Planning a goodbye for your pet in Franklin
By our estimate, about 13,500 households in Franklin have a dog or a cat, and roughly 1,100 of those pets die each year. Every one of those families decides how to say goodbye. Here's how to plan yours.
- Home, garden or viewing-room farewells
- Witnessed cremation and cemetery burial explained
- Plan it all within a day if you need to
Franklin, Wisconsin
How families in Franklin say goodbye to a pet
Some Franklin households hold off until the Root River parkway greens up and the garden can be dug before they gather to remember. The ashes keep safely indoors for as long as that takes. Waiting also lets out-of-town relatives arrange travel, and leaves room for something personal, whether a planting, a short reading or a meal together on the patio.
Sorrow over a lost animal can run deep, and it is often underestimated by people who have not been through it. Free grief phone lines, online groups and counselors across southern Milwaukee County all help with pet loss. If rest, focus or appetite have not recovered several weeks on, a phone call to one of them is well worth making.
In a smaller place like Franklin, a pet farewell usually happens at home or on the family's own land, because that's where the pet lived and where there's space. The vet often comes out for the goodbye, and cremation happens at a crematory in a larger centre such as Milwaukee. That means the farewell and the handover are yours to shape, without a venue to book.
About 36,687 people live in Franklin, which makes it the 23rd-largest of the 50 Wisconsin communities we cover. Milwaukee, roughly 12 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Franklin run from there.
If you want to compare providers, look at Greenfield (5 miles), Oak Creek (6 miles) and Muskego (6 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
13,500
Franklin: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
36,687 ÷ 2.5 = 14,675 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 13,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
1,100
Franklin 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. 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.
The numbers above come from Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, if you'd like to read the original sources.
Funeral traditions in Wisconsin and your pet
With about 70.7%[5] of people in Wisconsin cremated, a cremation is the familiar end to a funeral here, and many families want a pet's farewell to echo it on a small scale. You can borrow whatever feels right: a blessing, a moment of silence, a candle, a shared meal afterwards. Whatever your family would do for a person, a smaller, simpler version usually fits a pet.
The Wisconsin figure comes from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
When the weather shapes the goodbye
Snow and ice across January, February, March and December can delay collection and make roads unsafe for relatives driving in. If your pet is old or very ill and a winter storm is forecast, it's reasonable to ask your vet now how a home goodbye and collection would work in bad weather, rather than on the night.
It's tempting to keep your pet in an unheated garage or shed through January, February, March and December until the ground softens. For a few days that can work, in a closed box off the floor and sealed from wildlife, but over weeks the temperature swings too much. For a spring burial, cremation now and burying the ashes later is kinder and simpler.
Pet funeral and burial prices for families in Franklin
It helps to see the whole bill at once. By our estimate, a typical US dog's end-of-life care comes to about $670 with a home euthanasia and private cremation, against about $399 when the goodbye happens in the clinic [6]. The farewell on top can be as small as a candle or as large as a cemetery service, so decide where the goodbye happens first.
For a line-by-line price table, see the Wisconsin overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Local rules worth checking in Wisconsin
Beaches, rivers and lakes often have their own scattering rules, set by a different authority from parks, and some ask you to scatter a set distance from shore. Here's the general picture for Wisconsin; for the exact spot, check with whoever manages that land or water.
Not sure which office covers Franklin? The Wisconsin local government directory is the official list.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Wisconsin level first; our Wisconsin rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Franklin or your HOA adds anything.
From first call to farewell: the steps
- Decide who needs to be there. Pulling a few close people together within a day is manageable; the wider group can be invited to something later.
- Pick the place: home, garden, a favorite walk, a crematory farewell room or a cemetery.
- Check anything that needs permission, such as scattering in a park or burying on land you don't own.
- Plan a loose running order: arrival, an opening, shared memories, a song or reading, a small ritual, then the goodbye.
- Arrange the handover or the burial to follow the ceremony immediately, rather than leaving people standing about.
- Look after yourself afterwards. Have a meal, accept offered help, and leave the lead hanging until you feel like moving it.
The weeks and months after the goodbye
Franklin mixes country roads, newer subdivisions and a few working acreages, so animals live in all sorts of households here, from indoor cats to backyard hens. When one is gone, saying goodbye might mean nothing more than the family gathered in the garden beside a favorite tree, each person holding a photo, with a few minutes of quiet before sharing memories.
or look at how readers voted in our polls, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones, The services page is the place to compare what is included, try the free planning tools. More local pages: Appleton, Madison, Kenosha and Racine, the Wisconsin overview and every city in the United States.
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?
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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Franklin?
Usually yes. Greenfield is about 5 miles away, Oak Creek is about 6 miles away and Muskego is about 6 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Roughly how many pets die in Franklin each year?
Our estimate is around 1,100. It comes from Franklin's population (about 36,687), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 13,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
How do Wisconsin attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Wisconsin human cremation rate at about 70.7%[5]. We show it on the Franklin 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 does Franklin's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Franklin, with average highs around 82°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Can I keep my pet in the garage until spring in Franklin?
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.
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 Wisconsin's cremation rate at 70.7% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] A typical US dog end-of-life bill is about $670 with at-home euthanasia plus private cremation, versus about $399 with clinic euthanasia plus private cremation. Our estimate: 410 + 260 = 670; 139 + 260 = 399. How we calculate.
- [7] The median price multiple of private (ashes returned) over communal cremation across 8 markets is about 2.0x, ranging from 1.25x (Tokyo) to 5.2x (Auckland). Our estimate: median(private_price / communal_price) same weight band: US CareCredit 51-70 lb midpoints (250/75) = 3.33x; Auckland 15-25 kg (445/85) = 5.24x; Norway 1-20 kg (3790/1190) = 3.18x; Singapore 10-20 kg (480/260) = 1.85x; Ontario 25-250 lb (549/279) = 1.97x; Tokyo 20-30 kg (38500/30800) = 1.25x; France 20 kg midpoints (200/95) = 2.11x; Germany range midpoints (270/145) = 1.86x. 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.
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