Planning a goodbye for your pet in Ankeny
Around 2,400 Ankeny 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.
- Real costs, not guesswork
- Ideas for including children gently
- Options that serve Ankeny by email
Ankeny, Iowa
Where a goodbye can happen in Ankeny
A farewell in Ankeny might be a backyard gathering once the ashes return, with neighbors who knew the pet, a few stories and something planted. Some families prefer a quiet trip to a lake or park the animal loved, marked only by a moment of silence. Choose whatever feels true to the pet and to your household, and don't worry about what others usually do.
Saying goodbye at home suits many Ankeny families with young children, who may find a clinic unfamiliar or frightening. A house-call vet spares everyone the drive, and the family can stay with the pet until collection. Book as early as you can. If you choose the clinic instead, ask for the last appointment of the day, when the waiting room is usually quieter.
In a smaller place like Ankeny, a pet farewell usually happens at home or on the family's own land, because that's where the pet lived and where there's space. The vet often comes out for the goodbye, and cremation happens at a crematory in a larger centre such as Des Moines. That means the farewell and the handover are yours to shape, without a venue to book.
With roughly 77,833 residents, Ankeny is the 5th-largest of the 27 Iowa communities we cover. Des Moines, roughly 10 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Ankeny run from there.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Johnston (7 miles), Altoona (8 miles) and Des Moines (10 miles, a larger centre), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
28,500
Ankeny: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
77,833 ÷ 2.5 = 31,133 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 28,500. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
2,400
Ankeny families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
28,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,400 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.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science; we only apply it to this.
Faith, tradition and pet goodbyes in Iowa
Even with cremation at around 63.6%[5] in Iowa, 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.
We take the Iowa rate from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It is a human statistic; there is no equivalent pet figure for Ankeny, and we would rather show a real number than invent one.
Planning around heat, cold and rain in Ankeny
Some families in Ankeny with an old or failing pet dig the garden grave in autumn, before the ground locks up in January, February, March, November and December, and cover it with boards and a tarp. It can feel bleak to do, but it means a winter goodbye can end in the garden, as planned, instead of waiting months for the thaw.
Ankeny winters are cold, with average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March, November 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.
Where the money goes in an Ankeny pet funeral
Ask every provider in Ankeny to split the quote in two: body care (collection, cremation or burial, the container) and the farewell (viewing time, witnessed cremation, a graveside service). Seeing the two numbers apart makes it easy to drop what you don't need. The national figures below show what's typical.
Prices for Ankeny track the wider Iowa market, so use the Iowa price table as your baseline and the services page to see what is included.
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 Iowa
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 Iowa for burying at home and scattering ashes.
Not sure which office covers Ankeny? The Iowa local government directory is the official list.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Iowa level first; our Iowa rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Ankeny or your HOA adds anything.
A pet funeral within a day: how to do it
- 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. Taking a body over a border or onto a flight is seldom straightforward.
- 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.
Anniversaries, gatherings and quiet reminders
Grief after losing a pet affects every age, and children in particular may ask the same questions many times. Answer simply and honestly. Helplines for grieving pet owners run nationwide if adults in the house need to talk, and Des Moines has counselors and vet clinics that can point you toward local groups. Expect the routines of the day, like feeding time, to sting for a while.
look through our guides and the blog, or see what other families chose in the poll results, use the free tools before you ring anyone, Compare every option on our services page. Close to Ankeny we also cover Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Des Moines and Davenport; the full list for Iowa 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.
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?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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
Will I have to travel to Des Moines to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Des Moines (roughly 10 miles from Ankeny) 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.
Why does the Ankeny 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 63.6%[5] of Iowa residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
How does Ankeny's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Ankeny, with average highs around 86°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Roughly how many pets die in Ankeny each year?
Our estimate is around 2,400. It comes from Ankeny's population (about 77,833), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 28,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
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%[7] of parents wanted better guidance on helping children through pet loss, so you're far from alone in wondering.
Can we hold a graveside service in Ankeny 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.
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 Iowa's cremation rate at 63.6% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 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.
- [7] 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
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.