Pet taxidermy and freeze-dry options for Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Roughly 1,350 dogs and cats die in Wilkes-Barre 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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Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Getting your pet frozen and to a specialist from Wilkes-Barre
A farewell in Wilkes-Barre can be as simple as family gathering around the kitchen table to share stories, or a slow walk along the levee with an empty collar in your pocket. Some people want a last private moment before the body is collected; others would rather hold a small gathering once the ashes come home. You're allowed to pick whichever order feels bearable, and to change your mind along the way.
Wilkes-Barre has two universities and many households where grown children live a few streets away, so a loss is often shared across generations. Kids cope better when handed a job: writing a letter, picking a photo to stand by the urn, choosing where a garden stone goes. Adults can set their own ritual, too, such as a yearly walk along the Susquehanna on the date your companion died.
Dry ice isn't always stocked in a town the size of Wilkes-Barre. If you're shipping your pet to a distant practitioner, you may need to buy it in a larger centre such as Wilkes-Barre on the morning you send. Handle it with gloves, keep the car windows cracked while you drive and never seal it into an airtight container, because the gas needs to escape.
Wilkes-Barre's population is around 44,523, the 11th-largest of the 36 Pennsylvania communities we cover.
Families in Wilkes-Barre often end up using a provider from Scranton (16 miles), Hazleton (21 miles) and Allentown (48 miles, a larger centre). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
16,500
Wilkes-Barre: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
44,523 ÷ 2.5 = 17,809 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 16,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
1,350
Wilkes-Barre families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
16,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,350 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.
The published sources behind those figures are American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
How Pennsylvania thinks about cremation, and where preservation fits
Roughly 61.3%[5] of people in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania figure comes from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
Seasons, shipping and humidity in Wilkes-Barre
Dry indoor heat through Wilkes-Barre winters is fine for a preserved pet, but placement still matters. Keep the piece away from radiators, heating vents and fireplaces, which dry and crack delicate features, and away from cold windows where condensation forms. A shelf on an inside wall, out of direct sun, usually suits a freeze-dried or mounted pet well year-round.
Cold, dry winter air in Wilkes-Barre 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.
Prices by pet size, and what adds to them
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.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania costs. What each service includes is on the services page.
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What Pennsylvania rules mean for a preserved pet
Most of the paperwork you'll sign for preservation is a contract, not a permit. Read what it says about the deposit, storage fees if you can't collect on time, and what happens to your pet if the studio closes or the practitioner falls ill. Keep a copy with your pet's photos. For whatever won't be kept, the rules for Pennsylvania below apply.
To find your county or city office in Pennsylvania, start with the official Pennsylvania local government directory.
The Pennsylvania page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Wilkes-Barre's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
What to do first if you might preserve your pet
- 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 avoid shaving more fur than they need to.
- 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, add whatever labels your carrier asks for, and ship it overnight early in the week, Monday or Tuesday.
- Keep the tracking number, then check with the practitioner that your pet was moved into their freezer the moment the box arrived.
Living with a preserved pet in Wilkes-Barre
The valley's gray stretch from November to March, when daylight fades early and cloud sits low over the ridges, can make grief feel heavier than expected. Tell one person what happened instead of carrying it quietly through the workweek. Pet loss helplines, counselors who understand animal bereavement and online support groups all take this kind of loss seriously, and none of them will tell you it was just an animal.
run the numbers with the free planning tools, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, or compare your instinct with the poll results. More local pages: Reading, Philadelphia, Bethlehem and Erie, the Pennsylvania overview and every city in the United States.
Reader polls
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Questions people ask
Does the Wilkes-Barre climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 85°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March 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.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Wilkes-Barre?
The closest communities we cover are Scranton (about 16 miles), Hazleton (about 21 miles) and Allentown (about 48 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Wilkes-Barre too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Is cremation common in Pennsylvania?
For people, yes: about 61.3%[5] of Pennsylvania deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Wilkes-Barre follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
How many pet owners live in Wilkes-Barre?
By our estimate, about 16,500 households in Wilkes-Barre have at least one dog or cat, and around 1,350 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 44,523, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Is it legal to preserve my pet bird, turtle or snake?
For captive-bred pets such as budgies, cockatiels, parrots, corn snakes and most pet tortoises, usually yes. Native wild species are different: many wild birds, turtles and reptiles are protected, and possessing or preserving them can require a permit even if you kept them legally. Tell the practitioner exactly what species your pet is and where they came from before you ship.
My pet has been in the fridge for a day. Can they still be preserved?
Sometimes. A pet kept cold the whole time may still be workable, while one left somewhere warm often isn't, because fur starts to slip. Move them to a freezer now and describe exactly what happened, including how long they were at room temperature, to a practitioner. A good one will tell you honestly whether it's still possible before taking a deposit.
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] 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 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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