Saying goodbye to your pet in Ontario, your way
About 69,000 Ontario households share their home with a dog or cat, by our estimate. When the time comes, a small farewell helps. This page covers where to hold it, what it costs and who to call.
- Real costs, not guesswork
- Ideas for including children gently
- Options that serve Ontario by email
Ontario, California
What planning a pet funeral in Ontario is like
Ontario is a busy, working city, with warehouses, the airport and long commutes shaping many households' days. That can make it hard to find time to grieve properly. A short farewell at home before collection, even ten minutes with the family together, gives everyone a chance to say goodbye. If you work shifts, ask whether collection can be arranged for a time when the whole household is there.
The weeks after losing a pet can feel lonelier than people expect, especially in a city where neighbors come and go. Pet loss support lines, online groups and counselors who understand animal bereavement are available across Southern California, and talking to someone is a normal step, not an overreaction. If a friend or neighbor knew your pet, sharing a memory with them can help more than you'd think.
Around Ontario, people beyond the family may have known your pet too: the dog walker, the groomer, the neighbours who fed them treats over the fence. A short message or a note on a community board lets them know, and some will want to come or send a card. It also spares you telling the story again and again.
Ontario's population is around 187,013, the 24th-largest of the 307 California communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Fontana, about 12 miles (20 km) away, which is where some providers serving Ontario are based.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Montclair (3 miles), Upland (4 miles) and Rancho Cucamonga (4 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
69,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Ontario has (estimate)
How we calculated this
187,013 ÷ 2.5 = 74,805 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 69,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
5,750
dog and cat deaths per year in Ontario, our estimate
How we calculated this
69,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 5,750 a year. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
53%[1]
53% of US households own a dog, which is about 71 million households.
12.69 years[2]
US dogs have an average life expectancy at birth of 12.69 years.
39%[3]
39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households.
11.18 years[4]
US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 years.
We built the this numbers from American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
What local funeral habits mean for your pet
With cremation the choice for roughly 70.5%[5] of people in California, plenty of families skip an open viewing for relatives and go straight to a memorial. You may feel the same about your pet, and that's fine. Others find a few quiet minutes with their pet's body makes the loss real in a helpful way. Ask each person what they want rather than assuming.
The California figure comes from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
Ontario weather and your pet's farewell
Wherever you are, the same rule holds: keep your pet cool, indoors and out of direct sun while you plan the farewell. In warm weather, hold the home goodbye within a few hours or ask the vet to hold your pet in a cold room. In cold weather you have more time, but frozen ground can delay a burial.
Pet farewell prices for Ontario families
If you'd like the goodbye to happen at home, the vet's visit is often the biggest single cost: at-home dog euthanasia averages about $410[6] nationally, against $139[7] in a clinic. Add cremation or burial, then whatever you choose for the farewell itself. Prices in Ontario will sit around these national figures, higher in costlier areas.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for California: California costs. What each service includes is on the services page.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Before you dig or scatter in California
Your city, county or local council can set tighter rules than California as a whole, especially for small suburban lots and land near drinking water supplies. A short call to the local environmental health or planning office settles it. The regional picture follows.
The official California local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Ontario.
For California's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the California guide. Local rules in Ontario can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
What to do first, and what can wait
- Find a small box and soft bedding, for instance a shoebox with a piece of cloth inside, or the nesting material they used themselves.
- Choose between cremation and a garden grave. A very small animal produces only a trace of ash; ask the crematory how it's kept apart from other pets' and what container it's returned in.
- For a garden grave, choose ground you're likely to still own in years to come, look up what's allowed locally, and decide on a marker, whether a potted plant or a flat stone.
- Invite whoever looked after them, and that can be just a parent and a child. Small creatures leave surprisingly large holes.
- Say a few words or read a note, then lay a flower or a pinch of their favorite food on the lid.
- Clear the cage, hutch or tank slowly over a few days, rather than the same afternoon, so the room doesn't feel suddenly empty.
Anniversaries, gatherings and quiet reminders
Many Ontario households are multigenerational, and each generation may grieve a pet differently. Grandparents may want a traditional gesture such as a prayer or candle, while children may want to draw a picture or keep the collar. Each way of grieving belongs in the goodbye. A private cremation lets the family attend or receive the ashes, which often helps younger children understand that their pet has gone.
browse in-depth guides or recent articles, try the free planning tools, The services page is the place to compare what is included, or look at how readers voted in our polls. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover San Diego, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Jose, and every city in California.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Who would you want at your pet's farewell?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Should young children be part of a pet's goodbye?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Free tools to help you plan
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Farewell & memorial service planner
Build a simple goodbye: who, where, readings, rituals and a checklist.
Aftercare options compared
Compare private, communal and water cremation with burial on cost, timing and what comes home.
Questions people ask
Which nearby towns can I compare with Ontario?
The closest communities we cover are Montclair (about 3 miles), Upland (about 4 miles) and Rancho Cucamonga (about 4 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Ontario too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Roughly how many pets die in Ontario each year?
Our estimate is around 5,750. It comes from Ontario's population (about 187,013), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 69,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Will I have to travel to Fontana to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Fontana (roughly 12 miles from Ontario) collect from here as a matter of routine, and the paperwork is done by email or phone. If you want to be present for a witnessed cremation, that is when the drive matters.
Is cremation common in California?
For people, yes: about 70.5%[5] of California deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Ontario follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
What does a pet cemetery burial involve?
Usually a plot, opening and closing the grave, and sometimes a casket or shroud. Headstones and long-term grounds care are often extra. Ask who owns the land, whether the plot is protected if the business is sold, and whether you can hold a graveside service with your own readings and flowers on the day.
What's a viewing, and do I need one?
A viewing is unhurried time with your pet in a private room, usually at the crematory, vet or a funeral home, before cremation or burial. You don't need one, but it helps if you weren't there at the end, if relatives are arriving from out of town, or if children need to see that their pet has really died.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 53% of US households own a dog, which is about 71 million households. American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, 2025.
- [2] US dogs have an average life expectancy at birth of 12.69 years. Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science - Banfield Pet Hospital life expectancy tables (13.3 million dogs, 2.4 million cats, 2013-2019), 2023.
- [3] 39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households. American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, 2025.
- [4] US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 years. Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science - Banfield Pet Hospital life expectancy tables (13.3 million dogs, 2.4 million cats, 2013-2019), 2023.
- [5] The NFDA projected California's cremation rate at 70.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] CareCredit's 2025 cost study put the US national average for at-home dog euthanasia at $410 (range $325-$747). CareCredit (Synchrony) - How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize a Dog? (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [7] CareCredit's 2025 cost study put the US national average for in-clinic dog euthanasia at $139 (range $110-$253). CareCredit (Synchrony) - How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize a Dog? (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [8] Across 15 US pet cemeteries' posted starting burial prices, the median entry price was about $600. Our estimate: median of starting prices [400,185,300,550,575,99,660.44,730,740,850,850,800,850,600,600]. How we calculate.
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