A day in the life: taxidermist

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., checks to make sure the antlers of a deer will fit on the foam mold before mounting the deer.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., looks at the skin of a deer brought in by a customer to be mounted before he begins putting clay on the foam mold.

The glass eyes used when mounting a deer sit in front of the skin of a deer ready to be mounted.

The foam mold for a deer skin with a glass eye placed on the mold before the skin is added.

A drawer full of different glass eyes used when mounting deer.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., checks to see that the pupils of the glass eyes in the deer mold are lined up correctly.

Tools used by taxidermists at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., smudges clay around the glass eyes placed on a foam deer mold.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., smudges clay around the glass eyes placed on a foam deer mold.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., applies a layer of wet clay to a foam deer mold.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., applies a layer of wet clay to a foam deer mold.

Various foam molds used for mounting deers hang on the wall of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., applies a layer of wet clay to a foam deer mold.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., tugs on the skin of a deer as he fits it to the foam mold covered in clay.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., smoothes out the skin of a deer and shapes it to fit a foam mold.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., uses a tool to push the lips of a deer into a foam mold, making the deer look as realistic as possible.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., uses a tool to push the nostrils of a deer into a foam mold to mimic how the deer would have looked when it was alive.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., uses a staple gun to hold the skin of a deer tight and attach it to the foam mold as he mounts it.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., cuts off excess skin of a deer after stapling it to a mold.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., cuts off excess skin of a deer after stapling it to a mold.

Dallas Burns, manager at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., smoothes the skin of a deer on a mold covered in clay.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., uses clay to adhere the antlers of a deer to a mold used for mounting.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., uses a drill to screw the antlers of a deer to a mold as another way of securing them to the mount.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., uses a drill to screw the antlers of a deer to a mold as another way of securing them to the mount.

The eyelid of a deer being mounted before it is shaped to resemble the eyelid of a deer in the wild.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., uses clay to adhere the antlers of a deer to a mold used for mounting.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., pulls enough string to stitch together the flaps of skin that will cover the base of the antlers on a mounted deer.

Behind Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy, hangs a deer almost completely mounted for a customer.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., shapes the eyelid of a deer to look as realistic as possible.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., uses his "redneck thimbles" to push a needle and thread through the thick deer skin.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., adjusts the ears on a deer to see which way the ears should face as he puts some of the finishing touches on the mount.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., adjusts the ears on a deer to see which way the ears should face as he puts some of the finishing touches on the mount.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., uses caulk to fill in the extra space under the deer skin.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy, uses a tool to shape the eyelid of a deer around a glass eye.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy, uses a tool to shape the eyelid of a deer around a glass eye.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy, uses a spray bottle full of water to wash off clay from the glass eye of the mounted deer.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy, ensures the glass eye of a mounted deer is clean and looks realistic.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy, brushes the fur of a mounted deer.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., ensures the mounted deer looks as realistic as possible as he adds the finishing touches.

The work area for mounting deer and other large animals at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

A mounted deer dries after some of the finishing touches are added to it at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24 2019.

Pins used to hold the skin of mounted animals in place while the clay underneath the skin dries.

Pins are placed in a mounted deer to hold the skin in place after being mounted and left to dry at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

A mounted turkey with its head sticking straight forward sits in the corner of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., shakes salt off of snake skins used to help preserve the skin before being turned into an accessory.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., shakes salt off of snake skins used to help preserve the skin before being turned into an accessory.

Snake skins are wrapped in a coil and placed in a bin are covered with salt to help preserve the skins, which will later be turned into belts, bracelets, and other accessories.

Rattles from rattle snakes in a bucket after being removed from snake skins.

Snake skins are rinsed off in a bucket full of water to remove any salt used to preserve them.

Freshly rinsed off snake skins are piled next to the sink before the rest of the giblets are removed.

The work station in Harden's Taxidermy where snake skins are cleaned before being transformed in to belts, bracelets, and other accessories.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., removes excess giblets from snake skins.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., removes excess giblets from snake skins.

Snake giblet flakes stick to Dallas Burns hair as he uses a machine to clean the skin before turning it into accessories. Burns is the manager of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., removes excess giblets from snake skins.

A taxidermy bear hangs on a coat rack with jackets at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Greg Evans, an employee at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., measures the length of a belt being made with snake skin.

Snake skins hang on the walls in Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The skins will be made into belts, bracelets, or other accessories.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., adds notches to a belt.

Snake skin hangs from a wall in Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., as Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's, makes a belt from snake skin.

Drawers filled with supplies for making accessories out of snake and gator skins.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy, uses an old sewing machine to stitch together a belt made of snake skin.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy, uses an old sewing machine to stitch together a belt made of snake skin.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy, uses an old sewing machine to stitch together a belt made of snake skin.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., puts together a belt made of snake skin.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy, scrapes away excess leather as he makes a belt from a combination of leather and snake skin.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., puts together a belt made of snake skin.

Snake skins are turned into belts and other accessories at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Greg Evans, an employee with Harden's Taxidermy, cuts excess material from a belt he is making with a combination of leather and snake skin.

Fish that have been mounted await for their finishing touches at Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Dallas Burns, manager of Harden's Taxidermy, shows off a fish that is yet to be completed for a customer.

Bracelets made of snake skin hang on display in the lobby of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga.,Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Animals of all kinds are displayed in the lobby of Harden's Taxidermy located in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

The lobby of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga. full of birds, deer, and other animals that have been mounted.

Various breeds of ducks cover a wall in the lobby of Harden's Taxidermy in Thomasville, Ga., Wednesday, July 24, 2019.