Daisy the Stuffed Dog
Valparaiso, Indiana
Daisy was a collie mix who belonged to Helen Slanger. The dog was killed by a car in the early 1930s, but Helen didn't bury her pet; she had the dog stuffed, then rested Daisy on the Slanger family sofa for the next 40 years. When Helen died in 1972 her husband donated Daisy to the Porter County Museum. The museum, founded by relatives of the family, accepted the odd gift and put Daisy on display.
She quickly became Porter County Museum's most talked-about exhibit. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the first question usually asked of museum director Kevin Pazour is, "Do you still have that dog?"
After 40 years on the sofa and another 50 as a museum display, Daisy was becoming somewhat ragged. She was sent to a local taxidermist, who patched up the old dog's bald spots with whatever matching fur that he had on hand, ranging from rabbit to polar bear. Daisy, now even more of a mix than she had been in life, returned to the museum with much fanfare on December 7, 2017, protected inside a plexiglass box and given her own display nook. With her long nose, white fur, and tan ears, Daisy lays curled on a dog bed, her brown eyes staring attentively at the visitors who stare back. According to Daisy's display, "Helen's grandchildren were untrusting of the [stuffed] dog during sleepovers," and local media report that some museum visitors claim to have seen her move.
Daisy is similar in age and lore to Betty the Stuffed Dog across the state line in Fennville, Michigan. Apparently in the 1930s it was okay to stuff your dog.