A Philippines toy maker is being flooded with orders from grieving pet owners who want to memorialise their dogs, cats, hamsters and rabbits with stuffed toys or 'plushies'.
David 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.
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 ($65), which 38-year-old dog lover Jaja Lazarte said is a price worth paying for the memory of her Shih Tzu.
"Although his ashes are here, and his memories are here, it's so much better to see something that really resembles him," Lazarte said.
'Vanishingly rare' copy of US Declaration of Independence unearthed in UK archives
Relocating 6 million Singapore bees and counting, one nest at a time
South Korean shops turn to robots, self-service to escape labour woes
Abu Dhabi's Yas Waterworld breaks Guinness World Record for waterslides
Vespa riders take to roads in Rome to mark 80th birthday
