Pet taxidermy and freeze-dry options for Columbus, Ohio
Roughly 29,000 dogs and cats die in Columbus 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.
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Columbus, Ohio
Getting your pet frozen and to a specialist from Columbus
The grey Ohio winter, with short days from November to March, can make grief feel heavier, especially if your days were shaped around caring for an animal. Try to keep some structure: daylight time outdoors when you can, a regular call with a friend, something small in the evenings. A farewell at home, even a short one, gives the household a clear moment to share.
Columbus is a university and state-government city, and many residents moved here for school or work and are far from family. A pet may have been a companion through graduate school, a first job or a first house. Losing that animal can feel like losing a chapter. Tell a friend or coworker, and consider a small farewell with the few people who knew your pet.
Emergency hospitals in Columbus may handle several deaths in one night, and deceased pets are often moved to a shared cold room within the hour. When you ask for preservation, ask to see your pet's tag or label and check that it says freeze and hold. Take a photo of it on your phone. It's a small step, but it guards against a mix-up on a busy shift.
Columbus's population is around 938,396, the largest of the 106 Ohio communities we cover.
If you want to compare providers, look at Upper Arlington (6 miles), Whitehall (6 miles) and Grove City (7 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
345,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Columbus has (estimate)
How we calculated this
938,396 ÷ 2.5 = 375,358 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 345,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
29,000
dog and cat deaths per year in Columbus, our estimate
How we calculated this
345,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 29,000 a year. Treat it as a minimum.
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 Ohio thinks about cremation, and where preservation fits
Roughly 59.1%[5] of people in Ohio are cremated, and the rest are mostly buried, so families here are used to both ideas. Preservation is a third way of keeping a pet close, and one with a hard deadline: it has to be decided on, at least provisionally, before the body warms. Freeze first, and the burial or cremation choice for anything you don't keep can wait.
The Ohio 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 Columbus, not as a count of pets.
How Columbus's climate affects the first hours
Cold weather in Columbus is actually easier for shipping a frozen pet. With average lows around 22°F in January, a well-packed cooler stays frozen longer in transit. The risk shifts to delays: snow can hold up carriers, so send early in the week, keep the tracking number close and ask the practitioner to confirm the moment the box arrives.
Winter storms in Columbus 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.
Preservation prices beside other aftercare
Shipping, a custom base and special positioning all sit on top of the headline price. One price guide puts add-ons such as bases or posing at about $150–$800[6], and return shipping of the finished piece is often quoted separately. By our estimate, freeze-drying costs about six times as much as an average pet cremation[7], so ask for a written total before you pay a deposit.
We keep the detailed Ohio price table on one page so it stays current: see Ohio prices.
Free tool
Freeze-dry & taxidermy cost estimator
Estimate cost and waiting time for freeze-drying or taxidermy by size and pose.
When the rules in Ohio come into play
One practical rule matters more than any statute: a pet who has had a post-mortem examination (a necropsy) usually can't be preserved whole, because of the incisions involved. If your vet, insurer or breeder asks for one, decide first which matters more to you, the answers or the body. Otherwise, domestic pets face few legal limits, and the notes below for Ohio cover anything you don't keep.
Columbus's own guidance is published by City of Columbus Division of Refuse Collection; it covers public collection, which is separate from arranging a private cremation. Not sure which office covers Columbus? The Ohio local government directory is the official list.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Ohio level first; our Ohio rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Columbus or your HOA adds anything.
Your checklist, in the order it matters
- Don't rush into a decision, rush into a freezer. The method and the practitioner can both be chosen later.
- Keep your pet away from warmth: off the blankets, out of the sun, never in a vehicle.
- Wrap them in two heavy bags, squeeze out the air, and get them frozen inside hours.
- Talk with the people you live with about where a preserved pet would live and who would see it every day.
- Look at finished pets of your species from each practitioner, ideally unedited photos in daylight.
- Ask for a written quote covering base, chosen pose, shipping there and back, and later touch-ups.
- Expect a long wait, and think about how to honor your pet in the meantime; a small memorial at home is one way.
Living with a preserved pet in Columbus
Children in Columbus often grow up with pets of every kind, and many rural families around the city also raise 4-H animals, so losing one can be a child's first experience of death. Let them take part in the farewell, pick something to go with the pet, and answer their questions honestly. If grief lingers for weeks, your vet or a counselor can point you toward support.
or see how other readers answered in our polls, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, use the free tools before you ring anyone, Every option Columbus families choose between is on the services page. More local pages: Toledo, Parma, Akron and Cincinnati, the Ohio 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.
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
Which nearby towns can I compare with Columbus?
The closest communities we cover are Upper Arlington (about 6 miles), Whitehall (about 6 miles) and Grove City (about 7 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Columbus too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Roughly how many pets die in Columbus each year?
Our estimate is around 29,000. It comes from Columbus's population (about 938,396), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 345,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Columbus?
January, February, March and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 85°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How do Ohio attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Ohio human cremation rate at about 59.1%[5]. We show it on the Columbus 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.
What should I do if my pet dies while we're away from home?
Call the closest clinic or animal hospital wherever you are and ask for your pet to go into their freezer today, even if you're just passing through. Check how many days they could keep your pet, and whether a courier or the practitioner could pick up from there. If you'll be driving home together, use a hard cooler with dry ice, or ice you replace as it melts, and keep it out of the sun.
How much does it cost to freeze-dry a pet from Columbus?
US guides put freeze-drying a cat or small dog at $1,000–$2,500[9], and traditional taxidermy at $800–$2,500[10]. Weight makes a big difference: one studio lists USD 650[11] for a pet under a pound and $2,781 plus $69 a pound for dogs over 20 lb[12]. Add bases, posing and shipping both ways, and ask for a written total.
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 Ohio's cremation rate at 59.1% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Taxidermy and freeze-drying add-ons such as custom bases or positioning cost about $150–$800. Memorials.com – Pet Taxidermy Guide, 2025.
- [7] 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.
- [8] The pet preservation (freeze-dry/taxidermy) market adds only about USD 2.7 million a year, far slower than pet funeral services. Our estimate: (112.7M - 88.6M) / 9 years. How we calculate.
- [9] 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.
- [10] 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.
- [11] 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.
- [12] 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.
Find a preservation specialist for your pet
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