Pet freeze-drying and taxidermy in Johnstown
Roughly 690 dogs and cats die in Johnstown 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.
- Real published prices, never guesses
- Care tips for a preserved pet at home
- Gentler options if full preservation isn't right
Johnstown, Colorado
Preserving a pet from Johnstown: the local picture
Newcomers to northern Colorado sometimes face a pet's death without old friends close enough to drop by. Neighbors and coworkers tend to respond warmly when told, so there is no need to keep it to yourself. Late evenings are often hardest, when the house goes still; a phone line or online community for bereaved pet owners can fill that gap.
Some Johnstown families hold a simple backyard goodbye facing the mountains; others keep things private and mark the day later with a drive up the Big Thompson Canyon or a picnic somewhere green. A formal service is not required, and neither is doing nothing at all. Choose what fits your household, and give each person, adult or child, room to grieve at their own pace.
Working dogs around Johnstown, such as a herding dog or a livestock guardian, can be big. A large dog won't fit into a small chest freezer once stiff, so settle them on one side with legs folded into a shape that fits before stiffness sets in. Big dogs also cost more and take longer, so ask practitioners to quote for a partial piece as well.
Johnstown's population is around 22,433, the 30th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Johnstown are based about 40 miles away in Denver, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Our pages for Evans (9 miles), Greeley (10 miles, a larger centre) and Loveland (11 miles, a larger centre) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Johnstown as well.
Our estimate
8,250
How many dog- or cat-owning households Johnstown has (estimate)
How we calculated this
22,433 ÷ 2.5 = 8,973 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 8,250. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
690
dog and cat deaths per year in Johnstown, our estimate
How we calculated this
8,250 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 690 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.
We built the this numbers from American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
Aftercare traditions in Colorado, and choosing to preserve
Where cremation is as common as it is in Colorado, at about 77.4%[5], a preservation request can surprise the clinic desk. Staff may gently check that you understand the cost and the wait. That's care, not judgment. Give a short, firm answer, such as asking for your pet to be frozen for a preservation specialist, and ask them to write it on the file so the next shift doesn't route your pet to the crematory out of habit.
Source for the Colorado number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Johnstown, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Seasons, shipping and humidity in Johnstown
In January, February, March, April, November and December, it's tempting to leave a pet outside in Johnstown because it's cold enough. Please don't. Sunlight, wild animals and daytime thaws are all real risks, and a preserved pet needs to have stayed frozen without interruption. If there's no freezer space at home, ask your vet, or a friend with a chest freezer, to hold your pet for a few days.
With 6 months of freezing lows in Johnstown, a death in January may come when roads are icy and clinics short-staffed. If you can't safely get to the vet, keep your pet indoors in the coolest room, not outside, and use your own freezer. A small pet fits a kitchen freezer, and a cat or dog can wait a few hours in a cooler packed with ice until the roads improve.
How much to budget for preservation
Waiting is part of the cost. Freeze-drying takes three to six months for small pets and seven or more for large dogs[6], and both freeze-drying and taxidermy often run 6–12 months[7]. One studio offers faster turnaround of six to eight weeks for 50% more[8]. A rush fee can make sense, but a frozen pet can safely wait, so it's rarely necessary.
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.
Permits, shipping and burial rules in Colorado
If your pet bit someone shortly before dying, or showed signs of a disease that authorities must be told about, public-health rules come before any aftercare plan, and required testing can rule preservation out. Your vet will know what applies. For ordinary deaths from age, illness or accident, preservation raises no legal issue, and the burial and scattering guidance for Colorado below covers the rest.
To find your county or city office in Colorado, start with the official Colorado local government directory.
The Colorado page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Johnstown's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
What to do now, and what can wait
- Take a breath. If your pet was frozen quickly, you have time. If they weren't, freeze them now anyway and ask a practitioner honestly.
- Describe exactly what happened to any practitioner you contact: when your pet died, how long before freezing, and the temperature.
- Choose the pose together with the practitioner. Eyes-shut sleeping positions tend to read as the most lifelike.
- Send reference photos, including the face in good light and anything distinctive about how your pet sat or lay.
- Pay only the agreed deposit, and keep the written quote, return date and refund terms somewhere safe.
- Prepare a spot at home away from sun, damp and heating vents, so your pet has somewhere safe to come back to.
Caring for the piece, and for the memories
Johnstown's newer streets are full of strollers and bikes, and plenty of the kids on them have never been to a funeral. Inviting them to help, picking a flower from the yard or writing a note to lay beside the animal, gives them something useful to do with the sadness. Say plainly that the animal died; soft phrases about sleeping can leave a five-year-old afraid of bedtime.
or compare your instinct with the poll results, use the free tools before you ring anyone, Every option Johnstown families choose between is on the services page, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details. More local pages: Aurora, Thornton, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, the Colorado 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.
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 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 Johnstown follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Does the Johnstown climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 89°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, April, November and December, when lows sit below freezing, a home burial may have to wait for a thaw, so cremation with ashes returned keeps your options open.
How many pet owners live in Johnstown?
By our estimate, about 8,250 households in Johnstown have at least one dog or cat, and around 690 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 22,433, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Johnstown?
Usually yes. Evans is about 9 miles away, Greeley is about 10 miles away and Loveland is about 11 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Can I put my pet in the kitchen freezer?
Yes, if they fit and the freezer runs cold, as long as they're sealed in two heavy bags and kept apart from food in a box or bin. Small pets such as hamsters, rats, budgies and kittens fit easily. For a cat or dog, a chest freezer is usually easier. Avoid a fridge for anything longer than a few hours.
Is it legal to preserve my pet bird, turtle or snake?
For captive-bred pets such as budgies, cockatiels, parrots, corn snakes and most pet tortoises, usually yes. Native wild species are different: many wild birds, turtles and reptiles are protected, and possessing or preserving them can require a permit even if you kept them legally. Tell the practitioner exactly what species your pet is and where they came from before you ship.
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-dry preservation takes 3–6 months for small pets, 7+ months for large dogs and up to a year for very large animals. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2024.
- [7] Both traditional taxidermy and freeze-drying typically take 6–12 months, sometimes longer. Memorials.com – Pet Taxidermy Guide, 2025.
- [8] Paying 50% extra for VIP service cuts freeze-dry turnaround to 6–8 weeks at Animal Family Pet Preservation. Animal Family Pet Preservation – Pricing, 2026.
- [9] Freeze-drying a cat or small dog costs about 10 times a private cremation. Our estimate: midpoint freeze-dry $1,750 ($1,000–$2,500) / $175 (private cremation 3–24 lb, NC provider). How we calculate.
Tell us about your pet and what you'd like kept
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.