Preserving your pet from Union City: the first hours and beyond
Union City has an estimated 24,500 dog- or cat-owning households, by our count. Very few local vets handle a preservation request often, so this page walks you through the freezing, shipping and waiting yourself.
- Freeze-drying, taxidermy or a partial keepsake
- Honest about waits and results
- Written quotes you can compare
Union City, New Jersey
Preserving a pet from Union City: the local picture
Grieving a pet in a dense, fast-moving city can feel lonely, even surrounded by people. Pet-loss hotlines pick up calls and online chats, and Hudson County counselors hold office or video sessions, several with Spanish-speaking staff. When sadness lasts for weeks, or starts to crowd out sleep and work, call one of them; you owe no one an explanation.
In a Union City apartment building, the whole hallway may know the family pet, and neighbors often offer to help. A vet can visit the apartment so an old animal stays in its familiar room, or the family can travel to a clinic side by side. For children, describe what happened simply and truthfully, in Spanish, English or whatever feels most natural at home.
Snow, floods or a long drive can make reaching a larger centre such as New York City from Union City impossible on the day your pet dies. Don't wait for the roads to clear before cooling your pet. Use your own freezer, a neighbor's, or a cooler topped up with fresh ice every few hours, and write down each step, because a practitioner will ask.
With roughly 66,656 residents, Union City is the 11th-largest of the 58 New Jersey communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Union City are based about 4 miles away in New York City, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
For a second opinion on price, Hoboken (2 miles), West New York (2 miles) and Secaucus (2 miles) are close enough that their providers cover Union City routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
24,500
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Union City
How we calculated this
66,656 ÷ 2.5 = 26,662 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 24,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
2,050
Union City families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
24,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,050 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.
The numbers above come from American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, if you'd like to read the original sources.
How New Jersey thinks about cremation, and where preservation fits
Roughly 56.5%[5] of those who die in New Jersey are cremated. Whichever way your family leans, preservation doesn't have to replace it. Some families bury the body and keep a cleaned skull; others cremate and keep a single freeze-dried paw. Think about how a preserved piece would fit alongside the ways your family already remembers the people and animals it has lost.
Source for the New Jersey number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Union City, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Heat, cold and a freezer that mustn't fail in Union City
Union City can be damp around July without ever feeling muggy. Freeze-dried pets are most at risk where damp air sits still, in closed rooms and cupboards. If you need to store the piece for a while, during a move for example, wrap it loosely in acid-free tissue in a box with silica gel packets, never in sealed plastic that traps moisture.
Mild weather in Union City can make it feel as though there's no hurry. For cremation, that's true. For preservation, it isn't. Freeze your pet within a few hours, double-bagged with the air pressed out. The fridge buys you a short while if the freezer is full, but don't rely on it overnight.
Prices by pet size, and what adds to them
Pet preservation is priced by weight, method and pose, not by city, so what you'd pay from Union City depends mostly on your pet and the practitioner you choose. One US price guide quotes freeze-drying a cat or small dog at $1,000–$2,500[6] and traditional taxidermy at $800–$2,500[7]. Large dogs cost several thousand dollars more. The published prices below come from US price lists and cost guides.
We keep the detailed New Jersey price table on one page so it stays current: see New Jersey prices.
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Permits, shipping and burial rules in New Jersey
Before you commit to preservation, check two things with the practitioner: whether your species needs any permit where they are, and whether they're allowed to receive it. Rules for domestic cats and dogs are light; rules for native birds and reptiles can be strict and vary by place. If the rest of your pet is going to be buried or cremated, check what New Jersey allows for home burial and scattering too.
To find your county or city office in New Jersey, start with the official New Jersey local government directory.
The New Jersey page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Union City's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
What to do now, and what can wait
- Raise preservation before the euthanasia appointment, not afterward, so the clinic can plan where your pet will be held once they've died.
- Ask the vet to clip as little fur as possible when placing the catheter or giving the injection, and find out which leg they intend to use.
- Bring a towel and a sturdy cooler so there's no delay between the appointment and a freezer, whether that's at home or at the clinic.
- Take your time saying goodbye, then settle your pet into the curled or resting shape you'd like before their body stiffens.
- If you've already picked a practitioner, check with them in advance how they prefer a pet posed and bagged for the freezer.
- Note the time of death and the time of freezing in your phone; those two times are the first things any practitioner asks.
Once the finished piece is home in Union City
Some Union City households gather once the urn is home, over a meal with a candle and photos, or at a Palisades overlook as the skyline lights up. Relatives can join from across Hudson County, or by video from abroad. Marking the loss weeks later is every bit as sincere, and the wait often lets far-flung relatives in Florida or overseas take part.
or look at how readers voted in our polls, use the free tools before you ring anyone, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details, Compare every option on our services page. If you live between Union City and Paterson, Newark, Elizabeth and Jersey City, either page applies. Every other community in New Jersey, and all of the United States, is listed too.
Reader polls
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Questions people ask
How does Union City's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Union City, with average highs around 85°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January and February, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Will I have to travel to New York City to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in New York City (roughly 4 miles from Union City) 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.
How many pet owners live in Union City?
By our estimate, about 24,500 households in Union City have at least one dog or cat, and around 2,050 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 66,656, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
How do New Jersey attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the New Jersey human cremation rate at about 56.5%[5]. We show it on the Union City 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.
Do I need a permit to have a wild bird preserved in the US?
Most native wild birds are protected under federal law, and possessing one, even a bird you found dead, can be illegal without a permit. Domestic and captive-bred birds, such as budgies, cockatiels, parrots, chickens and domestic pigeons, are generally outside those rules. If your bird is anything else, ask the practitioner and your state wildlife agency before you ship.
Should I tell my vet about preservation before a planned euthanasia?
Yes, ideally when you book. The clinic can then plan to put your pet in a freezer rather than add them to the crematory collection, clip only a small patch of fur for the injection and give you a quiet room with time afterward to settle your pet into a natural shape. If you've already chosen a practitioner, ask them whether they have any requests for the vet, and pass them on.
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 New Jersey's cremation rate at 56.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Memorials.com puts freeze-drying at $1,000–$2,500 for a cat or small dog and $2,000–$5,000+ for a medium to large dog. Memorials.com – Pet Taxidermy Guide, 2025.
- [7] Memorials.com puts traditional taxidermy at $800–$2,500 for a cat or small dog and $1,500–$5,000+ for a medium to large dog. Memorials.com – Pet Taxidermy Guide, 2025.
- [8] 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.
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