believe happened is the taxidermist removed only the spurs from the Ohio gobbler he was given that supposedly went rotten and put them on the replacement bird I supplied (they pop the spurs completely off the leg at the base instead of using the entire leg). During this process he overlooked the additional 1/8" spurs coming from below the main set and they were tossed as sickening as that makes me. I left the bird there today because I'm still steaming and need to figure out if I want to trust that is my bird minus the secondary spurs or just demand my money back (and the artificial limb I provided, I feel as if I was a very easy customer) and leave with nothing but pictures and a memory of my Ohio giant. I'll have a couple weeks to simmer before I return from the final hunt of the season so we'll see how time treats the situation

[ccleroy]

Dave, I know how much you love turkeys and how serious you are about them......there's only so many things I lose my took over, this is one of them.

[troutfisher13111]

If you believe it's your beard and main spurs, I would ask for him to somehow fabricate exact replicas of the secondary spurs and add them to the mount. At least this way you have what you originally paid for.

I know this results in this guy getting away with his screw up, but at least you will have a mount of the bird of a lifetime. I think years down the road you would be happy you made this decision. Sometimes the path isn't direct, but if you get to your destination than all ends well.

After you get it back and everything is settled I would make sure to let people know of his screw up.

[BowBendr]

I can honestly say that I really don't know what i'd do..........
....but I would have started with his wife when she got snippy............

[nitro]

Dave,

You messed up... 

1. By putting this on the internet.

2. By not calling me from a landline.

3. By telling me not to bring the blowtorch, the tin snips, the Channel locks, the plastic drop sheets, the bleach, the duct tape, the zipties, the shovel, the wood chipper...

I mean, dang I thought we had almost every possible angle worked out ahead of time.........

Knowing you, you will call in and kill a better one... All you gotta do is come hunt with me..

[turkey john]

Sad Story...But let me say this. Taxidermist can't be responsible for hides and skins going bad unless a freezer goes out. A taxidermist doesn't know what the animal has been thru before arriving at the shop. Was the deer/turkey left in the sun for a day or two while being showed off or put in a plastic bag. I ran a taxidermy shop and had a big sign that said "Not Responsible for Tanning". It was also on the receipt. ...... The taxidermist should know what happened to your spurs/feet. Even if they were mistakenly thrown out he should admit it and be responsible.... He should be able to build up the other set to look like the first spurs and same for the beard. If he does this and the turkey looks good I would ask him to take less for the mount. If he is a responsible taxidermist he wants to make customers happy and should be able to just get the cost of the mount.... I know it's a bad deal but make the best of it and come away with a good mount.

[WV TURKEY THUG]

u sure are a nicer guy than me if i shot one like that and that happend to me id be in jail probably. i hope u get the original secondary spurs back if not a replica and everything should be free

[Marc]

He should be able to build up the other set to look like the first spurs and same for the beard. If he does this and the turkey looks good I would ask him to take less for the mount. If he is a responsible taxidermist he wants to make customers happy and should be able to just get the cost of the mount....

If the taxidermist lost the beard and spurs, should he take less or should the taxidermist offer it for free?  Should the customer even have to ask for such a request if the original beard and spurs cannot be found?

Being a business owner myself (optometry practice), I know what I do when something goes wrong (with glasses or contacts being ordered) and causes the customer grief.

Nobody is perfect and mistakes are made...  Having to own up to those mistakes in both accountability and financially sure does cut down on them though.