Planning a goodbye for your pet in Orlando
About 125,000 Orlando 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 Orlando by email
Orlando, Florida
Where a goodbye can happen in Orlando
Many people in Orlando moved here from elsewhere, and friends and family may live far away. When a pet dies, that distance can make grief feel lonely. Call someone who knew your pet, spend time somewhere calm, and give yourself permission to be sad. There's no timetable for feeling better. If you're new to the area, online pet loss groups can connect you with people who understand, even before you've built a local circle.
Grief can surface in unexpected moments, like a thunderstorm your pet used to hide from or a quiet evening at home. Marking the anniversary, planting something in their memory or writing down favorite stories can help. If sadness is still heavy after several weeks, a pet loss support group, your vet or a counselor can help, and many groups meet online.
A pet farewell doesn't have to happen on the day your pet dies. Many Orlando families say a short goodbye at home, let the vet or crematory take their pet, and hold a gathering when the ashes come back. That second event can be at a park, a relative's garden or the café where the dog was always welcome.
About 333,888 people live in Orlando, which makes it the 4th-largest of the 235 Florida communities we cover.
The closest communities we cover are Edgewood (4 miles), Conway (5 miles) and Pine Castle (5 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Orlando too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
Our estimate
125,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Orlando
How we calculated this
333,888 ÷ 2.5 = 133,555 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 125,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
10,000
Orlando families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
125,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 10,000 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.
Where these figures come from: American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
How Florida thinks about funerals and cremation
In Florida, where about 72.5%[5] of people are cremated, many families already have a family urn on a shelf or a plot of ashes in a memorial garden. Some choose to keep their pet's ashes alongside, or to bring them to the same place. If that matters to you, ask the cemetery or memorial garden what they allow before promising it to the family.
Source for the Florida number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Orlando, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Orlando weather and your pet's farewell
By July, garden soil around Orlando can bake as hard as brick. If you're planning a home burial, soak the spot with a hose the evening before, dig at first light and lay a board over the hole if you need to pause. Two people make lighter work of it, and nobody grieving should be digging at noon.
Orlando summers are hot, with July highs around 92°F. Heat changes how long a home farewell can wait. If your pet dies at home in the warm months, move them to the coolest room, lay them on a towel over a hard floor, run the air conditioning and hold the goodbye within a few hours. Ask for collection straight afterwards.
Pet funeral and burial prices for families in Orlando
The ceremony itself is rarely the expensive part of a pet funeral in Orlando. 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 Florida 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.
What you can and can't do in Florida
A grave in the garden stays with the house when you sell it, which is the question few people ask at the graveside. Before you bury, think about where you'll be living in five or ten years, then check the Florida notes below.
The official Florida local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Orlando.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Florida level first; our Florida rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Orlando or your HOA adds anything.
Planning a farewell in Orlando, step by step
- Call the nearest emergency vet wherever you are. They can confirm the death, keep your pet cool and explain what's possible locally.
- Decide whether to bring your pet home or arrange cremation near where you are. Crossing a border or boarding a plane with a body is rarely simple.
- If you cremate away from home, ask how the ashes will reach you: held for collection, or sent by a tracked, signed-for service.
- Say a short goodbye at the clinic before you leave, even if it feels unfinished. The fuller farewell can happen at home.
- Keep the vet's paperwork and receipts in case an insurer, airline or border officer asks for them.
- Hold the family farewell once your pet or the ashes are home, so the people who stayed behind are part of it too.
Marking the loss, now and later
A pet farewell in Orlando can be as simple as a few quiet minutes at home, a small gathering in the backyard, or attending the cremation. Some families hold a memorial later when relatives can visit. When you contact us, tell us what matters to you, and we'll email you options that include it. Some people like to include a favorite blanket or toy, and some keep a clipping of fur. There's no wrong choice, and you don't have to decide everything at once.
look through our guides and the blog, Every option Orlando families choose between is on the services page, or see what other families chose in the poll results, try the free planning tools. More local pages: Port St. Lucie, Jacksonville, Cape Coral and Tampa, the Florida 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.
When would you hold the farewell?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What kind of goodbye feels right for your pet?
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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
Is Orlando big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 125,000 Orlando households keep a dog or cat and around 10,000 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 333,888), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Orlando?
The closest communities we cover are Edgewood (about 4 miles), Conway (about 5 miles) and Pine Castle (about 5 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Orlando too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How do Florida attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Florida human cremation rate at about 72.5%[5]. We show it on the Orlando page because pet aftercare choices tend to track it: where cremation is normal for people, communal and private pet cremation are both easy to find.
How does Orlando's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Orlando, with average highs around 92°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Winters are mild, with average lows staying above freezing, so outdoor burial or scattering is usually possible year round.
Will I need to book a pet farewell in advance in Orlando?
Going by our estimate of 125,000 dog- or cat-owning households in Orlando, roughly 10,000 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.
Can my pet's ashes be buried with me one day?
Sometimes. It depends on the cemetery's rules and local law, and many human cemeteries still don't allow animal remains in a grave. Some do, and a few pet cemeteries accept human ashes: about 800 people's ashes lie beside their pets at America's oldest pet cemetery [9]. Store the urn sealed and clearly named, and put your wishes in writing for your family.
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 Florida's cremation rate at 72.5% 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] 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.
- [9] The cremated remains of about 800 people are buried alongside their pets at Hartsdale Pet Cemetery. VOA News – America's oldest pet cemetery, 2024.
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.