Thinking about preserving your pet in Highland?
Roughly 660 dogs and cats die in Highland each year, by our estimate, and most go to cremation by default. If you'd like to preserve yours, tell your vet today and get them into a freezer within hours.
- What to tell your vet or emergency clinic
- Freezer and power-cut backup plans
- Practitioners chosen by portfolio, not postcode
Highland, Utah
Where Highland owners find freezer space and practitioners
Some Highland families hold a remembrance when the scrub oak turns red at the mouth of American Fork Canyon in the fall; others wait for early summer, when the garden is in full bloom. There's no deadline. A closed urn keeps the ashes safe for years, so the gathering can wait until everyone, including older siblings living away, can make it home.
The quiet after a pet dies can be jarring in a busy household, and parents sometimes set their own grief aside to look after the kids. Make room for yours too. Veterinary schools offer free phone support, and online pet-loss groups meet on weeknights. If sleep, appetite or mood are still off after several weeks, a therapist who understands animal loss can help.
Dry ice isn't always stocked in a town the size of Highland. If you're shipping your pet to a distant practitioner, you may need to buy it in a larger centre such as Salt Lake City on the morning you send. Handle it with gloves, keep the car windows cracked while you drive and never seal it into an airtight container, because the gas needs to escape.
About 21,571 people live in Highland, which makes it the 46th-largest of the 52 Utah communities we cover. Salt Lake City, roughly 24 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Highland run from there.
The closest communities we cover are American Fork (3 miles), Lehi (4 miles, a larger centre) and Pleasant Grove (5 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Highland too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
Our estimate
7,950
Highland: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
21,571 ÷ 2.5 = 8,628 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 7,950. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
660
Estimated dog and cat losses in Highland each year
How we calculated this
7,950 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 660 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 American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Local aftercare habits and pet preservation
Cremation is relatively rare in Utah, at about 46.1%[5], so pet crematories may be fewer and further apart than in many places. That can help you: vets here are less likely to send your pet off on an automatic collection. Still, ask clearly for freezing rather than cold storage, because a clinic used to burial handovers may only have a fridge.
The Utah 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 Highland, not as a count of pets.
How Highland weather changes your timeline
Weather in Highland swings from hot summers to winters with lows below freezing in January, February, November and December, and both seasons bring storms that can cut the power. Have a plan before you need it: know where to buy dry ice, keep the freezer lid shut through an outage and ask a neighbor on another line or a vet clinic to take your pet if the power stays off.
It's worth thinking about when a finished piece travels back to Highland. Some practitioners avoid shipping through the peak heat of July or the storms of January, February, November and December, and will hold a finished pet until the weather settles. Ask when they plan to send yours, and arrange to be home so the box comes straight indoors.
How much to budget for preservation
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.
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.
Rules worth knowing in Utah
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 Utah below apply.
Utah keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Highland.
We keep Utah's burial and scattering rules in one place: the Utah rules summary. Before a home burial in Highland, also ask the city whether local ordinances add anything.
What to do now, and what can wait
- If your pet is at a clinic, have the staff note clearly on the file that your pet is being kept for preservation and is not to go for cremation.
- Ask them to freeze, not refrigerate, and to keep any clipping of the coat to the bare minimum.
- Bring your pet home frozen inside a cooler, or set up a pickup from the clinic by the practitioner or a courier.
- Keep your pet frozen solid for a day or two at minimum before shipping; practitioners generally insist on this.
- Pack in a thick cooler with dry ice, add whatever labels your carrier asks for, and ship it overnight early in the week, Monday or Tuesday.
- Keep the tracking number, then check with the practitioner that your pet was moved into their freezer the moment the box arrived.
Keepsakes, displays and gentler options
Highland is full of young families, so for many children here a pet's death is the first loss they've faced. Short, truthful sentences help more than euphemisms. Invite kids to plan part of the farewell, maybe choosing where in the yard to gather or which song to play, and let them see adults cry. Feeling included tends to make the day less frightening.
the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones, The services page is the place to compare what is included, run the numbers with the free planning tools, or see how other readers answered in our polls. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover St. George, West Valley City, Salt Lake City and Lehi, and every city in Utah.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
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If your pet died today, could you freeze them properly within a few hours?
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Where would a preserved pet live in your 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
Is Highland big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 7,950 Highland households keep a dog or cat and around 660 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 21,571), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Where are the providers that serve Highland 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 Highland and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Why does the Highland 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 46.1%[5] of Utah residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Highland?
The closest communities we cover are American Fork (about 3 miles), Lehi (about 4 miles) and Pleasant Grove (about 5 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Highland too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Is it safe to leave my pet in the freezer for weeks while I decide?
Yes, if they're sealed well and the freezer stays cold. Many practitioners accept pets who have been frozen for months, provided they went in quickly and never thawed. Press the air out of two heavy bags so the ears and face don't get freezer burn, keep the lid shut and use the time to compare practitioners and talk it over at home.
Does the euthanasia injection affect preservation?
Generally, no. Practitioners routinely work on pets who were put to sleep. What matters far more is what happens next: how much fur was clipped, whether your pet was kept cool and how soon they were frozen. Mention any shaved patches or bandaged areas when you describe your pet, so the practitioner knows what to expect when your pet thaws.
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] 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] 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.
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.