Pet funerals and farewells in Highland
About 8,600 Highland 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.
- Small, personal goodbyes that fit your family
- Questions to ask any provider or cemetery
- No pressure, no packages you don't need
Highland, Indiana
Where a goodbye can happen in Highland
Highland sits in the middle of a dense cluster of Lake County towns, so support groups in Munster, Hammond, Merrillville or the Chicago suburbs are all close, and online options run most nights. Your regular vet is a good guide to what's available. Many local vets can also arrange euthanasia at home, which some families find less stressful than a clinic visit.
When an animal who has been part of the household for years dies, the grief can surprise even the people who expected it. Feeling low for weeks, or tearful at odd moments, is ordinary. If it helps, a pet-loss phone line, a web forum, or a counselor who specializes in bereavement can listen without judgment. There is no right amount of time to grieve.
Working dogs, barn cats and old ponies are part of family life around Highland, 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.
Highland is home to about 23,409 people, the 44th-largest of the 50 Indiana communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Highland are based about 25 miles away in Chicago, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Highland sits within easy reach of Munster (2 miles), Schererville (4 miles) and Lansing (5 miles). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Highland; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
8,600
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Highland
How we calculated this
23,409 ÷ 2.5 = 9,364 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 8,600. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
720
Highland families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
8,600 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 720 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.
The published sources behind those figures are American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Funeral traditions in Indiana and your pet
About 56.5%[5] of people in Indiana are cremated, so both traditions sit side by side here. Some families will instinctively want to bury their pet, others to bring the ashes home. A farewell works with either: a graveside moment in the garden or a pet cemetery, or a short ceremony before the pet is collected for cremation.
For the Indiana figure we rely on NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Read it as a picture of local custom around death and remembrance in Highland rather than as pet data.
Highland weather and your pet's farewell
Home vet visits still happen through Highland winters, but icy steps and early darkness slow everyone down. Clear and grit the path, leave the porch light on and book a daytime slot in January if you can. Warm the room well beforehand too; an old pet who is shivering is harder to settle.
Snow and ice across January, February, March, 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.
The real cost of a pet goodbye in Highland
If cost is on your mind, you're in good company: in a survey of more than 2,000 US owners, 61% said the cost of body care worried them [6]. Cemetery burial is less alarming for smaller pets. Across five posted US price lists, the median whole-body burial for a small pet, plot and opening included, is ~$350[7] by our estimate. Ask cemeteries near Highland for a cremains plot price too.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Indiana: Indiana 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 Indiana allows for burial and scattering
Most of what happens at a pet funeral is up to you. The exceptions are home burial, which Indiana 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.
Not sure which office covers Highland? The Indiana local government directory is the official list.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Indiana level first; our Indiana rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Highland or your HOA adds anything.
A simple plan for the hours ahead
- Keep your pet cool inside the house while you phone around; this matters most in warm weather.
- Ask whether a viewing room or witnessed cremation is possible, and how far ahead it needs booking.
- For a pet cemetery burial, ask about the plot, the opening fee, casket or shroud, and whether a graveside service is allowed on the day.
- For a home burial, check the Indiana rules, choose a spot away from water and drains, and dig before the family arrives.
- Collect a keepsake first: the tags and collar, a snip of fur, an impression of a paw.
- Confirm the price in writing before the pickup is allowed to happen.
- Write down the date they give you for the ashes coming back; the next part of the plan hangs on it.
The weeks and months after the goodbye
A Highland farewell can take many forms: family members taking turns sitting with the animal on its favorite blanket, a neighbor stopping by to say goodbye, or a gathering later in the backyard with a short reading. Children benefit from simple, truthful words and a role of their own, such as choosing a photo to frame or decorating the box that will hold the collar.
Our services overview lays out every option side by side, or look at how readers voted in our polls, run the numbers with the free planning tools, read our guides and latest articles. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Carmel and Evansville, and every city in Indiana.
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?
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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
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Highland?
January, February, March, November and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 84°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How do Indiana attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Indiana human cremation rate at about 56.5%[5]. We show it on the Highland 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.
Where are the providers that serve Highland actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Chicago, about 25 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Highland and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Highland?
Usually yes. Munster is about 2 miles away, Schererville is about 4 miles away and Lansing 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.
What's a viewing, and do I need one?
A viewing is unhurried time with your pet in a private room, usually at the crematory, vet or a funeral home, before cremation or burial. You don't need one, but it helps if you weren't there at the end, if relatives are arriving from out of town, or if children need to see that their pet has really died.
Should young children come to a pet's farewell?
Usually yes, if they want to, with a simple role and a way to step out. Use plain words like 'died' rather than 'put to sleep', explain what they'll see, and keep it short. In a large RSPCA survey, 93.4%[9] of parents wanted better guidance on helping children through pet loss, so you're far from alone in wondering.
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 Indiana's cremation rate at 56.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 61% of US owners in the Cooney survey rated the cost of after-death body care as a concern (27.9% concerned, 33.1% very concerned). Cooney, Kogan, Brooks, Ellis - Pet Owners' Expectations for Pet End-of-Life Support and After-Death Body Care, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine (2020), 2020.
- [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] 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.
- [9] 93.4% of parents in the RSPCA survey wanted better guidance on helping children through pet loss. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
Tell us about the goodbye you're planning
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