Pet taxidermy and freeze-dry options for Murrysville, Pennsylvania
By our estimate, about 7,600 households in Murrysville 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.
- What to tell your vet or emergency clinic
- Freezer and power-cut backup plans
- Practitioners chosen by portfolio, not postcode
Murrysville, Pennsylvania
Getting your pet frozen and to a specialist from Murrysville
A farewell in Murrysville might be the family gathered on the back deck, a last visit to a favorite wooded corner of the property, or a few quiet minutes in the yard where your pet liked to lie. Ask the driver to hold off a few minutes while everyone says goodbye; most will. A remembrance for friends can follow later, once the urn is home.
A house set back among the trees can feel very still after a pet dies, and that stillness surprises people. Call a friend, a sibling, or a support line for grieving pet owners, even for ten minutes. Counselors who understand this kind of loss are available too, and grieving an animal who was part of every ordinary morning is completely natural.
Working dogs around Murrysville, such as a herding dog or a livestock guardian, can be big. A large dog won't fit into a small chest freezer once stiff, so settle them on one side with legs folded into a shape that fits before stiffness sets in. Big dogs also cost more and take longer, so ask practitioners to quote for a partial piece as well.
With roughly 20,636 residents, Murrysville is the 29th-largest of the 36 Pennsylvania communities we cover. Pittsburgh, roughly 18 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Murrysville run from there.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Monroeville (6 miles), Plum (6 miles) and Penn Hills (9 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
7,600
Murrysville: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
20,636 ÷ 2.5 = 8,254 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 7,600. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
630
Estimated dog and cat losses in Murrysville each year
How we calculated this
7,600 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 630 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 Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, if you'd like to read the original sources.
Cremation, burial and preservation in Pennsylvania
Human cremation sits around 61.3%[5] in Pennsylvania, and pet aftercare choices are broad as a result: crematories, pet cemeteries, home burial and a few preservers taking work by mail. That choice is welcome, but it also means your vet may assume whichever path is most common at their practice. Put your request in writing, even a quick email, stating that your pet is to be frozen and held.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Pennsylvania figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Murrysville tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Murrysville weather, freezing and power cuts
Cold, dry winter air in Murrysville is kind to freeze-dried work, but carrying a preserved pet from a cold car into a warm house can fog a glass case with condensation. If your pet comes home in January, leave the box closed indoors for an hour or two so it warms gradually before you unwrap it.
In January, February, March and December, it's tempting to leave a pet outside in Murrysville 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
Waiting is part of the cost. Freeze-drying takes three to six months for small pets and seven or more for large dogs[6], and both freeze-drying and taxidermy often run 6–12 months[7]. One studio offers faster turnaround of six to eight weeks for 50% more[8]. A rush fee can make sense, but a frozen pet can safely wait, so it's rarely necessary.
For a line-by-line price table, see the Pennsylvania 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.
Rules worth knowing in Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania guidance below.
Pennsylvania keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Murrysville.
The Pennsylvania page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Murrysville's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
The first hours, step by step
- 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, which keeps bags of frozen food from pressing down on them.
- Let your child help pick a pose by looking through photos together: asleep in a curl, or upright the way they'd wait by the cage door.
- Explain the wait honestly: many months, and a pet who will look asleep rather than alive when they come home.
- Make a memory box together during the months of waiting, filling it with a drawing, a favorite photo and the name card off the cage.
- Agree where the finished piece will live, somewhere your child can see it without handling it every day.
Living with a preserved pet in Murrysville
Children in Murrysville homes can help choose a memorial spot, draw a portrait or write a short letter to go with the urn. It helps them feel included rather than shut out. Grown-ups might plant a tree or a patch of bulbs on the anniversary, then watch it grow each year as a living reminder of the animal they miss.
browse in-depth guides or recent articles, try the free planning tools, or see how other readers answered in our polls, The services page is the place to compare what is included. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Erie, Philadelphia, Reading and Pittsburgh, and every city in Pennsylvania.
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.
Where would a preserved pet live in your home?
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
Is Murrysville big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 7,600 Murrysville households keep a dog or cat and around 630 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 20,636), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
How do Pennsylvania attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Pennsylvania human cremation rate at about 61.3%[5]. We show it on the Murrysville 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.
Where are the providers that serve Murrysville actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Pittsburgh, about 18 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Murrysville and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Murrysville?
Usually yes. Monroeville is about 6 miles away, Plum is about 6 miles away and Penn Hills 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 much does it cost to freeze-dry a pet from Murrysville?
US guides put freeze-drying a cat or small dog at $1,000–$2,500[10], and traditional taxidermy at $800–$2,500[11]. Weight makes a big difference: one studio lists USD 650[12] for a pet under a pound and $2,781 plus $69 a pound for dogs over 20 lb[13]. Add bases, posing and shipping both ways, and ask for a written total.
Can I ship my pet frozen from Murrysville 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 Pennsylvania's cremation rate at 61.3% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Freeze-dry preservation takes 3–6 months for small pets, 7+ months for large dogs and up to a year for very large animals. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2024.
- [7] Both traditional taxidermy and freeze-drying typically take 6–12 months, sometimes longer. Memorials.com – Pet Taxidermy Guide, 2025.
- [8] Paying 50% extra for VIP service cuts freeze-dry turnaround to 6–8 weeks at Animal Family Pet Preservation. Animal Family Pet Preservation – Pricing, 2026.
- [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] 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.
- [11] 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.
- [12] 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.
- [13] 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.
Tell us about your pet and what you'd like kept
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.