Planning a goodbye for your pet in Shoreview
About 9,900 Shoreview 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
Shoreview, Minnesota
How families in Shoreview say goodbye to a pet
Minnesota families choose cremation about 68.5% of the time for people, and many Shoreview households bring that same calm to saying goodbye to an animal. Remembering might mean an evening stroll around Snail Lake swapping stories, or a quiet dinner with photos propped on the table. Children often want to plant something or make a card, and older kids may want to help choose the urn.
North-metro veterinary practices can often arrange home euthanasia in Shoreview, so the goodbye can happen on the screened porch or beside a window facing the lake. Collection can then be booked for whenever suits you. Many people take an hour or more just to sit with their companion, and some tuck a favorite toy or a note alongside the body before it leaves the house.
Pet cemeteries are rarer in and around Shoreview, so families who want a permanent grave often choose the garden instead, or bury the ashes after cremation. If you rent, or might move, burying ashes in a large planter or keeping them at home keeps the memorial portable while still giving you a graveside moment.
Shoreview is home to about 26,906 people, the 39th-largest of the 67 Minnesota communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Minneapolis, about 9 miles (15 km) away, which is where some providers serving Shoreview are based.
Shoreview sits within easy reach of New Brighton (3 miles), Roseville (5 miles) and Lino Lakes (5 miles). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Shoreview; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
9,900
How many dog- or cat-owning households Shoreview has (estimate)
How we calculated this
26,906 ÷ 2.5 = 10,762 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 9,900. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
820
Estimated dog and cat losses in Shoreview each year
How we calculated this
9,900 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 820 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 numbers above come from American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, if you'd like to read the original sources.
Local customs and your pet's farewell
Some pet cemeteries also run a crematory, which suits Minnesota, with cremation at roughly 68.5%[5] and burial still common. If there's one near you, you can see a grave site and ask about cremation in the same visit, then decide with both options in front of you rather than on the phone.
For the Minnesota 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 Shoreview rather than as pet data.
When the weather shapes the goodbye
If you'd hoped to bury your pet in a Shoreview 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.
Some families in Shoreview 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.
The real cost of a pet goodbye in Shoreview
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 Shoreview for a cremains plot price too.
We keep the detailed Minnesota price table on one page so it stays current: see Minnesota prices.
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
Pet cemeteries, parks and private gardens all have different rules. A cemetery handles the permissions for you; a garden burial or a scattering in public is your responsibility. If you rent, ask the landlord before digging. Here's what to know in Minnesota.
Minnesota keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Shoreview.
The Minnesota page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Shoreview's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
Your checklist for the first day
- Take a breath. When a pet dies at home, settle them onto a towel or their own bed somewhere cool. There is no decision you need to make within the hour.
- Decide cremation or burial first. That one choice sets the clock for everything else, including when the farewell can happen.
- Call the vet, crematory or pet cemetery to hold a time, and ask whether they can keep your pet cool until then.
- Send one short message giving the place and time to the handful of people you want present.
- Choose a spot and one small ritual: a candle, a letter tucked under a paw, a favorite toy, a song.
- Hold the farewell, then hand your pet to the collection team or lay them to rest.
- Ask for the written total before collection, including any viewing or ceremony fee.
After the farewell: ways to keep the memory close
Losing an animal can feel especially hard in a household where the animal set the day's rhythm. It's normal to feel unsettled for weeks and to grieve again when you find a toy under the couch. Pet loss support groups in the Twin Cities meet in person and online, and a therapist who takes animal grief seriously can help you through it. Keeping photos out, rather than hiding them, helps some people.
For a plain comparison of the choices, open services, or compare your instinct with the poll results, run the numbers with the free planning tools, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Brooklyn Park, Saint Paul, Bloomington and Rochester, and every city in Minnesota.
Reader polls
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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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Shoreview?
Usually yes. New Brighton is about 3 miles away, Roseville is about 5 miles away and Lino Lakes 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.
How do Minnesota attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Minnesota human cremation rate at about 68.5%[5]. We show it on the Shoreview 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 many pet owners live in Shoreview?
By our estimate, about 9,900 households in Shoreview have at least one dog or cat, and around 820 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 26,906, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Where are the providers that serve Shoreview actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Minneapolis, about 9 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Shoreview and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Will I need to book a pet farewell in advance in Shoreview?
Going by our estimate of 9,900 dog- or cat-owning households in Shoreview, roughly 820 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 I keep my pet in the garage until spring in Shoreview?
For a few days in cold weather, a sealed container raised off the concrete in an unheated garage can work, as long as wildlife and other pets can't get in. For weeks, it rarely does: temperatures swing above freezing on sunny days. If you want a spring burial, choose cremation now and bury the ashes when the ground softens, or ask a pet cemetery whether they can hold your pet.
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] A full Hartsdale pet burial costs about 28 times as much as an average pet cremation. Our estimate: USD 7,000 / USD 250. How we calculate.
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.