Pet taxidermy and freeze-dry options for Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls has an estimated 37,500 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.
- Real published prices, never guesses
- Care tips for a preserved pet at home
- Gentler options if full preservation isn't right
Wichita Falls, Texas
Finding a practitioner from Wichita Falls
Grieving openly for an animal can feel awkward in a practical, get-on-with-it region like this, but the sadness tends to arrive regardless. Some Wichita Falls families plan a remembrance for October, once the heat breaks, with the ashes, a photo and supper outdoors. If months pass and the grief still weighs heavily, a counselor or a national pet-loss helpline can help you work through it.
Wichita Falls has a small-city warmth, and a pet's death rarely goes unnoticed by neighbors, church members or coworkers once they hear. Accept the help that comes. Before the pickup, let everyone who wants to touch the fur or say a few private words have that chance. Even very young children remember being included, and they remember being left out even more.
If your vet in Wichita Falls can't hold your pet frozen, a larger centre such as Wichita Falls may have an emergency hospital with more freezer space. Call before you drive. Carry your pet wrapped in a cooler with ice packs or bagged ice, keep the car cool and go straight there, because every warm hour matters for the fur.
About 101,951 people live in Wichita Falls, which makes it the 42nd-largest of the 325 Texas communities we cover.
If you want to compare providers, look at Altus (68 miles), Gainesville (81 miles) and Ardmore (82 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
37,500
Wichita Falls: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
101,951 ÷ 2.5 = 40,780 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 37,500. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
3,150
dog and cat deaths per year in Wichita Falls, our estimate
How we calculated this
37,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 3,150 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.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science; we only apply it to this.
Cremation, burial and preservation in Texas
Roughly 55.7%[5] of people in Texas 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.
Source for the Texas number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Wichita Falls, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
How Wichita Falls's climate affects the first hours
In July, when Wichita Falls highs sit near 97°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.
Long hot spells across June, July, August and September strain home freezers in Wichita Falls, 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.
Published prices and waits for Wichita Falls owners
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.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Texas: Texas costs. What each service includes is on the services page.
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
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 Texas guidance below.
Texas keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Wichita Falls.
The rules that apply across Texas (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our Texas page. Wichita Falls may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
Your checklist, in the order it matters
- 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 while they're still limp: resting on one side with the legs tucked softly. Leave the coat unbrushed and unwashed.
- Double-bag them in heavy plastic bags, pressing out as much air as you can, and seal each bag.
- Put them in the coldest freezer available within a few hours, not the fridge. Leave them there and don't take them out to look.
- 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.
Living with a preserved pet in Wichita Falls
Deployments and temporary duty from Sheppard mean a pet sometimes dies while one parent is thousands of miles away. That parent may carry guilt for not being there. A video call during the goodbye, a clipped bit of fur or a keepsake saved for their return can help. The base chaplains and the family support center counsel on all kinds of grief, including for animals.
read our guides and latest articles, run the numbers with the free planning tools, Every option Wichita Falls families choose between is on the services page, or look at how readers voted in our polls. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover El Paso, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, 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 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 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?
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Questions people ask
Which nearby towns can I compare with Wichita Falls?
The closest communities we cover are Altus (about 68 miles), Gainesville (about 81 miles) and Ardmore (about 82 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Wichita Falls too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How many pet owners live in Wichita Falls?
By our estimate, about 37,500 households in Wichita Falls have at least one dog or cat, and around 3,150 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 101,951, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Why does the Wichita Falls page quote a human cremation rate?
Because it is the best local signal we have. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) reports about 55.7%[5] of Texas residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Does the Wichita Falls climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 97°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January 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.
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.
Can my vet in Wichita Falls freeze my pet for me?
Many vets can hold a pet frozen for a few days, but you have to ask, because the usual routine is to send deceased pets for cremation. Tell the clinic as soon as possible that you're considering preservation, ask them to freeze rather than refrigerate, and ask them to note it on the paperwork. Check how long they can keep your pet and when you need to collect.
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] 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.
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