A proper farewell for your pet in Frankfort
By our estimate, about 7,850 households in Frankfort have a dog or a cat, and roughly 660 of those pets die each year. Every one of those families decides how to say goodbye. Here's how to plan yours.
- Home, garden or viewing-room farewells
- Witnessed cremation and cemetery burial explained
- Plan it all within a day if you need to
Frankfort, Illinois
Where a goodbye can happen in Frankfort
Grief after losing a pet can affect sleep, appetite and concentration for a while, and that is normal. If it feels heavy, ask your vet about pet-loss support in Will County or the south suburbs, or call a national pet-loss line. Some people find it helps to keep a short journal about the animal, or to talk with a friend who has been through the same loss.
Many Frankfort families plan a small ceremony once the ashes come home: a few words spoken by the new planting, a lantern lit at dusk, or a quiet ride along the Old Plank Road Trail in the animal's honor. Children can help choose a memorial stone or write a message to go with it. Keep it simple, and let it be shaped by the pet you are remembering.
Witnessed cremation is harder to arrange from a small town like Frankfort, because the nearest crematory may be an hour or more away. If being present matters to you, ask your vet which crematory they use and call it directly. Some families drive their pet there themselves, which also means the journey becomes part of the goodbye.
With roughly 21,365 residents, Frankfort is the 113th-largest of the 151 Illinois communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Frankfort are based about 29 miles away in Chicago, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
For a second opinion on price, Mokena (2 miles), New Lenox (5 miles) and Tinley Park (5 miles, a larger centre) are close enough that their providers cover Frankfort routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
7,850
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Frankfort
How we calculated this
21,365 ÷ 2.5 = 8,546 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 7,850. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
660
Frankfort families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
7,850 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 660 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.
To check the figures yourself, see 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
Even with cremation at around 60.2%[5] in Illinois, grandparents may have grown up burying the family dog under a tree, while their grandchildren expect an urn on the shelf. Asking an older relative to lead one part of the farewell, perhaps choosing the spot or saying the first words, brings their experience into a goodbye the younger generation has planned.
That Illinois rate is a human one, published by NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). We quote it for Frankfort only as a pointer to how families here already think about cremation.
Frankfort weather and your pet's farewell
Snow and ice across January, February, March 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.
Frankfort winters are cold, with average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March and December. Frozen ground can make a garden burial impossible for weeks, which is one reason many local families choose cremation in winter and hold a graveside ceremony for the ashes in spring. It gives the farewell a second moment everyone can plan for.
Pet funeral and burial prices for families in Frankfort
Being present costs extra. One US pricing guide says viewing or witnessing a cremation typically adds $25 to $100 [6], and the posted surcharges we found run from $25 to $350, with a median of about $125 by our estimate [7]. Ask Frankfort crematories whether a short viewing is already included before paying for a separate appointment.
We keep the detailed Illinois price table on one page so it stays current: see Illinois prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Permissions to check in Illinois before the ceremony
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 Illinois for burying at home and scattering ashes.
To find your county or city office in Illinois, start with the official Illinois local government directory.
We keep Illinois's burial and scattering rules in one place: the Illinois rules summary. Before a home burial in Frankfort, also ask the city whether local ordinances add anything.
Planning a farewell in Frankfort, step by step
- Check gently that your pet has died: no breath, no heartbeat under your hand, eyes open and unmoving. Call an emergency vet if any doubt remains.
- Close the eyes if you can and curl the legs softly so your pet looks asleep; do this inside the first two hours or so, while the body is still supple.
- Slide an old towel or puppy pad underneath. After death the bowel and bladder often release on their own. This is expected and isn't a sign that something was wrong.
- Let your other animals come and sniff should they show interest. Plenty of owners believe this helps the remaining pets make sense of why the bed is now empty.
- If it's the middle of the night and the house is cool, the calls can wait for daylight. Nobody minds if you spend one last quiet night beside them.
- Before collection or burial, hold ten minutes of goodbye, so that the last thing you remember is your own farewell and not an unfamiliar face at the door.
Marking the loss, now and later
Frankfort keeps a small-town rhythm, with events on the downtown green and neighbors who notice when a familiar pet stops appearing in the yard. When someone asks, a short answer is fine. You may be surprised how many people remember your animal fondly, and hearing those memories can be a real comfort in the first difficult weeks, when the house still feels too quiet.
Every option Frankfort families choose between is on the services page, read our guides and latest articles, or see how other readers answered in our polls, try the free planning tools. If you live between Frankfort and Aurora, Chicago, Naperville and Elgin, either page applies. Every other community in Illinois, and all of the United States, is listed too.
Reader polls
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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
Roughly how many pets die in Frankfort each year?
Our estimate is around 660. It comes from Frankfort's population (about 21,365), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 7,850 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Frankfort?
Usually yes. Mokena is about 2 miles away, New Lenox is about 5 miles away and Tinley Park is about 5 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Will I have to travel to Chicago to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Chicago (roughly 29 miles from Frankfort) 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 do Illinois attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Illinois human cremation rate at about 60.2%[5]. We show it on the Frankfort 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.
Can we plan a pet funeral in Frankfort within a day?
Yes, most pet farewells are arranged that quickly. In the morning, decide cremation or burial and call to hold a time. By midday, message the few people who should come. In the afternoon, choose the spot, a blanket, a candle and something to read. Hold the farewell in the evening, then hand your pet over or lay them to rest.
What can I send with my pet for cremation or burial?
Most crematories let a blanket, a letter, a drawing or a small soft toy go with your pet. Many ask you to remove metal tags, plastic toys and rubber collars, which don't burn cleanly, so keep those as keepsakes instead. For a garden grave, choose natural materials such as cotton, wool or untreated wood. If something must come back to you, say so before the handover, not after.
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 Illinois's cremation rate at 60.2% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Memorials.com's pet cremation cost guide says viewing or witnessing the cremation typically adds $25–$100. Memorials.com – Pet Cremation Cost Guide 2026, 2026.
- [7] 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.
- [8] 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.
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