A proper farewell for your pet in Garfield
About 12,500 Garfield 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.
- A simple running order you can print
- Graveside and home ceremony guidance
- Help with timing around the weather
Garfield, New Jersey
How families in Garfield say goodbye to a pet
Some Garfield families hold a short farewell before the provider arrives: a blanket, a favorite toy, a few words. Others prefer to let the moment pass quietly. There's no correct way, and children can be included by choosing what goes with the body. When the ashes come home, a small gathering with photos can be a chance for people to say what the animal meant to them.
Missing an animal is genuine grief, and it often outlasts what friends expect. If sadness is affecting sleep, work or appetite, counselors who focus on animal loss and the telephone lines several veterinary colleges run can help, and you don't need a referral to call. Talking with people who understand often eases the feeling that you're overreacting to the loss of an animal.
If you live outside Garfield itself, on a farm or a long rural road, ask any provider whether they'll collect from your address and what the mileage adds. Some families bring their pet to the vet or the crematory to keep the cost down, and hold the farewell at home first, with the car ready and a favorite blanket for the journey.
Garfield is home to about 33,353 people, the 26th-largest of the 58 New Jersey communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Garfield are based about 11 miles away in Newark, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Families in Garfield often end up using a provider from Lodi (1 miles), Elmwood Park (2 miles) and Passaic (2 miles, a larger centre). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
12,500
Garfield: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
33,353 ÷ 2.5 = 13,341 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 12,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
1,000
Estimated dog and cat losses in Garfield each year
How we calculated this
12,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,000 a year. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
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.
Where these figures come from: Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
What local funeral habits mean for your pet
About 56.5%[5] of people in New Jersey are cremated, so local faith communities are used to both burial and cremation. If you'd like a blessing for your pet, many clergy will say one at home or by a grave, and there's no set form. A short prayer, a reading or a moment of silence before the collection or the burial is plenty.
That New Jersey rate is a human one, published by NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). We quote it for Garfield only as a pointer to how families here already think about cremation.
How the seasons in Garfield affect the day
Even in mild Garfield weather, a pet's body shouldn't be left outside or in a car while you wait for people to arrive. Keep them indoors, somewhere cool and away from direct sun, with a blanket beneath. If the wait will be longer than a day, ask the vet or crematory to hold your pet and plan a viewing.
Because Garfield rarely has long freezes, a garden burial is usually practical year-round, where local rules allow it. The main planning question is the ground itself: heavy clay or rock can make digging a deep enough grave a two-person job. Start early in the day and have a spade, a fork and a tarp for the soil.
Pet farewell prices for Garfield families
For a burial with all the trimmings, a full pet funeral-home package with viewing, memorial service, casket and burial is estimated at $700–$1,000[6]. A review of 15 US pet cemeteries puts a typical pet burial at $1,500–$2,000[7], though starting prices vary widely. Families in Garfield can keep a graveside ceremony for less by burying ashes rather than a body.
We keep the detailed New Jersey price table on one page so it stays current: see New Jersey prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Before you dig or scatter in New Jersey
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 New Jersey.
The official New Jersey local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Garfield.
The New Jersey page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Garfield's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
From first call to farewell: the steps
- Find a small box and soft bedding, such as a shoebox lined with a cloth or some of their own nesting material.
- Choose between cremation and a garden grave. A very small animal produces only a trace of ash; ask the crematory how it's kept apart from other pets' and what container it's returned in.
- For a garden grave, choose ground you're likely to still own in years to come, look up what's allowed locally, and decide on a marker, whether a potted plant or a flat stone.
- Invite whoever looked after them, even if that's one child and one parent. A small animal can leave a big gap.
- Say a few words or read a note, and finish by placing a flower, or a little of the food they loved most, on the box.
- Clear the cage, hutch or tank slowly over a few days, instead of all at once that afternoon, so the space empties gradually rather than in one go.
After the farewell: ways to keep the memory close
On Garfield's crowded blocks, neighbors often know one another's pets, and a death rarely goes unnoticed. Accepting help, whether it's a neighbor who waits with you or a relative who handles the phone call, can make the day easier. If you'd like the goodbye to happen at home, ask your vet about euthanasia visits in Bergen County; some practices keep a short list of vets who travel to homes.
Every option Garfield families choose between is on the services page, or compare your instinct with the poll results, run the numbers with the free planning tools, look through our guides and the blog. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Elizabeth, Newark, Jersey City and Paterson, and every city in New Jersey.
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 Garfield each year?
Our estimate is around 1,000. It comes from Garfield's population (about 33,353), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 12,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Is cremation common in New Jersey?
For people, yes: about 56.5%[5] of New Jersey deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Garfield follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Where are the providers that serve Garfield actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Newark, about 11 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Garfield and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Garfield?
Usually yes. Lodi is about 1 miles away, Elmwood Park is about 2 miles away and Passaic is about 2 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.
Can I scatter my pet's ashes in a park in Garfield?
Sometimes, with permission. Parks, beaches and nature reserves have their own rules, and many ask you to contact the park authority first. Private land needs the owner's permission. Choose a quiet time and spot away from paths and water intakes, scatter low and downwind, and consider keeping a little back in a keepsake.
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 New Jersey's cremation rate at 56.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Titan Casket estimates a full pet funeral-home burial package (viewing, memorial service, casket, burial and funeral director) at $700–$1,000. Titan Casket – How Much Do Pet Funeral Homes Charge, 2026.
- [7] Furever Memorials' review of 15 US pet cemeteries puts the typical pet burial at $1,500–$2,000. Furever Memorials – Pet Burial Cost (15 cemeteries), 2025.
- [8] 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.
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