Dog Cremations in USA

Is It Better To Cremate Or Bury My Dog?

It is way better to cremate your deceased dog than it is to have them buried. Cremation is an incredibly popular alternative among dog owners, with an estimated 90% opting for it over burial in the United States.

There is a good reason why cremation is so popular and the best option to consider once you, unfortunately, lose a dog. Here are some of the perks.

It Is Easier To Move With The Remains

Burying your dog in the backyard is all sweet and sentimental until you have to move and face the decision of either digging buddy back up or leaving them behind once you move.

With cremation, relocation is not something that you have to worry about. If you have to move to a different part of the town, state, or even continent, all you have to do is pack up the remains of your furry bestie, and they get to tag along.

Best Option In Rental Properties

Burial may not even be an option you have, especially if you live in a rental property or one that has no private yard space, as is the case with apartments. With cremation, you don't have to worry about finding space or falling out with the landlord over a damaged yard.

Less Risk Of Desecration By Other Animals

Graves dug for pets are rarely ever deep. This leaves them at risk of being desecrated by other pets or even wild animals. Cremation spares you this concern as even if you choose to bury the ashes, they will not attract any curious and destructive animals.

Protects Remains From Natural Disasters

If you live in an area prone to natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, tornados, or earthquakes, cremating your dead dog is by far the best option.

Natural disasters can very easily unearth the remains of a buried pet, which can be particularly traumatizing to you and your family and neighbors.

Easy To Scatter In Pooch's Favorite Spot

If your dog liked the beach, a specific hiking trail, or your upcountry farm, cremation offers the benefit of allowing you to scatter the ashes in these special spots. That way, your dog can be laid to rest easily in a place that brought them true happiness. 

Where Can I Get My Dog Cremated?

You can get your dog cremated in a number of places based on your specific geographic location. This includes vet clinics, human crematoriums, and dedicated pet crematoriums.

Let's take a look at what all these options have to offer, so you have enough information to work with as you choose the best place to get your dog cremated.

Vet Clinic

There are some veterinarian clinics that offer disposal services for deceased pets, including cremation. They are particularly useful if the dog died after a long illness and had to be put down or if they passed on at the vet after an emergency.

With vet clinic crematoriums, you don't have to worry about the extra cost and logistics of transporting the dog to a separate location. Unfortunately, there are not very many vets that offer the service.

Pet Crematorium

Pet crematoriums are great as their facilities are meant for use by pets. This means that everything from the storage spaces and incinerators to the urns you get to pick was designed with pets like dogs in size.

This means that you don't have to incur extra costs to customize the facilities or cover the losses due to energy inefficiency in oversized incinerators.

General Funeral Home

It is possible to get your pet cremated at a crematorium or funeral home meant for human beings. As with vet clinic cremations, the biggest setback here is the fact that there are very few funeral homes that offer this specific service.

You may also have to consent to mixed cremation in these cases where your dog is cremated together with other pets as a way to ensure energy efficiency.

Mass Incineration Facilities

Finally, you could get your dog cremated at a general incineration facility. These facilities deal with the disposal of wastes through incineration, which includes deceased pets.

The biggest issue with taking this route is the fact that you won't get to keep the ashes of your pet as they end up mixed up with other waste.

How Much Does It Cost To Cremate A Dog?

It will cost you anywhere from $50 to $300 to get your dog cremated. This wide range exists because there are several factors that will determine just how expensive getting your dog cremated will be.

Here are some of those factors and how they affect the final price tag.

Size Of The Dog

Most pet crematoriums charge cremation at a rate based on the dog's weight. With these facilities, the larger your dog is, the more expensive the creation will be.

For a rough estimate on what you can expect, small dog breeds will cost between $50 and $100, and medium dog breeds will cost $100 to $200. Large dog breeds will cost upwards of $200, with some facilities charging as high as $500 for giant breeds or obese doggies.

Facility Where They Are Cremated

Your dog can be cremated in a number of facilities, including human crematoriums, vet clinics, pet crematoriums, or even incineration centers.

Your choice of the facility will heavily influence the cost of the cremation.

For the most part, human crematoriums are the most expensive while waste incineration centers offer the cheapest rates.

The Type Of Cremation

There are two main types of dog cremation. Both options influence the cost of cremation for your late pooch.

The first is communal cremation which is where the dog is cremated together with other pets. This is usually the cheaper option but often means that you will not get your dog's pure ashes back. In some pet crematoriums, you may not even get any ashes to take home at all.

The second option is private creation, where the dog gets cremated all alone. This is usually less efficient in terms of energy consumption and thus ends up being more expensive in most pet crematoriums.

Do You Really Get Your Dog's Ashes Back After Cremation?

Whether or not you truly get your dog's pure ashes after cremation depends mainly on the type of cremation that you chose.

If you went with private cremation, you would get your dog's ashes back without contamination by the remains of other pets or wastes. However, for very small dog breeds, you may opt to get filler material added to the ashes to fill a decently-sized urn as the process shrinks the remains to about 3.5% of the original body weight.

If you go for communal cremation or mass incineration, the chances are that the ashes that you get will not really be your dog's. And if they are, they will most likely be mixed in with those of other pets that were in the incinerator with them.