I have been in a few swaps that had us use hair and/or feathers from our pets. I used my daughter's cat and my neighbors cat and tied up a dozen nymphs. We had some pretty innotive flies tied for that swap. I always "Nuke" per hair, feathers and "Road Kill" for 10-15 seconds in the microwave (spouse has to be out of the house). This is enough time to boil and burst any living thing in the fur or feathers. I pick up stuff while fishing, hiking and one time on my way to COSTCO (60 miles away), I saw a coyote that had been hit; so I stopped and cut off the tail, shoved it in a baggie and finished my trip. Made some nice flies. You can use the fur as dubbing, as a tail, as a body wrap, a wing... just name it. If it's FREE, It's meant to be.

Deserttrout