In Ede, a small town in the province of Gelderland, new homeowners received quite the shock when they discovered what is believed to be either a mummified dog or fox under the carport of their 1968 house.
The mummified carcass was found after the owners of the house, who only moved in recently, were doing some renovation work, Omroep Gelderland reports.
The animal, which is thought to be either a greyhound-like dog or else a fox, has a broken paw and a punctured ribcage but is otherwise in a good… preserved state. 🐕
What do the experts say?
Contradicting things, as usual — they are not quite sure what animal they have at hand. 🤷♀️
Taxidermist Erwin van Zoelen believes the carcass to be that of a fox, while Daniëlle Fränkel from animal control Gelderse Vallei, as well as the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre claim that it is a greyhound-like dog.
Either way, it’s a mummified canine… not in Egypt, but in the Netherlands!?
But…how?
Let’s just clarify that nee, the Dutch don’t have a habit of mummifying their pets once they head off to the alpaca farm. In this case, we don’t have broken-hearted owners to thank for this bizarre find — just good old Dutch nature.
Mummification happens when flesh dries out, so you would think that in a climate as moist as that of the Netherlands, mummification would not naturally occur. 🌧️
Well, as it turns out, it happens a lot. 🤨
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Van Zoelen, says that he regularly has clients come in with mummified cats that they found in their attic, for instance.
The taxidermist also explains that drafty rooms and strong winds (which the Netherlands is no stranger to) can contribute to mummification, as they prevent flies from landing on the body and eating away at it.
Dierenmummie onder carport in Ede, hoe kan dat? https://t.co/jplu355bkH pic.twitter.com/qPCfvKlPWk
— VeluweGLD (@veluwegld) December 15, 2022
Translation: Animal mummy under carport in Ede, but how is that possible?
Who let the dogs out?
After the mummified animal was found, animal control Gelderse Vallei tried to locate a chip to identify the potential dog’s owner — but no luck.
In an effort to find out more about the animal, responsible authorities also researched years back into the archives of Amivedi, an organisation that is committed to missing and found pets in the Netherlands — but again, no luck.
So, for now, the owner remains unknown. If that stays the case, the animal is set to be cremated, and its ashes spread “at a nice spot in the forest.” 🌳
A happy ending… we think?
How long has it been there?
Due to the absence of a chip, it’s unclear how long the animal has been there. But once a body is dry, mummification can happen fairly fast, says Van Zoelen — “once the moisture is out of the carcass, the skin becomes a kind of leather and no longer rots away.”
So while it may be that the ‘mummy’ has not been there for that long, the opposite could also be the case. “As long as it is drafty and not damp, that animal could have been there for a hundred years,” Van Zoelen speculates. 😳
What do you think about this unexpected find in Ede? Let us know in the comments!