Woman makes mummies for bereaved pet owners

Grieving pet owners are turning to a US woman to give their lost loved ones eternal life by making them into mummies. PD Cagliastro is one of few in the US offering animal mummification services based on the ancient Egyptian art It took her 20 years to perfect her formula by studying embalming, consulting with chemistry students and reading the few scraps of ancient Egyptian texts available on the subject.

"It was a sick fascination," said Ms Cagliastro, who works and lives in her "house of death" with her teenage daughter and her husband, an exterminator. She has served 120 customers, preserving everything from a champion racing pigeon to cats killed by cars.



Ms Cagliastro removes the animal's organs and dries out the rest of the remains by submerging them in a salt mixture for months. After wrapping and plastering, the form is painted. Some customers choose to place the pet in a decorative box or have gems and gold affixed to the remains. The services cost between $100 and $400. Her clients come from all over the world.

Ms Cagliastro's life-long dream is to mummify a human, and she has already had plenty of interest from those looking to be immortalised for eternity, she said. One woman has built a chapel in her Midwest home in preparation, according to Ms Cagliastro. "She wants to be entombed like a pharaoh."