Pet funerals and farewells in Colorado Springs
Around 15,000 Colorado Springs 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.
- A simple running order you can print
- Graveside and home ceremony guidance
- Help with timing around the weather
Colorado Springs, Colorado
How families in Colorado Springs say goodbye to a pet
Many pet deaths follow a decision about euthanasia, and it is common in the weeks afterwards to wonder whether it came too early or too late. Vets see that guilt often, and most will gladly talk it through with you. If you have children, honest words help more than euphemisms, and giving them a role, such as choosing a photo or planting something once the snow clears, lets them grieve alongside you.
For military families in Colorado Springs, a pet is often the constant through every move, and losing them can feel like losing part of home. If a spouse is deployed, grief can be especially isolating. Reach out to friends, your unit's family support network, your vet or a pet loss support line. Sharing photos with family far away can help too.
Your regular vet in Colorado Springs is often the person outside the family who knew your pet best, and many will help with more than the medical part: a room after hours, a nurse to sit with you, or a home visit if the practice offers them. A thank-you card afterwards means a great deal to a small team.
Colorado Springs is home to about 494,743 people, the 2nd-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Denver, roughly 63 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Colorado Springs run from there.
If you want to compare providers, look at Fountain (13 miles), Castle Rock (38 miles) and Pueblo (41 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
180,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Colorado Springs has (estimate)
How we calculated this
494,743 ÷ 2.5 = 197,897 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 180,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
15,000
Estimated dog and cat losses in Colorado Springs each year
How we calculated this
180,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 15,000 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 Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Local customs and your pet's farewell
Human crematoria in Colorado, where roughly 77.4%[5] of deaths end in cremation, tend to have gardens of remembrance with benches and small plaques. Some pet crematories copy the idea with a memorial wall or garden where families can scatter ashes or add a name. Ask whether there's one and what a plaque costs; it gives the family somewhere to go on the anniversary.
The Colorado 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.
Planning around heat, cold and rain in Colorado Springs
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.
If you'd hoped to bury your pet in a Colorado Springs 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.
The real cost of a pet goodbye in Colorado Springs
Pet cemetery burial costs about three times a private cremation in the US, by our estimate (3.2x[6]), because a plot, opening the grave and long-term care are all involved. That's why many families in Colorado Springs choose cremation followed by a small burial of the ashes, which keeps the graveside ceremony at a fraction of the price.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Colorado: Colorado 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.
What Colorado allows for burial and scattering
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 Colorado for burying at home and scattering ashes.
The official Colorado local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Colorado Springs.
We keep Colorado's burial and scattering rules in one place: the Colorado rules summary. Before a home burial in Colorado Springs, also ask the city whether local ordinances add anything.
A simple plan for the hours ahead
- 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: a slow walk, a patch of sun, the treat that's usually off limits.
- Decide who will hold your pet and who would rather wait in another room. Both are loving choices, and nobody should be talked into either.
- 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.
The weeks and months after the goodbye
Many people in Colorado Springs share an outdoor life with their animals, and the loss can hit hardest at the trailhead, on a morning in Garden of the Gods, or on the back deck facing Pikes Peak. Some find it too painful to return at first; others go back deliberately, to remember. Either is fine. A friend who knew your pet, your vet or a pet loss support group can help in the early weeks.
try the free planning tools, or see what other families chose in the poll results, read our guides and latest articles, The services page is the place to compare what is included. More local pages: Denver, Arvada, Fort Collins and Aurora, the Colorado overview and every city in the United States.
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.
What kind of goodbye feels right for your pet?
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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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Colorado Springs?
Usually yes. Fountain is about 13 miles away, Castle Rock is about 38 miles away and Pueblo is about 41 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Why does the Colorado Springs 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.
Will I have to travel to Denver to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Denver (roughly 63 miles from Colorado Springs) 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 many pet owners live in Colorado Springs?
By our estimate, about 180,000 households in Colorado Springs have at least one dog or cat, and around 15,000 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 494,743, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Can we hold a graveside service in Colorado Springs when the ground is frozen?
Some pet cemeteries can open a grave in frozen ground with the right equipment; others hold a service now and bury later, once it thaws. For a garden burial, many families cremate in winter and bury the ashes in spring with a small ceremony. Ask any cemetery what they do in winter before choosing a date.
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.
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] US pet cemetery burial for a dog costs about 3.2x a private cremation ($831 vs $260 national averages). Our estimate: 831 / 260 = 3.20. How we calculate.
- [7] A full Hartsdale pet burial costs about 28 times as much as an average pet cremation. Our estimate: USD 7,000 / USD 250. How we calculate.
Tell us about the goodbye you're planning
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.