Pet taxidermy and freeze-dry options for Hobart, Indiana
By our estimate, about 11,000 households in Hobart 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.
- Freeze first, decide later
- Published prices by pet size
- Help finding a specialist who takes your species
Hobart, Indiana
Where Hobart owners find freezer space and practitioners
When a pet dies, the silence in the house can be the hardest part, especially at the times of day the animal used to demand attention. Waves of sadness for weeks or months are normal. National pet-loss phone lines and online groups cost nothing and welcome anyone, and a grief counselor who has worked with animal loss can help if the heaviness lingers.
Hobart sits between the Lake and Porter county towns, so pet-loss groups in Valparaiso, Merrillville or the Chicago south suburbs are all a reasonable drive, and online groups meet most evenings. Your vet may know which ones are active. If a euthanasia decision is near, ask about a house call; for a nervous or elderly animal, staying home for the last hour makes everything gentler.
News travels in a place like Hobart, and some owners worry about what neighbors will think of a preserved pet. You don't owe anyone an explanation. Preservation is an old, ordinary choice, and plenty of people keep a paw, a tail or a whole pet at home quietly. Decide what feels right for your family first, and let the rest follow.
Hobart is home to about 29,298 people, the 36th-largest of the 50 Indiana communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Hobart are based about 31 miles away in Chicago, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
For a second opinion on price, Merrillville (4 miles), Gary (6 miles, a larger centre) and Portage (7 miles) are close enough that their providers cover Hobart routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
11,000
Hobart: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
29,298 ÷ 2.5 = 11,719 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 11,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
900
Estimated dog and cat losses in Hobart each year
How we calculated this
11,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 900 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.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry; we only apply it to this.
Why preservation means speaking up early in Indiana
About 56.5%[5] of people in Indiana choose cremation. Attitudes are shifting, and that openness extends to pets, where families increasingly want something personal rather than the standard option. Preservation is the most personal of all, and still unusual. Expect to explain what you want to your vet more than once, and to find the practitioner yourself.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Indiana figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Hobart tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Heat, cold and a freezer that mustn't fail in Hobart
Winter storms in Hobart 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.
In January, February, March, November and December, it's tempting to leave a pet outside in Hobart 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.
Preservation prices beside other aftercare
Pet insurance rarely helps here. Standard policies generally don't cover aftercare, and end-of-life add-ons have low ceilings; one wellness add-on could reimburse up to $650[6] toward cremation, burial and keepsakes. Budget from savings, try our preservation cost estimator and ask whether the practitioner takes a deposit up front with the balance due before return shipping.
Prices for Hobart track the wider Indiana market, so use the Indiana 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.
Permits, contracts and paperwork in Indiana
Keeping a preserved pet you loved is legal almost everywhere, but selling or passing on some preserved species later can be restricted, especially birds and reptiles covered by wildlife-trade rules. Keep the practitioner's invoice, your pet's purchase or breeder records and any permits with the finished piece, so its origin is never in doubt. Remains you don't keep follow the Indiana guidance below.
Indiana keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Hobart.
The Indiana page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Hobart's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
A checklist for the first hours
- If your pet is at a clinic, ask the staff to write on the paperwork that your pet is held for preservation and must not be cremated.
- Ask them to freeze, not refrigerate, and to keep any clipping of the coat to the bare minimum.
- Bring your pet home frozen in a cooler, or arrange for the practitioner or a courier to collect.
- Keep your pet frozen solid for at least a day or two before any shipping, as most practitioners ask.
- Pack in a thick cooler with dry ice, labeled as the carrier requires, and send overnight on a Monday or Tuesday.
- Keep the tracking number and ask the practitioner to confirm your pet went straight into their freezer.
Caring for the piece, and for the memories
A farewell in Hobart might be a short gathering at the back door before the pickup, or a quiet visit to the Lake George shoreline once the ashes are home. Some families say a prayer; others trade funny stories about the animal's habits. Children like to help, maybe by choosing a photo for the fridge, writing a note, or planting bulbs in the yard.
the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, read our guides and latest articles, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, or compare your instinct with the poll results. If you live between Hobart and Evansville, Carmel, South Bend and Fishers, either page applies. Every other community in Indiana, 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.
Where would a preserved pet live in your home?
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If your pet died today, could you freeze them properly within a few hours?
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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
How do Indiana attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Indiana human cremation rate at about 56.5%[5]. We show it on the Hobart 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.
Does the Hobart climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 83°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, 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.
Where are the providers that serve Hobart actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Chicago, about 31 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Hobart and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
How many pet owners live in Hobart?
By our estimate, about 11,000 households in Hobart have at least one dog or cat, and around 900 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 29,298, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
How many pets die in Hobart each year, and how many are preserved?
Our estimate for Hobart is roughly 900 dog and cat deaths a year, across about 11,000 homes with a dog or cat. Just a small fraction are preserved; one market report puts taxidermy at about 7%[8] 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.
How do I look after a preserved pet at home?
Protect it from sunlight, damp and insects. Direct sun fades fur, humid air can soften freeze-dried tissue and moths or carpet beetles can damage fur over time. Keep the piece in a dry room away from bathrooms and heating vents, dust it with a soft makeup brush or a hair dryer on cool, and never wash it. A glass case helps with all three.
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 Indiana's cremation rate at 56.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Embrace's Wellness Rewards add-on could reimburse up to $650 toward cremation, burial and keepsakes. Pet Insurance Review - Does Pet Insurance Cover Euthanasia? (Dec 2023), 2023.
- [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] 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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