Thinking about preserving your pet in Collierville?
Collierville has an estimated 19,000 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.
- What to tell your vet or emergency clinic
- Freezer and power-cut backup plans
- Practitioners chosen by portfolio, not postcode
Collierville, Tennessee
Finding a practitioner from Collierville
Collierville neighbors tend to know one another's animals by name, so a loss rarely goes unnoticed on the street. Gathering the household for five minutes with photos and the pet's bed or perch before collection helps children and adults alike. Letting kids take part in the goodbye tends to help them understand what has happened and grieve in their own way.
A quiet evening on the back patio in October, once the Mid-South heat has eased, suits a small memorial with the ashes and a handful of close friends. Other Collierville families mark the anniversary by strolling the town square or sponsoring an adoption fee at a shelter. Your family can set the pace; nothing needs to happen until you feel ready.
Around Collierville, the nearest vet may also treat farm animals and keep a large freezer at the practice for them. It's worth asking about. Mixed practices sometimes have more cold storage than town clinics, and rural vets tend to be calm and practical about unusual requests. Explain that your pet needs to stay frozen, flat and undisturbed until you've chosen a practitioner.
Collierville's population is around 51,909, the 17th-largest of the 35 Tennessee communities we cover. Memphis, roughly 21 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Collierville run from there.
For a second opinion on price, Germantown (5 miles), Olive Branch (10 miles) and Bartlett (15 miles) are close enough that their providers cover Collierville routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
19,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Collierville
How we calculated this
51,909 ÷ 2.5 = 20,764 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 19,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
1,600
Collierville families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
19,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,600 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.
To check the figures yourself, see Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Cremation, burial and preservation in Tennessee
With cremation at about 48.9%[5] of human deaths in Tennessee, aftercare here leans towards burial and toward keeping things close to home. Pet preservation specialists are scarce in most places and scarcer where there's less demand for aftercare services generally, so expect to look further afield and to ship or drive your pet to someone well outside your area.
The Tennessee 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 Collierville, not as a count of pets.
Heat, cold and a freezer that mustn't fail in Collierville
In July, when Collierville highs sit near 91°F, even the walk from the car to the clinic door warms a pet's body. Carry them in a cooler rather than in your arms, park in shade and keep the air conditioning running. A pet who died of heatstroke is already very hot inside, so press ice packs against the belly and chest to cool them quickly before freezing.
Collierville gets hot: July averages highs around 91°F. Heat is the enemy of preservation, because warmth loosens the skin's hold on the fur within hours and no practitioner can put slipped fur back. If your pet dies at home in the warm months, move them onto a cool hard floor in an air-conditioned room immediately and get them into a freezer as soon as you can, not tomorrow.
Prices by pet size, and what adds to them
Large dogs are where prices climb fastest. On one US studio's published list, pets over 20 lb are priced at $2,781 + $69/lb[6]; by our estimate, a 50 lb dog would come to ~$4,851[7] on that list before a base or shipping. Ask several practitioners for a quote by weight, and ask whether a head-and-shoulders piece or a paw would be possible instead.
We keep the detailed Tennessee price table on one page so it stays current: see Tennessee prices.
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 Tennessee
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 Tennessee guidance below.
Tennessee keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Collierville.
Start with the Tennessee rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Collierville's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
What to do now, and what can wait
- Stop the clock. Warmth is the enemy here; the first thing to do is get your pet down onto the coolest hard floor you have.
- Call ahead if your freezer can't take your pet: a vet or emergency clinic may hold them, and ask for a freezer, not a fridge.
- Set aside the collar, tags and a favorite blanket. Leave the fur alone for now; if you'd like a clipped lock, ask the practitioner where to take it from.
- Bag and freeze your pet inside a few hours, sealed in two layers and posed as if simply lying down.
- Decide on the method: whole-body freeze-drying, traditional taxidermy, or a partial piece with the rest cremated.
- Agree everything in writing, covering what the practitioner does if they find damage after thawing.
Living with a preserved pet in Collierville
Many Collierville residents find support through churches, schools and neighborhood groups, and pet loss is a valid reason to lean on them. There are also toll-free grief lines staffed by veterinary students, and chat-based groups for people who would rather type than talk. Some people find comfort in seeing a counselor who understands how deep the bond with an animal can be.
or look at how readers voted in our polls, try the free planning tools, Every option Collierville families choose between is on the services page, browse in-depth guides or recent articles. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Chattanooga, Clarksville, Knoxville and Nashville, and every city in Tennessee.
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.
If you were preserving your pet, which route would you lean toward?
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
Will I have to travel to Memphis to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Memphis (roughly 21 miles from Collierville) 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.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Collierville?
Usually yes. Germantown is about 5 miles away, Olive Branch is about 10 miles away and Bartlett is about 15 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Roughly how many pets die in Collierville each year?
Our estimate is around 1,600. It comes from Collierville's population (about 51,909), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 19,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Is cremation common in Tennessee?
For people, yes: about 48.9%[5] of Tennessee 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 Collierville follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
What should I send the practitioner besides my pet?
Photographs, and plenty of them. The face in good daylight from the front and both sides, how your pet's ears and eyes looked when relaxed, their favorite sleeping position and any unusual markings. Mention quirks too, like a tongue that always poked out. Practitioners never met your pet, so these details are what make the finished piece look like them rather than any cat or dog.
Why is it so hard to find a pet preserver near Collierville?
Because it's a small craft. One industry report counts a little over 100 US pet taxidermy businesses[9], spread across a country where most households have a pet. Many are one- or two-person studios with long queues. That's why most families choose by portfolio and send their pet frozen to wherever the right practitioner is, rather than settling for whoever is closest.
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 Tennessee's cremation rate at 48.9% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 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.
- [7] On a per-pound-above-threshold reading of its price list, one Ohio studio would charge about $4,851 to freeze-dry a 50 lb dog. Our estimate: $2,781 + $69 × (50 − 20) lb. 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] The U.S. has more than 100 pet taxidermy businesses, generating an estimated USD 25–30 million in annual revenue. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2023.
Get freeze-dry and taxidermy quotes by email
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.