Saying goodbye to your pet in Loveland, your way
Around 2,500 Loveland 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
Loveland, Colorado
How families in Loveland say goodbye to a pet
Loveland is a friendly, mid-sized city with plenty of households where a pet sits at the center of daily life. When one dies, even ten minutes together at home with a favorite blanket lets each person say something before your pet is taken into care. If a neighbor fed your pet during vacations or a friend walked with you by the lake, ask them to join you. A few kind words are plenty.
After the Big Thompson floods and the recent fires in the high country, many Loveland families know what it means to lose something suddenly. A pet's death can stir up those older feelings along with the new ones. If the grief seems bigger than you expected, that is understandable and common. Talking to a counselor, a trusted friend or other bereaved pet owners, whether in Fort Collins or online, can take some of the weight off.
Working dogs, barn cats and old ponies are part of family life around Loveland, and their farewells often happen where they worked: by the barn, at the edge of the field or on the porch step. A few words from whoever worked alongside them and a quiet minute with the other animals nearby honours the job they did.
Loveland's population is around 81,387, the 15th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Loveland are based about 46 miles away in Denver, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Loveland sits within easy reach of Windsor (10 miles), Johnstown (11 miles) and Fort Collins (13 miles, a larger centre). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Loveland; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
30,000
Loveland: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
81,387 ÷ 2.5 = 32,555 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 30,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
2,500
Estimated dog and cat losses in Loveland each year
How we calculated this
30,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,500 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.
To check the figures yourself, see American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
How Colorado thinks about funerals and cremation
A high cremation rate, about 77.4%[5] in Colorado, can make families assume every pet cremation is individual. It often isn't. Communal cremation returns no ashes, and 'partitioned' can mean several pets in the chamber at once. If you want your own pet's ashes back for a scattering or burial later, ask for 'private' or 'individual' in writing.
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.
When the weather shapes the goodbye
Snow and ice across January, February, March, April, November and December can delay collection and make roads unsafe for relatives driving in. If your pet is old or very ill and a winter storm is forecast, it's reasonable to ask your vet now how a home goodbye and collection would work in bad weather, rather than on the night.
If you'd hoped to bury your pet in a Loveland 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.
Where the money goes in a Loveland pet funeral
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 Loveland choose cremation followed by a small burial of the ashes, which keeps the graveside ceremony at a fraction of the price.
The Colorado price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Permissions to check in Colorado before the ceremony
Most of what happens at a pet funeral is up to you. The exceptions are home burial, which Colorado and your city or county may regulate, and scattering ashes in parks or on land you don't own, which usually needs the owner's permission. The key points are below.
Colorado keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Loveland.
The rules that apply across Colorado (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our Colorado page. Loveland may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
A pet funeral within a day: how to do it
- Decide who needs to be there. Pulling a few close people together within a day is manageable; the wider group can be invited to something later.
- Pick the place: home, garden, a favorite walk, a crematory farewell room or a cemetery.
- Check anything that needs permission, such as scattering in a park or burying on land you don't own.
- Plan a loose running order: gather, open, share memories, a reading or song, a ritual, the farewell.
- Arrange the handover or burial for straight after the ceremony, so nobody waits around.
- Look after yourself afterwards. Have a meal, accept offered help, and leave the lead hanging until you feel like moving it.
Remembering your pet in Loveland
In the Sweetheart City, remembering with love is part of the local identity. Some families write a letter to their pet on Valentine's Day, light a candle each February or add a photo to the fridge beside the kids' drawings. Others carry a little of the ashes up the canyon to a favorite pull-off. Cremation is the majority choice among Coloradans, so these paths feel ordinary here. Take whatever time you need.
See what each option includes on our services page, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details, use the free tools before you ring anyone, or look at how readers voted in our polls. Close to Loveland we also cover Colorado Springs, Lakewood, Thornton and Aurora; 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?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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
Does the Loveland climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 89°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, April, November and December, when lows sit below freezing, a home burial may have to wait for a thaw, so cremation with ashes returned keeps your options open.
Is cremation common in Colorado?
For people, yes: about 77.4%[5] of Colorado 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 Loveland follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Will I have to travel to Denver to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Denver (roughly 46 miles from Loveland) 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 Loveland big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 30,000 Loveland households keep a dog or cat and around 2,500 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 81,387), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Is a pet funeral common in Colorado?
Small farewells are common almost everywhere, even if people don't call them funerals. For people, about 77.4%[5] of deaths in Colorado end in cremation, and that shapes pet habits too: where cremation is usual, pet farewells often centre on the ashes; where burial is usual, a graveside moment in the garden feels more natural.
Will I need to book a pet farewell in advance in Loveland?
Going by our estimate of 30,000 dog- or cat-owning households in Loveland, roughly 2,500 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.
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] The median price multiple of private (ashes returned) over communal cremation across 8 markets is about 2.0x, ranging from 1.25x (Tokyo) to 5.2x (Auckland). Our estimate: median(private_price / communal_price) same weight band: US CareCredit 51-70 lb midpoints (250/75) = 3.33x; Auckland 15-25 kg (445/85) = 5.24x; Norway 1-20 kg (3790/1190) = 3.18x; Singapore 10-20 kg (480/260) = 1.85x; Ontario 25-250 lb (549/279) = 1.97x; Tokyo 20-30 kg (38500/30800) = 1.25x; France 20 kg midpoints (200/95) = 2.11x; Germany range midpoints (270/145) = 1.86x. How we calculate.
Get pet farewell options in Loveland
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