Well I went to the Taxidermist shop tonight and he was finally home!! I got out of the truck and he started telling me how bad everything has been for him the last few years, the IRS, the divorce, etc, etc!! I looked at him and I said (You know what, I don't really give a damn, where's my bear?) He proceeded to tell me its the next bear on his list and I said no its not, its coming home with me so I can bring it somewhere else. I then asked where it was and he showed me the bear hide in his freezer, thank god the hide was tanned or the hide probably would of been no good after being in there 8 years. It sure felt awesome to see my chocolate bear hide again, it was a huge relief!! Well then the F bombs came flying out of my mouth like I figured they would and I chewed his ass good and told him what I thought of the way he runs his business and why he thinks he can get away with it with being he's been a friend of the family for years!! He apologized up and down, sideways, any which way he could and then he tells me he will have it done in 6 weeks and also give me 50% off of the bear. In 2000 he quoted me 115.00 dollars a foot. My bear is in that 7.5 to 8 foot range so I'm going to make out on this pretty good after all. I agreed with him after he told me this. The price is going to run around 300.00 to 400.00 dollars, I couldn't pass that up. In 6 weeks I should have my bear finally after 8 years!!!!! I can't frickin wait!!!!!!!

Thats great news, Steve. He screwed up, and he knows it. I hope your bear turns out better than you expect, can't wait to see the pics. Congrats again on the great bear!

Thanks bud!! I'm so pumped up right now, I can't wait!! I'll post the pics of the bear rug when I get him home!

I'd tell him, you want the rug, and plan to take it to another taxidermist.... to have finished, see what his reaction is? if he lost it, stole it? sold it? figure out if it still exists, if it was lost, get your costs back....sue if you have to, not just the fee's you given him, but what it cost to replace....

My worry wouldn't be the license, but the rug, you can work out the details....not the first time someone lost their license/tag etc....

Thats great news Steve. I would be checking in on him weekly, just in case!

Well I went to the Taxidermist shop tonight and he was finally home!! I got out of the truck and he started telling me how bad everything has been for him the last few years, the IRS, the divorce, etc, etc!! I looked at him and I said (You know what, I don't really give a damn, where's my bear?) He proceeded to tell me its the next bear on his list and I said no its not, its coming home with me so I can bring it somewhere else. I then asked where it was and he showed me the bear hide in his freezer, thank god the hide was tanned or the hide probably would of been no good after being in there 8 years. It sure felt awesome to see my chocolate bear hide again, it was a huge relief!! Well then the F bombs came flying out of my mouth like I figured they would and I chewed his ass good and told him what I thought of the way he runs his business and why he thinks he can get away with it with being he's been a friend of the family for years!! He apologized up and down, sideways, any which way he could and then he tells me he will have it done in 6 weeks and also give me 50% off of the bear. In 2000 he quoted me 115.00 dollars a foot. My bear is in that 7.5 to 8 foot range so I'm going to make out on this pretty good after all. I agreed with him after he told me this. The price is going to run around 300.00 to 400.00 dollars, I couldn't pass that up. In 6 weeks I should have my bear finally after 8 years!!!!! I can't frickin wait!!!!!!!

You just need to keep popping in about every 2 -3 days now so he doesn't take advantage of you anymore.

It seems like the "friends" are always the ones that get shafted in deals like this.I can't imagine him even thinking he could get by with this with a stranger.

Hope all goes well now!! Congrats on what sounds like a darn big bear.

Tim

Glad to hear it. Keepin' my eyes open for the pictures of when it's finally done.

Now don't ya wish ya chewed him out...say...six years ago?

I was thinking the exact same thing. Just keep on him and make sure he doesn't cut any corners now that he's doing it at a much lower price. I'm glad he still had your skin and I'm glad you will finally get your bear back. Be sure to post pictures when you get it!!