Pets are special members of the family. However, it’s unfortunate and saddening to know that their life is significantly shorter than their owners’. Inevitably, with a heavy heart, you’ll have to bid goodbye to your furry companion once they reach their time.
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Being an irreplaceable companion, you can still express your endless love for your pet by ensuring that they’re properly taken care of in their final moments, thus the importance of looking after their remains.
What Is Pet Cremation and Why Should You Consider One?
After your furry friend’s passing, you have two primary options to memorialize and secure their precious remains: burial or cremation. In a burial, your pet’s remains will be caged in a small coffin and buried in your owned land or a pet cemetery. Meanwhile, with cremation, the remains will be cremated and kept in an urn.
Choosing from any of these two options is a personal decision. While the burial or cremation is entirely up to the owner’s call, pet cremation is an ideal pet disposition due to various reasons:
- More economical and accessible than pet burial
- Fewer encounters with legal pitfalls
- Arrangements can be made by your vet
- Fewer caveats and complications with the process
Types Of Pet Cremation
If you’ve decided to proceed with a pet cremation, it’s worth choosing the type as this will dictate the pet cremation costs you should prepare for.
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- Private or individual: Your pet, in this cremation type, will be cremated in the cremation chamber alone, ensuring that their ashes won’t get mixed with those of other animals. Since it’s a private cremation, expect that it’s the most expensive, ranging from USD$175 to USD$250.
- Semi-private or partitioned: If you’re worried about your pet’s remains being cremated with other animals, but has a limited budget, you can opt for a semi-private cremation where a partition separates every animal in the chamber. Partitioned cremation costs USD$50 to USD$150.
- Communal or group: Being the cheapest option, your pet and other animals scheduled on the cremation day and time will be cremated in the chamber together. However, you can’t request to get your pet’s remains back. Communal cremation costs USD$30 to USD$70.
Aside from having your pet cremated in certified pet crematoriums, many vet offices offer pet cremation assistance if your animal died in their clinics. They’re partnered with local cremation service providers and can take care of the remaining process. Your vet may charge a small transportation fee to transfer the remains from the clinic to the crematorium.
More Accurate Pet Cremation Costs
Pet cremation costs mainly depend on the type of pet cremation as discussed above, but you can dive deeper into more accurate pet cremation prices according to numerous factors, such as the pet’s size and breed, as well as additional costs involved in the cremation.
Pet size or weight
As a rule of thumb, the bigger your pet’s size, the higher the costs of burning their carcass. Check out the table below for private cremation costs according to weight:
| Dog’s Age | Male Average Weight | Female Average Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 2 months | 19 lbs | 17 lbs |
| 3 months | 30 lbs | 26 lbs |
| 4 months | 40 lbs | 34 lbs |
| 5 months | 49 lbs | 43 lbs |
| 6 months | 59 lbs | 50 lbs |
| 7 months | 65 lbs | 56 lbs |
| 8 months | 70 lbs | 60 lbs |
| 9 months | 75 lbs | 65 lbs |
| 10 months | 79 lbs | 68 lbs |
| 11 months | 81 lbs | 70 lbs |
| 12 months | 84 lbs | 72 lbs |
| 13 months | 85 lbs | 74 lbs |
| 14 months | 86 lbs | 74 lbs |
| 15 months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
| 16 months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
| 17 months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
| 18+ months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
Urn costs
To make your pet’s memorial more special, you can choose from several urns available in the crematorium. Some basic cedar wood boxes start at USD$50, while marble, glass, and stone containers reach up to USD$300. Depending on your chosen crematorium, you may have their name, date, pictures, and other ephemera engraved on the urn for free or a small fee.
Also, take note that bigger urns are more expensive as they accommodate large dog breeds and other large animals. Generally, one pound of weight equates to one cubic inch of the urn.
Conclusion
Pet owners have limited time to spend with their beloved pets. Although it’s difficult and upsetting to lose your furry companion, you must find ways to cope with your pet’s loss and move forward. During their last moments with you, make sure to make them feel special, even without their awareness, by arranging their meaningful disposition through pet cremation.
Tom
Tom has always loved to write since he was little - he wanted to be either a writer or a veterinary doctor, but he ended up being a professional writer while most of his works are based on animals. He was born in San Francisco but later moved to Texas to continue his job as a writer. He graduated from the University of San Francisco where he studied biotechnology. He is happily married and a soon to be father!
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