Pioneer Times photo/Joseph CyrHODGDON — Growing up in northern Maine, Cody Gould has always enjoyed hunting, fishing and being in the outdoors. At a very early age, Gould discovered taxidermy and decided that was the career path he wanted to pursue.
Gould, a 19-year-old resident of Hodgdon who graduated from the Greater Houlton Christian Academy in 2015, attended the Pennsylvania Institute for Taxidermy in Ebensburg for seven months. He received his degree in March and opened Crown of Maine Taxidermy that same month.
“I had an interest in taxidermy from the time I was about 10,” he recalled. “I job shadowed a taxidermist when I was 14 years old and after I did that, I decided it was something I wanted to do.”
As a young boy, Gould said he shot a squirrel and decided to see what the inside looked like. That simple incident started him on the path to what he hopes will be a long, prosperous career. An avid hunter and fisherman, Gould said when he is not working in his shop at 1052 Calais Road in Hodgdon on projects for customers he spends his time in the woods.
Gould said the decision to open his own business was a difficult one because of the amount of testing to become licensed that it required. He also had to find just the right location for his new venture. So when the building next door to his parents’ home went up for sale in the spring, he knew it was fate.
“I am hoping once my name gets out there more, that business will really take off,” Gould said. “So far, things are really starting to fall into place. College wasn’t really for me. I am more of a hands-on kind of person.”
Crown of Maine Taxidermy works with all mammals, birds and fish. A showroom was created at his business for customers to see his handiwork. He does all types of mounts, ranging from a simple skull or antler mounts, shoulder mounts and full body mounts. The time it takes to complete a project depends on the type of setup, he said.
One of the more interesting mounts he has done was a pronghorn antelope from the Wyoming area. Most of the examples in his showroom were ones he did in college.
“I can do basically any type of animal,” he said. “I like to do things different and be more artistic so that my work stands out.”
For more information on Crown of Maine Taxidermy, call Gould at 521-1534 or visit his page on Facebook or Instagram.
