Preserving your pet from Murphy: the first hours and beyond
Murphy has an estimated 7,700 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
Murphy, Texas
What pet preservation is like in Murphy
Busy suburban schedules, with school runs, practices and commutes, can make it hard to stop, but pausing for a farewell is worth the time. Gather the family in the living room, let each child take their own turn to say goodbye, and allow a few quiet minutes. Providers are accustomed to waiting while a family finishes, so there is no need to apologize for taking your time.
Later, perhaps on a spring evening when the back yard is at its greenest, some Murphy households mark the loss together. They might pick a favorite photo to frame, write short notes to the animal, or plant a perennial that returns every year. There is no deadline for this, and it can be repeated on an anniversary if that helps.
Around Murphy, 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.
With roughly 20,985 residents, Murphy is the 142nd-largest of the 325 Texas communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Plano, about 5 miles (8 km) away, which is where some providers serving Murphy are based.
Murphy sits within easy reach of Sachse (4 miles), Wylie (5 miles, a larger centre) and Plano (5 miles, a larger centre). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Murphy; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
7,700
Murphy: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
20,985 ÷ 2.5 = 8,394 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 7,700. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
640
Estimated dog and cat losses in Murphy each year
How we calculated this
7,700 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 640 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 Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Local aftercare habits and pet preservation
In Texas, about 55.7%[5] of people are cremated, with burial still common. That mix shows up in pet aftercare too, and preservation sits alongside both. Some families preserve a paw or tail and bury the rest in the garden; others freeze-dry their whole pet. There's no local custom telling you which is right, which leaves you free to choose.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Texas figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Murphy tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Murphy weather, freezing and power cuts
With June, July, August and September running hot in Murphy, the window between death and damage is short. Don't lay your pet on a soft bed or carpet, which holds heat against the body, and don't leave them in a car, even briefly. If you have to transport them to a clinic freezer, pack them in a cooler with bagged ice under a towel and run the air conditioning.
Long hot spells across June, July, August and September strain home freezers in Murphy, especially ones sitting in a garage without air conditioning. A freezer working hard in a hot garage may not hold a steady deep freeze. Move your pet to an indoor freezer if you can, or put a cheap thermometer inside overnight; you want 0°F (−18°C) or colder.
Budgeting for freeze-drying or taxidermy from Murphy
Pet preservation is priced by weight, method and pose, not by city, so what you'd pay from Murphy 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 Texas price table on one page so it stays current: see Texas 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 Texas
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 Texas cover anything you don't keep.
Not sure which office covers Murphy? The Texas local government directory is the official list.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Texas level first; our Texas rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Murphy or your HOA adds anything.
A checklist for the first hours
- Stop the clock. Heat is what rules preservation out, so move your pet to a cool, hard floor right away.
- Call ahead to your vet or an emergency clinic if you don't have freezer space, and ask them to hold your pet frozen rather than refrigerated.
- Set aside the collar, tags and a favorite blanket. Don't cut or trim the coat yet; the practitioner can tell you where a keepsake lock can safely come 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: preserving the whole pet by freeze-drying, conventional taxidermy, or keeping just one part and cremating the remainder.
- Agree everything in writing, including what happens if damage is found when your pet thaws.
Other ways to keep your pet close
For many Murphy children, a pet's death is their first real experience of loss, and they may have questions for weeks. School counselors can help, and parents can call free pet-loss hotlines staffed by veterinary students for advice of their own. Honest, simple answers usually work better than euphemisms such as 'went to sleep', which can frighten younger children at bedtime.
or compare your instinct with the poll results, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, Every option Murphy families choose between is on the services page, use the free tools before you ring anyone. Close to Murphy we also cover Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston; the full list for Texas and for the United States is a click away.
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 your pet died today, could you freeze them properly within a few hours?
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
How do Texas attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Texas human cremation rate at about 55.7%[5]. We show it on the Murphy 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.
How does Murphy's weather affect pet aftercare?
August is the hottest month in Murphy, with average highs around 97°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Winters are mild, with average lows staying above freezing, so outdoor burial or scattering is usually possible year round.
Is Murphy big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 7,700 Murphy households keep a dog or cat and around 640 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 20,985), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Murphy?
The closest communities we cover are Sachse (about 4 miles), Wylie (about 5 miles) and Plano (about 5 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Murphy too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How do I look after a preserved pet at home?
Protect it from sunlight, damp and insects. Direct sun fades fur, humid air can soften freeze-dried tissue and moths or carpet beetles can damage fur over time. Keep the piece in a dry room away from bathrooms and heating vents, dust it with a soft makeup brush or a hair dryer on cool, and never wash it. A glass case helps with all three.
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 Texas's cremation rate at 55.7% 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 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.
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.