A proper farewell for your pet in Dublin
Around 1,500 Dublin 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.
- Small, personal goodbyes that fit your family
- Questions to ask any provider or cemetery
- No pressure, no packages you don't need
Dublin, Ohio
A goodbye that fits life in Dublin
A Dublin farewell might be a quiet evening on the patio with the family, a walk down to the Scioto once the ashes are back, or a short private goodbye arranged before cremation. Some families invite the neighbors who shared years of front-yard conversations with their pet. Whatever you choose, there is no schedule to keep and no expectation you have to meet.
Dublin prides itself on community events, from the Irish festival in summer to neighborhood gatherings, and people here tend to know one another's animals. Let that network help after a loss. If sadness lingers, a counselor who understands pet grief, a telephone support line or a small online group can offer a listening ear that friends, however kind, sometimes cannot.
Neighbours in a place like Dublin often offer to help, and it's fine to say yes. Someone with a small digger or a strong back can prepare a grave, a friend can mind the children for an hour, and someone else can bring supper so nobody has to cook that night. Accepting help is part of how small communities mark a loss.
With roughly 49,094 residents, Dublin is the 18th-largest of the 106 Ohio communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Dublin are based about 13 miles away in Columbus, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Families in Dublin often end up using a provider from Powell (5 miles), Hilliard (5 miles) and Upper Arlington (7 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
18,000
Dublin: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
49,094 ÷ 2.5 = 19,638 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 18,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
1,500
Estimated dog and cat losses in Dublin each year
How we calculated this
18,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,500 a year. Treat it as a minimum.
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: American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
How Ohio thinks about funerals and cremation
About 59.1%[5] of people in Ohio 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.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Ohio figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Dublin tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Planning around heat, cold and rain in Dublin
Dublin winters are cold, with average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March 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.
If you'd hoped to bury your pet in a Dublin 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.
Where the money goes in a Dublin pet funeral
Being present costs extra. One US pricing guide says viewing or witnessing a cremation typically adds $25 to $100 [6], and the posted surcharges we found run from $25 to $350, with a median of about $125 by our estimate [7]. Ask Dublin crematories whether a short viewing is already included before paying for a separate appointment.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Ohio: Ohio 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.
Burial, scattering and gathering rules in Ohio
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 Ohio for burying at home and scattering ashes.
To find your county or city office in Ohio, start with the official Ohio local government directory.
For Ohio's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Ohio guide. Local rules in Dublin can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
A pet funeral within a day: how to do it
- 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, 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, check the Ohio rules, choose a spot away from water and drains, and dig before the family arrives.
- Collect a keepsake first: a paw print, a clipping of fur, the collar and tags.
- Confirm the price in writing before anyone collects your pet.
- Write down the date you're told the ashes will return, so you can plan what comes next.
Marking the loss, now and later
Children in busy households benefit from a pause that is all about the animal. Explain in plain words what happened, then give them a role: writing a letter to tuck in with the urn, arranging photographs on a table, or helping pick a tree to plant. Revisiting that tree or those photos each year helps children keep the memory without it feeling heavy.
read our guides and latest articles, or see what other families chose in the poll results, See what each option includes on our services page, run the numbers with the free planning tools. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, and every city in Ohio.
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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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
Does the Dublin climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 85°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March 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.
How many pet owners live in Dublin?
By our estimate, about 18,000 households in Dublin have at least one dog or cat, and around 1,500 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 49,094, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Is cremation common in Ohio?
For people, yes: about 59.1%[5] of Ohio 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 Dublin follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Dublin?
The closest communities we cover are Powell (about 5 miles), Hilliard (about 5 miles) and Upper Arlington (about 7 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Dublin too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Can I combine a farewell with water cremation near Dublin?
Yes. Water cremation, or aquamation, still returns ashes, so you can hold a viewing before or a celebration of life afterwards just as you would with flame cremation. Fewer providers offer it, and it may mean a longer drive from Dublin. Ask early, and expect a slightly longer wait for the ashes.
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%[9] 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 Ohio's cremation rate at 59.1% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Memorials.com's pet cremation cost guide says viewing or witnessing the cremation typically adds $25–$100. Memorials.com – Pet Cremation Cost Guide 2026, 2026.
- [7] 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.
- [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.
- [9] 66.9% of respondents were surprised by how intense their grief was after losing a pet. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
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