Imagine having a realistic plush toy version of your cat, dog, small animal, or farm friend to cherish for years after they have passed on. Sound too good to be true? Not at all! Companies such as Cuddle Clones give pet owners a unique way always to have their best four-legged friend at their side.
Jennifer Graham, the founder of Cuddle Clones, thought of creating a stuffed animal replica of her Great Dane, Rufus. Graham says she felt "It would be great to have a stuffed animal of Rufus! Not a generic stuffed animal but one that was 100% custom-made to look JUST like him." That's exactly what she did after Rufus passed away in 2009.
It was Graham's way of memorializing her best friend, and once she began marketing the concept, she found hundreds of other people who wanted to do the same.
Graham says, "You know, we're helping people grieve, whose pets pass away. That's probably about fifty percent of our business."​
As for her part, Graham admits, "I just like looking a cute pets all day, and it's something that I started from scratch."
Aside from creating replicas of people's pets, Graham also wanted her company to help animals in need. A portion of Cuddle Clones purchases goes toward a variety of rescues and rescue pets who need funds for veterinary expenses, living expenses, and, of course, rescue efforts.
Most recently, Cuddle Clones has donated to the Best Friends Animal Society, Racing 4 Rescues, World Animal Protection, and This Able Veteran, amongst many others.
Cuddle Clones offers customizable options to allow the customer to create as close a clone of their pet as possible, and it's not just limited to the usual dogs and cats!
Some customers have chosen to create plush toys of their rabbit:
And their ferret:
And their horse:
And their pig!
More examples of Cuddle Clones can be found on their Facebook and Instagram pages. So if you're looking for a mini-version of your pet, or you're looking for a unique gift for a friend or family member, here's the place to shop and help animal organizations at the same time!
Watch the behind the scenes video of Cuddle Clones below and spread the news about this cool pet company with your friends on Facebook.
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