September 2006 Advocate cover
In September 2006 our cover story was all about neighborhood residents who work the ickiest jobs — in our Preston Hollow edition, that included taxidermist, whose yuckiest day on the job included preserving a Dallas Zoo gorilla named Jimmy.
“During the mid ’70s, a gorilla named Jimmy died at the Dallas Zoo. … he says it’s an experience he won’t forget. ‘It was very creepy. A gorilla’s anatomy is a lot like a human’s anatomy. They have skin and fingernails. It was very creepy to skin a gorilla. We’ve also had some people bring us their pets, and we try to avoid doing pets because that’s also pretty creepy.'”
The story also features a chimney sweep and an exterminator.
Taxidermy requires a thick skin.
Us editors discussed this story, which you can read in full here, at our last meeting, and we’ve decided we might do a 2016 version — do you have a horrible, weird or disgusting-job story you’d like to share? If so, email us at editor@advocatemag.com.
