Pet freeze-drying and taxidermy in Burbank
By our estimate, about 38,000 households in Burbank have a dog or cat. Only a small share of families ever consider preservation, so if you're one of them, here's how to freeze your pet in time and what comes next.
- Clear steps for the first few hours
- Shipping frozen, explained plainly
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Burbank, California
Finding a practitioner from Burbank
Some Burbank families mark a pet's death with an hour on a Verdugo trail at dusk, watching the lights come on across the valley, or with a gift to the city's animal shelter in the pet's name. Friends in the industry sometimes send a sketch or a short edit of old videos, which can become a treasured keepsake. If grief stays heavy after several weeks, a counsellor who works with pet loss can help.
Many Burbank households are single adults or couples without children, and a pet may be the closest daily companion someone has. That can make the loss especially sharp, and the silence of an apartment after work especially loud. Ask a friend to come over for the farewell or to make the call to a provider for you. Grief for an animal is real grief, and it is fine to treat it that way.
A good first call from Burbank is to someone who preserves pets, not to a cremation provider. Describe your pet's species, weight, how they died and how long they've been frozen. A practitioner can often tell you straight away whether preservation is likely to work, which saves you money and heartache if it isn't.
Burbank's population is around 102,988, the 67th-largest of the 307 California communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Burbank are based about 11 miles away in Los Angeles, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Glendale (5 miles), La Cañada Flintridge (7 miles) and West Hollywood (7 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
38,000
Burbank: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
102,988 ÷ 2.5 = 41,195 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 38,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
3,150
dog and cat deaths per year in Burbank, our estimate
How we calculated this
38,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 3,150 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.
The published sources behind those figures are Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Aftercare traditions in California, and choosing to preserve
With about 70.5%[5] of people in California choosing cremation, most friends and relatives will assume your pet's ashes are coming home. A preserved pet can surprise people. It helps to have a simple sentence ready, such as that you wanted to keep them as they were. Nobody needs more than that, and most people understand once they see how much care went into it.
The California percentage above is from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) and refers to human funerals. Treat it as context for Burbank, not as a count of pets.
How Burbank's climate affects the first hours
In August, when Burbank highs sit near 88°F, even the walk from the car to the clinic door warms a pet's body. Carry them in a cooler rather than in your arms, park in shade and keep the air conditioning running. A pet who died of heatstroke is already very hot inside, so press ice packs against the belly and chest to cool them quickly before freezing.
Hot months in Burbank bring storms and heavy demand on the power grid, and a freezer that loses power can undo everything. If an outage hits, keep the freezer lid shut, cover it with blankets for insulation and buy dry ice if the power will be off for more than a day. A full chest freezer stays frozen far longer than a half-empty upright one.
What pet preservation costs in Burbank
Pet preservation is priced by weight, method and pose, not by city, so what you'd pay from Burbank depends mostly on your pet and the practitioner you choose. One US price guide quotes freeze-drying a cat or small dog at $1,000–$2,500[6] and traditional taxidermy at $800–$2,500[7]. Large dogs cost several thousand dollars more. The published prices below come from US price lists and cost guides.
Prices for Burbank track the wider California market, so use the California price table as your baseline and the services page to see what is included.
Free tool
Freeze-dry & taxidermy cost estimator
Estimate cost and waiting time for freeze-drying or taxidermy by size and pose.
Wildlife permits, shipping and local rules in California
Most of the paperwork you'll sign for preservation is a contract, not a permit. Read what it says about the deposit, storage fees if you can't collect on time, and what happens to your pet if the studio closes or the practitioner falls ill. Keep a copy with your pet's photos. For whatever won't be kept, the rules for California below apply.
California keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Burbank.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the California level first; our California rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Burbank or your HOA adds anything.
The first hours, step by step
- Tell your child what's happening in simple words before the freezer door closes, rather than leaving it as something unspoken in the kitchen.
- Double-bag a small pet and place them in a lidded tub, so they can't be squashed by frozen food.
- Let your child help pick a pose from photos, such as curled asleep or sitting up the way they sat at the cage door.
- Explain the wait honestly: many months, and a pet who will look asleep rather than alive when they come home.
- Make a memory box together during the months of waiting, filling it with a drawing, a favorite photo and the name card off the cage.
- Agree where the finished piece will live, somewhere your child can see it without handling it every day.
Remembering your pet while you wait
Working in entertainment often means long days, travel and deadlines that do not pause for grief. If a pet dies during a shoot or a crunch week, it is reasonable to ask for a day off; many people in the industry have been through the same thing. Spend a last hour with your pet somewhere familiar, and let friends take over the phone calls and paperwork.
Every option Burbank families choose between is on the services page, or look at how readers voted in our polls, run the numbers with the free planning tools, browse in-depth guides or recent articles. Close to Burbank we also cover San Francisco, San Jose, Fresno and Sacramento; the full list for California and for the United States is a click away.
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.
If you were preserving your pet, which route would you lean toward?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
How do you feel about waiting months for a preserved pet to come home?
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.
Questions people ask
Is Burbank big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 38,000 Burbank households keep a dog or cat and around 3,150 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 102,988), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
How does Burbank's weather affect pet aftercare?
August is the hottest month in Burbank, with average highs around 88°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Winters are mild, with average lows staying above freezing, so outdoor burial or scattering is usually possible year round.
Where are the providers that serve Burbank actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Los Angeles, about 11 miles away. That is normal for a city this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Burbank and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Burbank?
The closest communities we cover are Glendale (about 5 miles), La Cañada Flintridge (about 7 miles) and West Hollywood (about 7 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Burbank too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Can I ship my pet frozen from Burbank to a practitioner in another state?
Usually, yes. Most practitioners who take shipped pets ask for them frozen solid for at least a day or two, double-bagged, packed in a thick cooler with dry ice and sent overnight on a Monday or Tuesday. Dry ice has labeling rules, so ask which carrier and service they want. Return shipping of the finished piece is often quoted separately.
Should I tell my vet about preservation before a planned euthanasia?
Yes, ideally when you book. The clinic can then plan to put your pet in a freezer rather than add them to the crematory collection, clip only a small patch of fur for the injection and give you a quiet room with time afterward to settle your pet into a natural shape. If you've already chosen a practitioner, ask them whether they have any requests for the vet, and pass them on.
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 California's cremation rate at 70.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Memorials.com puts freeze-drying at $1,000–$2,500 for a cat or small dog and $2,000–$5,000+ for a medium to large dog. Memorials.com – Pet Taxidermy Guide, 2025.
- [7] Memorials.com puts traditional taxidermy at $800–$2,500 for a cat or small dog and $1,500–$5,000+ for a medium to large dog. Memorials.com – Pet Taxidermy Guide, 2025.
- [8] On a per-pound-above-threshold reading of its price list, one Ohio studio would charge about $4,851 to freeze-dry a 50 lb dog. Our estimate: $2,781 + $69 × (50 − 20) lb. How we calculate.
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