A proper farewell for your pet in Laramie
About 12,000 Laramie 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
Laramie, Wyoming
Pet farewells in Laramie: the local picture
Some people wait until the snow melts in the Snowy Range or the wildflowers appear at Vedauwoo to hold a remembrance. Tying it to your pet's birthday or homecoming day can help. Ashes don't change in a sealed urn, so there's time to wait for graduation weekend or a return visit, when everyone who knew the animal can come too.
Losing a pet mid-semester, far from home, can be isolating. Campus counseling services, national pet-bereavement lines and online groups are all options. Laramie's long, windy winters can drag moods down further, so if sadness lingers for weeks or starts affecting sleep, appetite or coursework, reaching out to a professional is a reasonable thing to do, not an overreaction.
Pet cemeteries are rarer in and around Laramie, 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.
Laramie's population is around 32,284, the 4th-largest of the 10 Wyoming communities we cover.
If you want to compare providers, look at Cheyenne (43 miles, a larger centre), Fort Collins (57 miles, a larger centre) and Windsor (68 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
12,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Laramie has (estimate)
How we calculated this
32,284 ÷ 2.5 = 12,914 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 12,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
990
Estimated dog and cat losses in Laramie each year
How we calculated this
12,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 990 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.
To check the figures yourself, see American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Funeral traditions in Wyoming and your pet
With about 78.5%[5] of people in Wyoming 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.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Wyoming figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Laramie tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
When the weather shapes the goodbye
Some families in Laramie with an old or failing pet dig the garden grave in autumn, before the ground locks up in January, February, March, April, October, 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.
Snow and ice across January, February, March, April, October, November 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.
Budgeting for a farewell in Laramie
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 Laramie choose cremation followed by a small burial of the ashes, which keeps the graveside ceremony at a fraction of the price.
The full price table by product is on our Wyoming page, and the services page explains what each option includes.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Local rules worth checking in Wyoming
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 Wyoming.
Not sure which office covers Laramie? The Wyoming local government directory is the official list.
The Wyoming page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Laramie's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
From first call to farewell: the steps
- Check gently that your pet has died: no breath, no heartbeat under your hand, eyes open and unmoving. Call an emergency vet if any doubt remains.
- Close the eyes if you can and curl the legs softly so your pet looks asleep; do this inside the first two hours or so, while the body is still supple.
- Slide an old towel or puppy pad underneath. After death the bowel and bladder often release on their own. This is expected and isn't a sign that something was wrong.
- Let your other animals come and sniff should they show interest. Plenty of owners believe this helps the remaining pets make sense of why the bed is now empty.
- If it's the middle of the night and the house is cool, the calls can wait for daylight. Nobody minds if you spend one last quiet night beside them.
- Before collection or burial, hold ten minutes of goodbye, so the last memory is yours and not a stranger at the front door.
Remembering your pet in Laramie
Farewells in Laramie are often small and informal: roommates or family crowded onto a couch, a candle, a few stories about the animal's quirks. Some providers will arrange a short visitation before cremation if you ask. Students grieving far from home may find it helps to set up a video call with family so everyone can say goodbye together, even from different time zones.
run the numbers with the free planning tools, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, look through our guides and the blog, or see what other families chose in the poll results. If you live between Laramie and Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette and Evanston, either page applies. Every other community in Wyoming, 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.
Should young children be part of a pet's goodbye?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
When would you hold the farewell?
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 Laramie?
Usually yes. Cheyenne is about 43 miles away, Fort Collins is about 57 miles away and Windsor is about 68 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Laramie?
January, February, March, April, October, November and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 81°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How many pet owners live in Laramie?
By our estimate, about 12,000 households in Laramie have at least one dog or cat, and around 990 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 32,284, 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 Wyoming?
For people, yes: about 78.5%[5] of Wyoming 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 Laramie follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Can we plan a pet funeral in Laramie within a day?
Yes, most pet farewells are arranged that quickly. In the morning, decide cremation or burial and call to hold a time. By midday, message the few people who should come. In the afternoon, choose the spot, a blanket, a candle and something to read. Hold the farewell in the evening, then hand your pet over or lay them to rest.
Can I keep my pet in the garage until spring in Laramie?
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 Wyoming's cremation rate at 78.5% 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] 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.
Plan your pet's farewell with us
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.