Pet funerals and farewells in Santa Monica
About 33,000 Santa Monica 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.
- A simple running order you can print
- Graveside and home ceremony guidance
- Help with timing around the weather
Santa Monica, California
How families in Santa Monica say goodbye to a pet
Pet farewells in Santa Monica are often small and personal, held in the apartment before collection or later by the ocean once the ashes return. Some people invite friends for a sunset gathering on the bluffs above the beach; others prefer a quiet evening alone. Tell us what you'd like when you reach out, and we'll email options from providers serving the Westside.
For families who lost a pet in the 2025 fires or during evacuation, grief can be complicated by trauma and displacement. Be patient with yourself. Marking the loss with a small ritual, even without ashes to hold, can help: a photo, a candle, a planted tree. Counselors who understand both pet loss and disaster recovery can offer real support, and fire-recovery groups often welcome people grieving animals too.
In Santa Monica, the church hall, the community centre or a friendly café may be the natural place to gather after a pet's farewell, especially if half the town knew your dog from walks down the main street. A tea urn, a table of photos and an hour on a weekday afternoon is often all it takes.
Santa Monica's population is around 90,082, the 84th-largest of the 307 California communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Santa Monica are based about 14 miles away in Los Angeles, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Culver City (5 miles), Beverly Hills (6 miles) and West Hollywood (8 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
33,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Santa Monica has (estimate)
How we calculated this
90,082 ÷ 2.5 = 36,033 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 33,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
2,750
dog and cat deaths per year in Santa Monica, our estimate
How we calculated this
33,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,750 a year. Treat it as a minimum.
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.
The published sources behind those figures are American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Faith, tradition and pet goodbyes in California
With about 70.5%[5] of people in California cremated, a cremation is the familiar end to a funeral here, and many families want a pet's farewell to echo it on a small scale. You can borrow whatever feels right: a blessing, a moment of silence, a candle, a shared meal afterwards. Whatever your family would do for a person, a smaller, simpler version usually fits a pet.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the California figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Santa Monica tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Seasons, timing and ceremonies in Santa Monica
Santa Monica's climate is fairly mild, which gives you breathing room for a home farewell. With your pet in a cool room on a towel or their bed, most families can take several hours, or wait until the evening, so everyone can be there. There's no need to rush a goodbye you'll want to remember well.
In a mild place like Santa Monica, many families hold two farewells: a quiet one on the day, and a celebration of life in the garden or a park a few weeks later, when the ashes are home. The weather rarely gets in the way, so pick the date that suits people, such as a weekend or the pet's birthday.
What a pet funeral costs in Santa Monica
The ceremony itself is rarely the expensive part of a pet funeral in Santa Monica. The cost sits in the body care underneath it: private dog cremation averages about $260[6] in the US, and pet cemetery burial about $831[7]. A viewing may be included or charged by the half hour, and a home farewell can cost almost nothing.
The full price table by product is on our California page, and the services page explains what each option includes.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Local rules worth checking in California
A farewell itself needs no permission anywhere: you can gather, speak and say goodbye at home as you wish. The rules start when the body or the ashes go into the ground or the open air. Here's what applies in California for burying at home and scattering ashes.
To find your county or city office in California, start with the official California local government directory.
The rules that apply across California (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our California page. Santa Monica may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
Your checklist for the first day
- Ask the clinic for a quiet room and some time, whether or not everything happened quickly. There's no rule that says you must walk out right after.
- Don't sign the aftercare form on the spot if you're unsure. Ask the clinic to keep your pet in their cold room for a day while you think.
- Find out which crematory the practice uses, then ask if you're free to pick another provider, or to bring your pet home and bury them yourself.
- Request a paw print or a clipping of fur before your pet leaves the room; it's much harder to arrange later.
- If family couldn't get there in time, ask if the clinic will let them come in for their own goodbye before the pickup.
- Get the aftercare price on its own line, separate from the medical bill, so you can see what the farewell part costs.
- Pencil in a gathering for later, for when the ashes are back or at the graveside, for the people who missed the day.
Marking the loss, now and later
Living alone in an apartment, which many Santa Monica residents do, can make losing a pet especially lonely. A pet may have been the main company at home. Grief after pet loss is real and can be as heavy as other losses. Reach out to friends who knew your pet, and consider pet loss support lines or online groups, which are available any time.
browse in-depth guides or recent articles, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, or look at how readers voted in our polls, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose and Los Angeles, and every city in California.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
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Who would you want at your pet's farewell?
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When would you hold the farewell?
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If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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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
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Santa Monica?
There is no frozen-ground season here; average lows stay above freezing all year. The other pressure point is August, when highs around 79°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
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 Santa Monica follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Where are the providers that serve Santa Monica actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Los Angeles, about 14 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Santa Monica and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Is Santa Monica big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 33,000 Santa Monica households keep a dog or cat and around 2,750 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 90,082), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
How much is a pet cemetery plot near Santa Monica?
It varies more than almost any other pet funeral cost. Across 15 US pet cemeteries, starting burial prices had a median of ~$600[9], while a typical full burial runs $1,500–$2,000[10] once opening, closing and a marker are added. Burying ashes in a cemetery plot usually costs less than a whole-body burial. Ask cemeteries near Santa Monica for the plot, opening fee and care fees separately.
How many families in Santa Monica lose a pet each year?
By our estimate, about 33,000 households in Santa Monica have a dog or cat, and around 2,750 of those pets die each year. We calculate this from the city's population, average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures. It's a floor rather than a ceiling, because households with several pets count once.
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 private dog cremation at $260 (range $206-$473). 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 pet cemetery burial of a dog at $831 (range $659-$1,513). CareCredit (Synchrony) - How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize a Dog? (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [8] Posted surcharges to witness or view a pet cremation range from $25 to $350, with a median of about $125 across four data points. Our estimate: median of [$25 guide low, $100 guide high, $150 NC provider, $350 VA provider]. How we calculate.
- [9] 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.
- [10] Furever Memorials' review of 15 US pet cemeteries puts the typical pet burial at $1,500–$2,000. Furever Memorials – Pet Burial Cost (15 cemeteries), 2025.
Get pet farewell options in Santa Monica
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