Pet funeral services in Aurora, Colorado
Around 12,500 Aurora families lose a dog or cat each year, by our estimate. Some hold a garden farewell, some book a viewing room, some choose a cemetery plot. Here's what each involves locally.
- Home, garden or viewing-room farewells
- Witnessed cremation and cemetery burial explained
- Plan it all within a day if you need to
Aurora, Colorado
Where a goodbye can happen in Aurora
Aurora is one of Colorado's most diverse cities, with families from across the country and the world, and farewells here take many forms: a prayer, a candle, a meal together, or a moment in the backyard with the mountains in view. If you want to sit with your pet first or witness the cremation, say so, and pick a provider who respects your family's traditions.
For military families and newcomers in Aurora, a pet may be the one constant through several moves, so its loss can hit very hard. Pet loss support lines and online groups can help, especially when family lives far away. Your vet may also know local groups. Time outside, perhaps on the High Line Canal trail, can give you room to grieve.
In a city like Aurora, most farewells start at home or at the family vet. Some local crematories have a viewing room, others don't, and the ones that do may be based on the edge of town or near Denver. If unhurried time with your pet matters, ask the vet which crematory they use and whether a visit there is possible before you agree.
With roughly 410,053 residents, Aurora is the 3rd-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Denver, about 9 miles (14 km) away, which is where some providers serving Aurora are based.
Aurora sits within easy reach of Denver (8 miles), Centennial (10 miles) and Englewood (10 miles). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Aurora; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
150,000
Aurora: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
410,053 ÷ 2.5 = 164,021 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 150,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
12,500
Estimated dog and cat losses in Aurora each year
How we calculated this
150,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 12,500 a year. A floor, not a ceiling.
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.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science; we only apply it to this.
How Colorado thinks about funerals and cremation
With cremation the choice for roughly 77.4%[5] of people in Colorado, 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.
Source for the Colorado number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Aurora, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
How the seasons in Aurora affect the day
If you'd hoped to bury your pet in an Aurora garden in winter, ask a pet cemetery whether they can open a grave in frozen ground. Some can with the right equipment, some hold pets until the thaw, and some offer a winter service with the burial done later. Ask what happens and when before you choose.
It's tempting to keep your pet in an unheated garage or shed through January, February, March, November and December until the ground softens. For a few days that can work, in a closed box off the floor and sealed from wildlife, but over weeks the temperature swings too much. For a spring burial, cremation now and burying the ashes later is kinder and simpler.
Pet farewell prices for Aurora families
It helps to see the whole bill at once. By our estimate, a typical US dog's end-of-life care comes to about $670 with a home euthanasia and private cremation, against about $399 when the goodbye happens in the clinic [6]. The farewell on top can be as small as a candle or as large as a cemetery service, so decide where the goodbye happens first.
We keep the detailed Colorado price table on one page so it stays current: see Colorado prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What Colorado allows for burial and scattering
Before you plan a graveside ceremony in the garden or a scattering on a favorite walk, check the local rules. They're mostly about protecting water and other people's land, so they focus on depth, distance from wells and streams, and permission from whoever owns the land. Here's the picture for Colorado.
Colorado keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Aurora.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Colorado level first; our Colorado rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Aurora or your HOA adds anything.
Your checklist for the first day
- Choose a day while your pet still has good moments, then arrange the vet's visit to the house and agree what happens afterwards, all in one call.
- Fill the days before with small favorites: an unhurried walk, a sunny spot on the floor, the food they're normally not allowed.
- Decide who will hold your pet and who would rather wait in another room. Staying and stepping out are equally loving, and no one should be pushed either way.
- Set out the blanket you're happy to send with them, plus any letter, drawing or toy you'd like cremated or buried alongside.
- When the vet has finished, take as long as you need. An hour's delay on the pickup is fine, and the vet can leave the room if you'd rather be alone.
- Walk out to the car or van with your pet should you want to. Teams often carry pets on a basket or stretcher and are glad to let you take one end.
Marking the loss, now and later
Aurora families often include children who have moved schools and homes along with their pet. When that pet dies, it may feel like losing a piece of every place they have lived. Honest, simple explanations help, and so does giving them a role, such as choosing a photo or a spot for a memorial plant. A yearly tradition can keep the memory alive.
or compare your instinct with the poll results, use the free tools before you ring anyone, look through our guides and the blog, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services. Close to Aurora we also cover Lakewood, Arvada, Colorado Springs and Thornton; the full list for Colorado and for the United States is a click away.
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?
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Should young children be part of a pet's goodbye?
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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
Why does the Aurora page quote a human cremation rate?
Because it is the best local signal we have. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) reports about 77.4%[5] of Colorado residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Aurora?
The closest communities we cover are Denver (about 8 miles), Centennial (about 10 miles) and Englewood (about 10 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Aurora too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Will I have to travel to Denver to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Denver (roughly 9 miles from Aurora) 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.
How does Aurora's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Aurora, with average highs around 90°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Will I need to book a pet farewell in advance in Aurora?
Going by our estimate of 150,000 dog- or cat-owning households in Aurora, roughly 12,500 of their pets die each year, so local vets and crematories handle goodbyes every week. Collection and standard cremation rarely need long notice. In-home vet visits, viewing rooms and witnessed cremations are limited, though, so book those as soon as you know the date, particularly for weekends.
Is it normal to grieve this hard after a pet's funeral?
Yes. In an RSPCA survey of more than 4,000 bereaved owners, 66.9%[8] said they were surprised by how intense their grief was. The farewell often brings the loss home rather than ending it. Be patient with yourself, keep eating and sleeping as best you can, and talk to someone who understands. Our grief check-in can help you notice when it may be time to ask for more support.
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 Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] A typical US dog end-of-life bill is about $670 with at-home euthanasia plus private cremation, versus about $399 with clinic euthanasia plus private cremation. Our estimate: 410 + 260 = 670; 139 + 260 = 399. How we calculate.
- [7] Across five posted US pet-cemetery price lists, the median whole-body burial for a small pet, including plot and opening/closing, was about $350. Our estimate: median of [Rainier $150 plot incl. first burial, Cedar Bend $290, Forest $350, Great River $750, Precious Memories $1,500]. How we calculate.
- [8] 66.9% of respondents were surprised by how intense their grief was after losing a pet. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
Plan your pet's farewell with us
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.