Pet preservation in Smyrna
Roughly 1,750 dogs and cats die in Smyrna 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 first, decide later
- Published prices by pet size
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Smyrna, Georgia
Preserving a pet from Smyrna: the local picture
A farewell in Smyrna might be the family circled around your pet in the backyard, a quiet moment on the steps, or a candle on the kitchen table. Everyone can say goodbye in whatever way feels right. Children can draw a picture, write a letter or choose a favorite toy to keep beside the ashes, and adults can simply sit and talk about the good years.
The weeks after a death can be surprisingly hard, when the house feels too quiet and old routines no longer fit. Helplines for grieving pet owners, online forums and counselors in Cobb County can help. If you find you cannot sleep, concentrate at work or stop crying weeks later, speaking to someone is sensible, and the animal you lost is reason enough.
Small towns like Smyrna often have a taxidermist who does deer and turkeys each season. They may be willing to freeze your pet for you, or to point you to someone who does pets, and that can be a real help. Just remember that mounting a buck and recreating your cat's face are different skills, so look at their pet work before you commit.
With roughly 57,513 residents, Smyrna is the 18th-largest of the 68 Georgia communities we cover. Atlanta, roughly 11 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Smyrna run from there.
For a second opinion on price, Mableton (5 miles), Marietta (7 miles) and Sandy Springs (9 miles) are close enough that their providers cover Smyrna routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
21,000
Smyrna: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
57,513 ÷ 2.5 = 23,005 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 21,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
1,750
dog and cat deaths per year in Smyrna, our estimate
How we calculated this
21,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,750 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.
None of the figures on this this page are ours alone: they rest on American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Why preservation means speaking up early in Georgia
Cremation stands at about 54.2%[5] in Georgia, and many families mix traditions across generations. Older relatives may remember pets buried under a tree in the yard; younger ones may think of ashes, or even freeze-drying. It can help to let each person say what they would keep if they could: a paw, a collar, a photo, the whole pet. The answers often overlap more than you'd expect.
For the Georgia figure we rely on NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Read it as a picture of local custom around death and remembrance in Smyrna rather than as pet data.
How Smyrna's climate affects the first hours
Summer humidity in Smyrna matters long after your pet comes home. Freeze-dried tissue can slowly take moisture back from damp air, which can soften features or invite pests. Keep a preserved pet in an air-conditioned room, away from bathrooms and exterior walls, and consider a sealed glass case. In July, run a dehumidifier if the room feels sticky.
Hot months in Smyrna 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.
Published prices and waits for Smyrna owners
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.
The Georgia price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
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 Georgia
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 Georgia below covers the rest.
Not sure which office covers Smyrna? The Georgia local government directory is the official list.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Georgia level first; our Georgia rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Smyrna or your HOA adds anything.
What to do now, and what can wait
- Freeze first, decide later. Once your pet is frozen and stays that way, taking a few weeks to choose does no harm.
- 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. Curl them as if asleep, then seal them in two thick bags, squeezing out the air so the face and ears don't get freezer burn.
- 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 if they accept an animal of your pet's kind and weight, what their current wait looks like, and how they prefer to receive pets.
- Ship or drop off frozen, early in the week if shipping, and ask for confirmation the moment your pet arrives.
Living with a preserved pet in Smyrna
Smyrna families remember pets in many ways: jonquils planted each fall, a bag of treats and blankets taken to the Cobb County shelter, a photo book, a stone the kids decorated. Gestures like these hold a memory steady and give children something to do with feelings they cannot yet name. Pick whatever your household will actually keep up, and do not worry if it looks small to anyone else.
try the free planning tools, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, or see how other readers answered in our polls. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Columbus, Macon, Atlanta and Augusta, and every city in Georgia.
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.
Where would a preserved pet live in your home?
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How do you feel about waiting months for a preserved pet to come home?
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If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Questions people ask
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Smyrna?
Usually yes. Mableton is about 5 miles away, Marietta is about 7 miles away and Sandy Springs is about 9 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
How many pet owners live in Smyrna?
By our estimate, about 21,000 households in Smyrna have at least one dog or cat, and around 1,750 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 57,513, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Does the Smyrna climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 90°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, 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 do Georgia attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Georgia human cremation rate at about 54.2%[5]. We show it on the Smyrna page because pet aftercare choices tend to track it: where cremation is normal for people, communal and private pet cremation are both easy to find.
How many pets die in Smyrna each year, and how many are preserved?
Our estimate for Smyrna is roughly 1,750 dog and cat deaths a year, across about 21,000 homes with a dog or cat. Just a small fraction are preserved; one market report puts taxidermy at about 7%[10] of owners' choices, and many families end up with a partial keepsake instead. You won't be the first to ask, but your vet may not have been asked before.
Will humidity in Smyrna damage a freeze-dried pet?
It can over time, which is why placement matters. Freeze-dried tissue can reabsorb moisture from damp air, softening features or attracting insects. Keep your pet in a dry, well-aired room away from bathrooms, basements and exterior walls. A sealed glass case and a dehumidifier during the wettest months give extra protection.
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] Freeze-drying a pet costs about 6 times as much as an average cremation. Our estimate: USD 1,500 (midpoint of USD 1,000–2,000) / USD 250. How we calculate.
- [10] About 7% of pet owners choose taxidermy, per Astute Analytica. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2024.
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