Thinking about preserving your pet in Centennial?
Roughly 3,350 dogs and cats die in Centennial each year, by our estimate, and most go to cremation by default. If you'd like to preserve yours, tell your vet today and get them into a freezer within hours.
- Freeze-drying, taxidermy or a partial keepsake
- Honest about waits and results
- Written quotes you can compare
Centennial, Colorado
Preserving a pet from Centennial: the local picture
Winters on the Front Range can be long and grey between bright days, and grief sometimes deepens in those months. If you notice sadness lingering, reach out to someone: a friend, a family member or a support group for people who have lost pets. Several groups in the Denver area meet in person, and many more meet online, which can be easier during bad weather.
In Centennial, many families have busy, commuting lives, and a pet's death can feel like it happened in between everything else. It helps to pause, even briefly. Gathering the whole family for a few minutes, before anyone arrives to collect your pet, gives each person a chance to say goodbye. Children can pick a toy or write a note to go along with the pet.
Shipping a frozen pet from Centennial is more routine than it sounds. Practitioners who accept pets by post usually ask for an overnight service sent on a Monday or Tuesday, so the box never sits in a depot over a weekend. Before you pack anything, ask your chosen practitioner which carrier and service they want, and whether they'll book the collection for you.
Centennial is home to about 108,658 people, the 11th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Aurora, about 10 miles (16 km) away, which is where some providers serving Centennial are based.
Families in Centennial often end up using a provider from Parker (8 miles), Englewood (8 miles) and Littleton (8 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
40,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Centennial
How we calculated this
108,658 ÷ 2.5 = 43,463 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 40,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
3,350
dog and cat deaths per year in Centennial, our estimate
How we calculated this
40,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 3,350 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.
Cremation, burial and preservation in Colorado
With roughly 77.4%[5] of people cremated in Colorado, crematory vans often collect from vet clinics on a fixed schedule, sometimes daily. Ask what time the collection comes. If your pet died in the afternoon, there may be only hours before they're loaded with other pets. One call asking the clinic to pull your pet from the list and freeze them is the most useful thing you can do today.
We take the Colorado rate from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It is a human statistic; there is no equivalent pet figure for Centennial, and we would rather show a real number than invent one.
How Centennial weather changes your timeline
Winter storms in Centennial can bring ice, fallen lines and days without power. If your pet is waiting in a freezer, keep the lid closed, pile blankets on top and find dry ice or a generator before the second day. A full chest freezer kept shut holds its cold far longer than an upright model, and a garage freezer in January gets some help from the weather.
Cold, dry winter air in Centennial is kind to freeze-dried work, but carrying a preserved pet from a cold car into a warm house can fog a glass case with condensation. If your pet comes home in January, leave the box closed indoors for an hour or two so it warms gradually before you unwrap it.
Published prices and waits for Centennial owners
Birds, reptiles and small mammals have their own price points. One US studio lists $650–$1,350[6] for a small bird, with bearded dragons around $850 and hedgehogs, rats or ferrets around $950[6]. Small pets also ship in smaller coolers with less dry ice, so the total from Centennial is usually far lower than for a cat or dog.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Colorado: Colorado costs. What each service includes is on the services page.
Free tool
Freeze-dry & taxidermy cost estimator
Estimate cost and waiting time for freeze-drying or taxidermy by size and pose.
When the rules in Colorado come into play
Shipping a frozen pet has its own rules. Dry ice is regulated for transport, so carriers ask for the package to be labeled with the amount used, and some services won't accept it at all. Ask your practitioner which carrier they want and follow their packing instructions exactly. For anything you don't preserve, the usual burial and scattering rules in Colorado apply.
Colorado keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Centennial.
We keep Colorado's burial and scattering rules in one place: the Colorado rules summary. Before a home burial in Centennial, also ask the city whether local ordinances add anything.
The first hours, step by step
- Freeze first, decide later. A pet frozen quickly and kept frozen can wait weeks while you choose.
- Blot, don't wash. Dab off any moisture with paper towel and keep the coat as dry as it is.
- Pose gently and bag tightly. A natural sleeping curl, then two heavy bags with the air pressed out to prevent freezer burn on the face and ears.
- Plan for a power cut. Know where you'd get dry ice or a backup freezer if the electricity went off for more than a day.
- Ask two or three practitioners whether they take your species and size, how long their queue is and how they want your pet delivered.
- Ship or drop off frozen, early in the week if shipping, and ask for confirmation the moment your pet arrives.
Other ways to keep your pet close
Families in Centennial come from many backgrounds, and farewells can reflect that. Some hold a small backyard gathering; others light a candle or say a prayer. Colorado's human cremation rate is well above the national average, so an urn on the mantel or a scattering planned for next summer draws little comment. There is no deadline, and it is fine to wait before deciding.
look through our guides and the blog, The services page is the place to compare what is included, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, or compare your instinct with the poll results. If you live between Centennial and Fort Collins, Aurora, Thornton and Colorado Springs, either page applies. Every other community in Colorado, 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.
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 your pet died today, could you freeze them properly within a few hours?
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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Centennial?
Usually yes. Parker is about 8 miles away, Englewood is about 8 miles away and Littleton is about 8 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Is cremation common in Colorado?
For people, yes: about 77.4%[5] of Colorado 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 Centennial follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Will I have to travel to Aurora to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Aurora (roughly 10 miles from Centennial) collect from here as a matter of routine, and the paperwork is done by email or phone. If you want to be present for a witnessed cremation, that is when the drive matters.
Roughly how many pets die in Centennial each year?
Our estimate is around 3,350. It comes from Centennial's population (about 108,658), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 40,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Why is it so hard to find a pet preserver near Centennial?
Because it's a small craft. One industry report counts a little over 100 US pet taxidermy businesses[8], spread across a country where most households have a pet. Many are one- or two-person studios with long queues. That's why most families choose by portfolio and send their pet frozen to wherever the right practitioner is, rather than settling for whoever is closest.
Will my preserved pet look like they did when alive?
They'll look like your pet at rest, not like a living animal. Fur, markings and body shape usually come through well. Faces are harder: noses can darken, lips and eyelids shrink slightly, and open eyes are usually glass. Closed-eye sleeping poses tend to look most natural, and lots of reference photos help the practitioner capture what made your pet recognizable.
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 Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Freeze-drying costs about $850 for a bearded dragon, $950 for a hedgehog, rat or ferret, and $650–$1,350 for a small bird at one Ohio studio. Animal Family Pet Preservation – Pricing, 2026.
- [7] Freeze-drying a 10 lb cat at one published price list would cost about USD 2,290–2,590. Our estimate: Low: 2,095 + 49 x (10-6) lb; High: 2,095 + 49 x 10 lb. How we calculate.
- [8] The U.S. has more than 100 pet taxidermy businesses, generating an estimated USD 25–30 million in annual revenue. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2023.
Find a preservation specialist for your pet
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.