Pet preservation in Clearfield
By our estimate, about 13,000 households in Clearfield have a dog or cat. Only a small share of families ever consider preservation, so if you're one of them, here's how to freeze your pet in time and what comes next.
- Freeze first, decide later
- Published prices by pet size
- Help finding a specialist who takes your species
Clearfield, Utah
Where Clearfield owners find freezer space and practitioners
Because military households relocate often, grief support that moves with you is handy. Pet-loss phone lines at veterinary universities cost nothing to call, and several nonprofits host video support groups you can join from any base. If the sadness keeps interrupting sleep, work or appetite for weeks, a counselor through the base or your insurance can help; asking for that support is sensible, not an overreaction.
Some Clearfield families hold off on a remembrance until a deployed parent is home or grandparents fly in for a visit. That's a perfectly good reason to wait. Ashes don't change over time, so a memorial can be planned for whenever the right people can stand together, whether that's here in Davis County or at the next assignment across the country.
Around Clearfield, 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.
Clearfield's population is around 35,144, the 34th-largest of the 52 Utah communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Clearfield are based about 24 miles away in Salt Lake City, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
The closest communities we cover are Syracuse (3 miles), Layton (3 miles, a larger centre) and Clinton (4 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Clearfield too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
Our estimate
13,000
Clearfield: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
35,144 ÷ 2.5 = 14,058 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 13,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
1,100
Estimated dog and cat losses in Clearfield each year
How we calculated this
13,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,100 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.
Where these figures come from: Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Aftercare traditions in Utah, and choosing to preserve
Cremation covers only around 46.1%[5] of funerals in Utah, and pets are often buried on family land. If you're preserving just part of your pet, the rest can usually go into the ground, which gives you a grave to visit and a keepsake indoors. Ask the practitioner whether they can return the remaining body frozen and sealed, or whether they would arrange cremation instead.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Utah figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Clearfield tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Heat, cold and a freezer that mustn't fail in Clearfield
Frozen ground through January, February, November and December in Clearfield means burying anything you don't keep may have to wait until spring. That's fine. Whatever the practitioner returns, or your whole pet if you change your mind, can stay in the freezer until the soil softens. Label the bag clearly with your pet's name and the date so nobody opens it by mistake.
In January, February, November and December, it's tempting to leave a pet outside in Clearfield because it's cold enough. Please don't. Sunlight, wild animals and daytime thaws are all real risks, and a preserved pet needs to have stayed frozen without interruption. If there's no freezer space at home, ask your vet, or a friend with a chest freezer, to hold your pet for a few days.
What pet preservation costs in Clearfield
The simplest guide is weight. One published US price list charges USD 650[6] for a pet under a pound, $2,095 plus $49 a pound for pets of 6 to 19 lb, and $2,781 plus $69 a pound above 20 lb[7]. On our reading of that list, a 10 lb cat comes to about USD 2,291–2,585[8]. Other studios charge less, and some more.
The Utah price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Freeze-dry & taxidermy cost estimator
Estimate cost and waiting time for freeze-drying or taxidermy by size and pose.
Wildlife permits, shipping and local rules in Utah
If your pet bit someone shortly before dying, or showed signs of a disease that authorities must be told about, public-health rules come before any aftercare plan, and required testing can rule preservation out. Your vet will know what applies. For ordinary deaths from age, illness or accident, preservation raises no legal issue, and the burial and scattering guidance for Utah below covers the rest.
Utah keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Clearfield.
The Utah page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Clearfield's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
What to do now, and what can wait
- Freeze first, decide later. A pet frozen quickly and kept frozen can wait weeks while you choose.
- Blot, don't wash. Pat away any fluid with a paper towel and leave the fur dry.
- Pose gently and bag tightly. A natural sleeping curl, then two heavy bags with the air pressed out to prevent freezer burn on the face and ears.
- Plan for a power cut. Know where you'd get dry ice or a backup freezer if the electricity went off for more than a day.
- Ask two or three practitioners whether they take your species and size, how long their queue is and how they want your pet delivered.
- Ship or drop off frozen; if it's going by courier, send it at the start of the week and request a message as soon as it's in their hands.
Other ways to keep your pet close
Losing an animal during a military posting can feel unusually isolating, with a spouse deployed or extended family hundreds of miles off. Base chaplains and family readiness programs listen to all kinds of grief, not only human losses. Even a small goodbye at home, a photo on the table and a favorite toy set beside it, gives children and adults a way to mark what happened.
For a plain comparison of the choices, open services, read our guides and latest articles, or see how other readers answered in our polls, use the free tools before you ring anyone. More local pages: Salt Lake City, Provo, West Jordan and Lehi, the Utah overview and every city in the United States.
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.
How do you feel about waiting months for a preserved pet to come home?
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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 Clearfield?
The closest communities we cover are Syracuse (about 3 miles), Layton (about 3 miles) and Clinton (about 4 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Clearfield too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Is cremation common in Utah?
For people, yes: about 46.1%[5] of Utah 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 Clearfield follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Where are the providers that serve Clearfield actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Salt Lake City, about 24 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Clearfield and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Clearfield?
January, February, November and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 87°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How many families in Clearfield choose pet preservation?
Very few. By our estimate, about 13,000 households in Clearfield have a dog or cat, and around 1,100 dogs and cats die there each year. One market report suggests about 7%[9] of pet owners choose taxidermy, and freeze-drying is the bigger share of the work. Most families who ask about preservation end up with a mix of options.
The only taxidermist near Clearfield does deer. Can they do my cat?
They might, but ask to see cats or dogs they've finished before you agree. Recreating a pet's face is a different skill from mounting game, because you know every detail of how your pet looked. A game taxidermist can still be a big help in the first hours, by freezing your pet properly or pointing you to a pet specialist.
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 Utah's cremation rate at 46.1% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] One U.S. pet preservation studio charges USD 650 to freeze-dry a pet under 1 lb, with a 4–6 month turnaround. Animal Family Pet — Pet Preservation Pricing & Shipping, 2026.
- [7] 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.
- [8] Freeze-drying a 10 lb cat at one published price list would cost about USD 2,290–2,590. Our estimate: Low: 2,095 + 49 x (10-6) lb; High: 2,095 + 49 x 10 lb. How we calculate.
- [9] About 7% of pet owners choose taxidermy, per Astute Analytica. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2024.
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