12/07/2025
🦌 Scalez and Tailz Taxidermy Update
Dear friends, past, current, and future customers,
We want to share an important update with you. At this time, Scalez and Tailz will no longer be accepting any new work.
Many of you have heard bits and pieces about Steve’s recent health challenges, and we feel it’s important to be transparent. Steve spent 8 days in the hospital after some labs revealed ongoing digestive issues. Initially, doctors suspected pancreatic adenocarcinoma with possible spread to the liver. After further testing and biopsies, it was confirmed that Steve has a grade 3 inoperable neuroendocrine tumor on his pancreas, with lymph node involvement. Thankfully, the liver sample was negative. While this diagnosis is still very serious, it carries a better prognosis than the original suspicion.
A stent has been placed in his bile duct to provide relief, which will need to be replaced every 4 months. Steve is scheduled for a PET scan soon to determine if the cancer has spread further. We don’t yet have staging, prognosis, or a treatment plan, but what we do know is that Steve is strong, otherwise healthy, and determined to fight.
For those who have already dropped off your deer and secured a spot in Steve’s workload, please know your mounts are safe and accounted for. Steve is working diligently when he feels well to complete the projects already in his care. We ask for your patience as timelines may look different than usual. We are grateful to share that Steve has a strong network of support through the Michigan Taxidermy Association (MTA), who are willing to step in and help ensure work is completed if and when necessary.
Most importantly, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude. The outpouring of love, prayers, messages, hospital visits with items of comfort, care for our dogs, help with snow and laundry, and all the offers to provide meals have meant the world to us. We aren’t ones to ask for help, but we know we can’t do this alone, and your support has lifted us more than words can say.
Thank you for standing with us during this season. We appreciate your patience, your kindness, and your trust.
With gratitude, Scalez and Tailz Taxidermy
