Pet preservation in Schertz
Schertz has an estimated 17,000 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
Schertz, Texas
Getting your pet frozen and to a specialist from Schertz
A simple goodbye at home, with the family together and a few words said aloud, can mean a great deal to everyone in the house. Some Schertz families light a candle or play a song the pet seemed to like; others write short letters. If you want a small service, ask your provider whether they have a quiet room or can arrange a private viewing before cremation.
Children in military households lose friends with every move, and losing a pet on top of that can hit them hard. A keepsake they can hold, like a paw print or a photo in their room, gives them something steady. Let them ask as many questions as they need, answer honestly and simply, and let them see that adults grieve too.
News travels in a place like Schertz, and some owners worry about what neighbors will think of a preserved pet. You don't owe anyone an explanation. Preservation is an old, ordinary choice, and plenty of people keep a paw, a tail or a whole pet at home quietly. Decide what feels right for your family first, and let the rest follow.
Schertz's population is around 45,978, the 82nd-largest of the 325 Texas communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is San Antonio, about 16 miles (26 km) away, which is where some providers serving Schertz are based.
For a second opinion on price, Universal City (1 miles), Cibolo (2 miles) and Converse (3 miles) are close enough that their providers cover Schertz routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
17,000
Schertz: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
45,978 ÷ 2.5 = 18,391 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 17,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
1,400
Estimated dog and cat losses in Schertz each year
How we calculated this
17,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,400 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.
Sources for the statistics above: Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Cremation, burial and preservation in Texas
About 55.7%[5] of people in Texas choose cremation. Attitudes are shifting, and that openness extends to pets, where families increasingly want something personal rather than the standard option. Preservation is the most personal of all, and still unusual. Expect to explain what you want to your vet more than once, and to find the practitioner yourself.
The Texas 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.
How Schertz weather changes your timeline
Without local climate records for Schertz, plan around the practical risks instead. How reliable is the power? Where is the nearest place selling dry ice? Could a neighbor hold your pet if your freezer failed? Answering those three questions before you need to is the most useful weather planning you can do.
Published prices and waits for Schertz owners
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.
Prices for Schertz track the wider Texas market, so use the Texas price table as your baseline and the services page to see what is included.
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 Texas come into play
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 Texas below apply.
Not sure which office covers Schertz? The Texas local government directory is the official list.
For Texas's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Texas guide. Local rules in Schertz can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
What to do first if you might preserve your pet
- Tell your vet or clinic straight away that you're considering preservation, so your pet isn't sent for cremation with the day's collection.
- Lay your pet in a relaxed position on their side, legs gently folded, before the body stiffens. Don't wash or brush them.
- Double-bag them using two thick plastic bags, squeezing the air from each one before you close it.
- Put them in the coldest freezer available inside a few hours; a refrigerator isn't cold enough. Once they're in, resist the urge to open the bags and check.
- Take photos you already have and gather more: the face from different sides, the natural set of the ears, every marking. Your practitioner works from these.
- Choose a practitioner by their pet work, then make sure cost, deposit, return date and how they'll travel are written down before your pet leaves the house.
Keepsakes, displays and gentler options
Frequent moves can make the loss of a pet especially hard, since the animal was often the one steady presence through each new posting and each new school. Base family support programs and chaplains can help, and national pet loss lines are open by phone or online. You don't have to explain to anyone why this hurts so much, or grieve on a schedule.
read our guides and latest articles, try the free planning tools, or look at how readers voted in our polls, See what each option includes on our services page. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Austin, El Paso, Houston and Fort Worth, and every city in Texas.
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?
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
Which nearby towns can I compare with Schertz?
The closest communities we cover are Universal City (about 1 miles), Cibolo (about 2 miles) and Converse (about 3 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Schertz too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Will I have to travel to San Antonio to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in San Antonio (roughly 16 miles from Schertz) 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.
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 Schertz 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.
Roughly how many pets die in Schertz each year?
Our estimate is around 1,400. It comes from Schertz's population (about 45,978), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 17,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
What happens if something goes wrong during preservation?
Occasionally a practitioner finds damage once a pet thaws, often fur slipping because of a delay before freezing. A good one will call you, explain what they see and offer choices, such as switching to a partial piece or arranging cremation. Ask about this, and about refunds of the deposit, before you pay anything.
Can a pet still be preserved after a post-mortem?
Usually not as a whole-body piece, because a post-mortem (necropsy) involves incisions and removing tissue. A smaller piece, like a paw, the tail or feathers, may still be possible if those areas weren't affected. If you want both answers about how your pet died and a preserved piece, talk to your vet and a practitioner before the examination, not after.
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] 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] 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.
Find a preservation specialist for your pet
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.