Planning a goodbye for your pet in Apple Valley
Around 1,700 Apple Valley 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 Apple Valley by email
Apple Valley, Minnesota
A goodbye that fits life in Apple Valley
Writing can loosen grief that won't come out in conversation. Try a few prompts: the day your companion came home, a ridiculous habit, the thing you wish you had said. Some people fill a notebook over several weeks, a page most evenings. Nobody else needs to read it, but many find it a comfort to open again a year later.
When a friend or neighbor in Apple Valley loses a pet, a card or a quick message acknowledging it means more than you might expect. Use the animal's name, share a memory if you have one, or leave a meal on the step. Hold off on suggesting a new pet; that conversation belongs to them, whenever they are ready to have it.
Collection from a small town is often scheduled rather than on demand, so there may be a day or so between the death and the handover. That time can be a gift. With your pet kept cool, it lets family travel in for a farewell and gives children a chance to say goodbye properly instead of coming home to an empty bed.
About 55,248 people live in Apple Valley, which makes it the 17th-largest of the 67 Minnesota communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Apple Valley are based about 16 miles away in Saint Paul, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
If you want to compare providers, look at Burnsville (4 miles), Eagan (5 miles) and Lakeville (5 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
20,500
Apple Valley: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
55,248 ÷ 2.5 = 22,099 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 20,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
1,700
dog and cat deaths per year in Apple Valley, our estimate
How we calculated this
20,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,700 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 Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry; we only apply it to this.
How Minnesota thinks about funerals and cremation
About 68.5%[5] of people in Minnesota 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.
Source for the Minnesota number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Apple Valley, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Apple Valley weather and your pet's farewell
Some families in Apple Valley 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.
If you'd hoped to bury your pet in an Apple Valley 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.
What a pet funeral costs in Apple Valley
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 Apple Valley for a cremains plot price too.
Prices for Apple Valley track the wider Minnesota market, so use the Minnesota 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.
Local rules worth checking in Minnesota
Before you plan a graveside ceremony in the garden or a scattering on a favorite walk, check the local rules. They're mostly about protecting water and other people's land, so they focus on depth, distance from wells and streams, and permission from whoever owns the land. Here's the picture for Minnesota.
The official Minnesota local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Apple Valley.
For Minnesota's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Minnesota guide. Local rules in Apple Valley can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
Your checklist for the first day
- Keep your pet cool and indoors, especially in warm weather, while you make calls.
- Ask whether a viewing room or witnessed cremation is possible, plus how much notice they need for either.
- 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, read up on what Minnesota allows, pick ground clear of drains and water, and have the grave ready before people get there.
- Collect a keepsake first: the tags and collar, a snip of fur, an impression of a paw.
- Confirm the price in writing before anyone collects your pet.
- Write down the date they give you for the ashes coming back; the next part of the plan hangs on it.
Keeping their memory alive in Apple Valley
After a pet dies, a short family meeting around the kitchen table can help: each person says what they will miss most, and together you agree on one small way to remember the animal. It gives children a genuine voice, and it turns choices about ashes and memorials into something the whole household decides, rather than something handed down by the adults.
read our guides and latest articles, or compare your instinct with the poll results, The services page is the place to compare what is included, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures. Close to Apple Valley we also cover Minneapolis, Bloomington, Rochester and Duluth; the full list for Minnesota 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.
What kind of goodbye feels right for your pet?
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
Why does the Apple Valley 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 68.5%[5] of Minnesota residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Apple Valley?
Usually yes. Burnsville is about 4 miles away, Eagan is about 5 miles away and Lakeville 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 Saint Paul to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Saint Paul (roughly 16 miles from Apple Valley) 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.
Does the Apple Valley climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 83°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, 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.
Can I hold a funeral for my pet at home in Apple Valley?
Yes, and it's the most common kind of pet funeral. Choose a quiet room or a corner of the garden, lay your pet on their bed, invite the few people who should be there and plan one small ritual. Then ask the vet or crematory to collect afterwards, or go ahead with a home burial if Minnesota rules allow it.
Is it normal to grieve this hard after a pet's funeral?
Yes. In an RSPCA survey of more than 4,000 bereaved owners, 66.9%[8] said they were surprised by how intense their grief was. The farewell often brings the loss home rather than ending it. Be patient with yourself, keep eating and sleeping as best you can, and talk to someone who understands. Our grief check-in can help you notice when it may be time to ask for more support.
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 Minnesota's cremation rate at 68.5% 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] 66.9% of respondents were surprised by how intense their grief was after losing a pet. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
Tell us about the goodbye you're planning
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