Taxidermy shop closes doors, leaves customers in the cold

When customers drop by, the taxidermy shop's doors often are locked and the windows dark. Rent on the property hasn't been paid in months. Freezers behind the building, used to store and preserve hides, are in disrepair.

Customers say orders were left unfilled, down payments were not returned, and the whereabouts of valuable hides and antlers were left unknown when the shop's owner virtually disappeared about six months ago.

The owner of Arrowhead Taxidermy was cited by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for practicing taxidermy without a license and the Montana Office of Consumer Protection has launched an investigation into five complaints against the business.

But options for former customers of Arrowhead, located on U.S. 2 just south of Rose Crossing, seem to be few.

"You just can't put a value on this stuff," said Bob Koehler, whose son shot a 6-by-9 whitetail buck.

The Koehlers brought the buck to Arrowhead in November 2006, ordered a shoulder mount and put $300 down.

When they called to check on the progress of their order nine months later, they got no answer from the shop's owner, Tyler Larsen. So the Koehlers started phoning weekly, but still no calls were returned.

After finally reaching Larsen and demanding their deer back, they got a freezer-burned cape - perhaps not even from the buck they shot, Koehler said. Their down payment was not returned.

The incident prompted Koehler to take out a classified ad in late 2007 seeking fellow hunters who have had a problem with Arrowhead Taxidermy. He got 21 responses.

At least 11 of those customers have yet to see the return of their commissioned projects or the approximately $3,000 total they put down in advance. They told stories of unreturned phone calls, delays and broken promises.

Larsen bought Arrowhead Taxidermy in February 2006. But Jaime Larsen, who co-owns the shop with her husband, said they inherited the shop in a state of disarray and with a number of already unhappy customers, an allegation both of the shop's former owners deny.

"We are trying to get everyone's stuff back," Jaime Larsen said in a phone interview last week, adding that nothing has been lost or damaged. Over the last few days, they have been trying to contact customers and reunite them with their animals, she said.

And once every customer has had his or her property returned, the couple plans on getting out of the taxidermy business, she said.

Tyler Larsen declined to be interviewed.

Barry Milbrandt of Kalispell took time off from work after drawing a moose tag in 2006. In what he considers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Milbrandt shot a bull moose in November. He took the moose cape to Arrowhead Taxidermy and ordered a shoulder mount, putting $300 down. He also entrusted Larsen with a set of moose paddles, which he purchased for $400, because his moose already had shed its antlers.

He has yet to see either his taxidermy project or his paddles.

"The hunting heritage is pretty strong in this area," Milbrandt said. "This whole thing is just a huge tragedy for everyone involved. It's senseless."

The consensus among customers seems to be that Tyler Larsen didn't purchase the business to run a scam; he just got in over his head. And he has completed a substantial amount of work brought to him, fellow taxidermists said.

Most former customers don't want retribution, they just want the Larsens to make good on the promise to return their property.

"The only thing I'm looking to recover is the rack," said Chris Davis of Kalispell, who hired Arrowhead Taxidermy in December 2006 to mount a set of 5-by-5 elk antlers on a walnut plaque. "To me this was priceless because I was going to give it to my son."

Because the dispute concerns contractual obligations, criminal charges most likely won't be filed.

If their property or down payments aren't returned, customers will be forced to file individual lawsuits in small claims court, or, if enough of them can band together, as a class-action lawsuit.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks cited Tyler Larsen in November 2007 for practicing taxidermy without a license, but that's where his department's jurisdiction over the matter ends, Warden Captain Lee Anderson said.

The department launched the investigation after receiving several complaints from the public, Anderson said.

Larsen pleaded no contest to the charge in Flathead County Justice Court and was fined $85.

But that doesn't mean Arrowhead Taxidermy, although the business now appears largely defunct, will escape all legal oversight.

As of Jan. 4., the Montana Office of Consumer Protection had received five complaints about the business, case supervisor Michelle Truax said. More are expected.

During the course of its investigation, the state will send Tyler Larsen a series of warning letters.

If he fails to respond, the Office of Consumer Protection could intervene with legal action - possibly in the form of an injunction, fines, or other sanctions against the business - but not to recover damages on the behalf of any individual. If all customers' property is returned and the business closes, penalties may be moot.

For many, the animals they brought into Arrowhead Taxidermy represent important moments.

Tina Engebritson of Kalispell hired Larsen to tan an elk hide and mount a deer head in November 2006. They were her then-12-year-old son's first tags.

"And now we have nothing to show for it," she said.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com