Pet taxidermy and freeze-dry options for Augusta, Georgia
Roughly 6,200 dogs and cats die in Augusta 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.
- What to tell your vet or emergency clinic
- Freezer and power-cut backup plans
- Practitioners chosen by portfolio, not postcode
Augusta, Georgia
Getting your pet frozen and to a specialist from Augusta
A farewell in Augusta can follow family or church tradition, with a short prayer at home and relatives gathered before the pet is collected, or it can be quiet and private. Some families also like to bury the ashes later on family land in a rural county. Whatever feels right is right. When you contact us, tell us what you'd like to include, and our email reply will list providers who cover the Augusta area on both sides of the river.
For military families in Augusta, a pet is often the constant through moves and deployments, and losing that companion can feel especially hard when a partner is away or family is far off. Grief like this is normal. Chaplains and family support services on post will talk about any loss, and online pet loss groups are open at all hours. Being gentle with yourself for a few weeks is a reasonable expectation.
Vets around Augusta usually know one another, and a practice that can't hold your pet frozen may know one that can. If you're too upset to phone around, ask the reception team to make the calls for you. It's a reasonable request, and most clinics would rather help than see a pet go to the wrong place for want of freezer space.
With roughly 202,000 residents, Augusta is the 3rd-largest of the 68 Georgia communities we cover.
For a second opinion on price, North Augusta (5 miles), Grovetown (11 miles) and Aiken (17 miles) are close enough that their providers cover Augusta routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
74,500
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Augusta
How we calculated this
202,000 ÷ 2.5 = 80,800 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 74,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
6,200
dog and cat deaths per year in Augusta, our estimate
How we calculated this
74,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 6,200 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.
Sources for the statistics above: American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Local aftercare habits and pet preservation
In Georgia, about 54.2%[5] of people are cremated, with burial still common. That mix shows up in pet aftercare too, and preservation sits alongside both. Some families preserve a paw or tail and bury the rest in the garden; others freeze-dry their whole pet. There's no local custom telling you which is right, which leaves you free to choose.
The Georgia 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 Augusta, not as a count of pets.
Keeping your pet frozen through Augusta's weather
Hot months in Augusta 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.
With May, June, July, August and September running hot in Augusta, the window between death and damage is short. Don't lay your pet on a soft bed or carpet, which holds heat against the body, and don't leave them in a car, even briefly. If you have to transport them to a clinic freezer, pack them in a cooler with bagged ice under a towel and run the air conditioning.
Preservation prices beside other aftercare
The simplest guide is weight. One published US price list charges USD 650[6] for a pet under a pound, $2,095 plus $49 a pound for pets of 6 to 19 lb, and $2,781 plus $69 a pound above 20 lb[7]. On our reading of that list, a 10 lb cat comes to about USD 2,291–2,585[8]. Other studios charge less, and some more.
For a line-by-line price table, see the Georgia overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Freeze-dry & taxidermy cost estimator
Estimate cost and waiting time for freeze-drying or taxidermy by size and pose.
What Georgia rules mean for a preserved pet
Most people never need to think about law when preserving a pet. The exceptions are wild or native animals, pets that died of a notifiable disease, and pets sent across a border, where animal health paperwork may apply. If any of those fit, raise it with your vet and practitioner first. Anything you don't keep follows the ordinary burial and scattering rules.
Georgia keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Augusta.
For Georgia's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Georgia guide. Local rules in Augusta can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
What to do now, and what can wait
- 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: it will be months, and when their pet comes back they'll look like they're sleeping, not awake.
- Make a memory box together while you wait, with a drawing, the name card from the cage and a favorite photo.
- Agree where the finished piece will live, somewhere your child can see it without handling it every day.
Living with a preserved pet in Augusta
Grief can surprise you. A quiet house, an empty spot by the door, a routine that suddenly stops: all of these can bring the loss back in waves. Many Augusta residents find comfort in time outdoors along the canal towpath or by the river, and in marking the loss with a small ceremony. If children are involved, let them help choose a memorial or plant a flower; it helps them understand.
read our guides and latest articles, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, or see what other families chose in the poll results, The services page is the place to compare what is included. Close to Augusta we also cover Macon, Columbus, Athens and Atlanta; the full list for Georgia 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.
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
Roughly how many pets die in Augusta each year?
Our estimate is around 6,200. It comes from Augusta's population (about 202,000), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 74,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Augusta?
Usually yes. North Augusta is about 5 miles away, Grovetown is about 11 miles away and Aiken is about 17 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 Georgia?
For people, yes: about 54.2%[5] of Georgia 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 Augusta follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
How does Augusta's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Augusta, with average highs around 94°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.
How quickly do I need to freeze my pet for preservation?
Within a few hours if you can, and sooner in warm weather. Warmth loosens the skin's grip on the fur, and once fur starts slipping a practitioner can't reverse it. Lay your pet in a natural resting pose, double-bag them with the air pressed out and put them in the coldest freezer you have. You can choose the method and the practitioner later.
Can I ship my pet frozen from Augusta 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.
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 Georgia's cremation rate at 54.2% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] One U.S. pet preservation studio charges USD 650 to freeze-dry a pet under 1 lb, with a 4–6 month turnaround. Animal Family Pet — Pet Preservation Pricing & Shipping, 2026.
- [7] An Ohio pet preservation studio prices freeze-drying for pets over 20 lb at $2,781 plus $69 per pound, and 6–19 lb pets at $2,095 plus $49 per pound. Animal Family Pet Preservation – Pricing, 2026.
- [8] 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.
- [9] 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.
Get freeze-dry and taxidermy quotes by email
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.