Planning a goodbye for your pet in Midvale
About 13,500 Midvale 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.
- Real costs, not guesswork
- Ideas for including children gently
- Options that serve Midvale by email
Midvale, Utah
What planning a pet funeral in Midvale is like
If grief is still heavy after several weeks, a counselor experienced with the death of companion animals can help. Many offer evening video sessions, which fit around shift work and long commutes, and some support groups meet online on weeknights. Taking that step is not an overreaction; it is a practical way to look after yourself after a real loss.
A goodbye does not have to be elaborate. A candle, a printed photo and a few words shared with the people who knew your pet can be enough, whether in a studio apartment or around a backyard picnic table. Families can include children by letting them draw pictures, pick a song, or choose the spot where the urn will sit.
A small-town farewell can be as simple as a walk. Some families in and around Midvale take their dog's usual route one last time with the lead in hand, then gather at home for the vet's visit or the burial. It costs nothing, needs no permission and gives everyone something to do with their hands and feet while they grieve.
About 36,099 people live in Midvale, which makes it the 30th-largest of the 52 Utah communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Midvale are based about 10 miles away in Salt Lake City, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Our pages for Murray (3 miles), Sandy (4 miles, a larger centre) and Cottonwood Heights (4 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Midvale as well.
Our estimate
13,500
Midvale: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
36,099 ÷ 2.5 = 14,440 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 13,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
1,100
Midvale families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
13,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,100 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.
We built the this numbers from Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
How Utah thinks about funerals and cremation
In Utah, about 46.1%[5] of people are cremated, so some relatives may feel uneasy about cremating a pet. It helps to explain that cremation can still include a graveside moment: the ashes can be buried in the garden or a pet cemetery with the same words, flowers and people you'd have at a burial, just on a day you choose.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Utah figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Midvale tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Seasons, timing and ceremonies in Midvale
Midvale has both extremes: highs around 94°F in July and freezing lows in January, February and December. In summer, hold a home farewell within hours and keep your pet cool. In winter, you have more time but frozen ground, so many families choose cremation and bury the ashes in a spring or autumn ceremony.
Garden markers in Midvale have to cope with summer sun near 94°F and frost through January, February and December. Granite and dense natural stone handle both; resin, painted wood and some cast concrete crack or fade within a few seasons. If you're choosing a marker for a grave or a tree, ask what it's made to withstand outdoors.
What a pet funeral costs in Midvale
Pet cemetery burial costs about three times a private cremation in the US, by our estimate (3.2x[6]), because a plot, opening the grave and long-term care are all involved. That's why many families in Midvale choose cremation followed by a small burial of the ashes, which keeps the graveside ceremony at a fraction of the price.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Utah: Utah 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 Utah
Rules for ashes are usually looser than rules for a body, because cremated remains are dry, processed bone rather than tissue. That's why burying or scattering ashes is often the simpler route to a graveside or outdoor ceremony. Here are the notes for Utah on both.
The official Utah local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Midvale.
Start with the Utah rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Midvale's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
From first call to farewell: the steps
- Ask the clinic for a quiet room and some time, even if the decision was made in a rush. You don't have to leave straight away.
- Don't sign the aftercare form on the spot if you're unsure. Ask the clinic to keep your pet in their cold room for a day while you think.
- Find out which crematory the practice uses, then ask if you're free to pick another provider, or to bring your pet home and bury them yourself.
- Request a paw print or a clipping of fur before your pet leaves the room; it's much harder to arrange later.
- If family couldn't get there in time, ask if the clinic will let them come in for their own goodbye before the pickup.
- Get the aftercare price on its own line, separate from the medical bill, so you can see what the farewell part costs.
- Pencil in a gathering for later, either once the ashes have come home or beside the grave, so those who couldn't be there get their moment.
After the farewell: ways to keep the memory close
Midvale is home to many renters, young adults and newcomers to Utah, and a pet's death can hit especially hard for someone who lives solo or whose relatives are in another state. Tell a friend or coworker what happened, even if it feels awkward, or call a veterinary-school pet-loss line. Missing an animal this much is completely normal, and it helps to say so aloud.
the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, or look at how readers voted in our polls, look through our guides and the blog. If you live between Midvale and Provo, West Valley City, Salt Lake City and St. George, either page applies. Every other community in Utah, and all of the United States, is listed too.
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?
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
Which nearby towns can I compare with Midvale?
The closest communities we cover are Murray (about 3 miles), Sandy (about 4 miles) and Cottonwood Heights (about 4 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Midvale too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How many pet owners live in Midvale?
By our estimate, about 13,500 households in Midvale have at least one dog or cat, and around 1,100 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 36,099, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
How do Utah attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Utah human cremation rate at about 46.1%[5]. We show it on the Midvale 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.
Where are the providers that serve Midvale actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Salt Lake City, about 10 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Midvale and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Can I hold a funeral for my pet at home in Midvale?
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 Utah rules allow it.
Will I need to book a pet farewell in advance in Midvale?
Going by our estimate of 13,500 dog- or cat-owning households in Midvale, roughly 1,100 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.
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 Utah's cremation rate at 46.1% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] US pet cemetery burial for a dog costs about 3.2x a private cremation ($831 vs $260 national averages). Our estimate: 831 / 260 = 3.20. How we calculate.
- [7] 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.