Terre Haute, Indiana: Stiffy Green the Bulldog

Locals have claimed for years that the real Stiffy Green the Bulldog is housed in the Vigo County Historical Museum. They kept him in a replica of the Heinhl family mausoleum and one could only see him by peering in through the glass door. I first encountered the display during an elementary field trip to the museum in the early 1990s. I often wondered about the little dog in the years following, as he seemed eerily lifelike, yet not quite furry enough to be a taxidermied version of the real thing.

I was visiting the museum again recently and, as luck would have it, the mausoleum display had been moved for cleaning. There, on a fireplace mantle in a room dedicated to Civil War artifacts, sat Stiffy. His green eye was gleaming down at the room, all but beckoning me to solve the mystery that had haunted me since fourth grade. I walked up to the mantle and gently tapped Stiffy on the head. He was, in fact, made of plaster.

After I had toured the rest of the museum, I inquired of the gift shop attendant about Stiffy. The older gentleman looked around as if to ensure we were alone and confirmed that while Stiffy had indeed lived a full life as a faithful family companion, he had never been stuffed.

Although the Vigo County Historical Society may deny that Stiffy Green (not his real name) was a real dog at one time, I can tell you from actually seeing the dog that he WAS/is a real animal. I'm sure they got bad press about it at one time or another, but when I was in high school during the 60's it was "cool" to go look at him. He was in fact a taxidermist's work, not a statue. I know I'm just one person against the official county record, but I assure you, Stiffy lived at one time or another.