Preserving your pet from Auburn: the first hours and beyond
By our estimate, about 32,000 households in Auburn 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.
- Clear steps for the first few hours
- Shipping frozen, explained plainly
- No pressure, we reply by email
Auburn, Washington
Getting your pet frozen and to a specialist from Auburn
Children in Auburn's busy households often feel an animal's absence sharply, especially at bedtime or right after school. Honest, simple language helps; so does giving them a job, like choosing a photo or picking flowers for a small backyard farewell. Their questions may come in waves over several weeks, sometimes at odd moments in the car, and that pattern is completely normal.
Some Auburn families wait for a clear summer evening, when Rainier turns pink at sunset over the valley, to hold a small remembrance on the back deck. Ashes last indefinitely in a lidded urn, so waiting is fine. A gathering weeks or months later often feels more like a celebration of the animal's life than a hurried goodbye squeezed into a workday.
Rural power can be less reliable than in town, and preservation depends on a freezer that never fails. If your area around Auburn loses power in storms, think now about a backup: a generator, a neighbor's freezer on a different line, or dry ice from a larger centre such as Tacoma. A full, closed chest freezer holds its cold much longer than an upright one.
Auburn is home to about 86,301 people, the 15th-largest of the 67 Washington communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Auburn are based about 12 miles away in Tacoma, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Kent (6 miles), Federal Way (6 miles) and Covington (6 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
32,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Auburn
How we calculated this
86,301 ÷ 2.5 = 34,520 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 32,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
2,650
Estimated dog and cat losses in Auburn each year
How we calculated this
32,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,650 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.
None of the figures on this this page are ours alone: they rest on American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Why preservation means speaking up early in Washington
In Washington, where cremation covers about 79.1%[5] of deaths, many families already keep ashes at home in an urn on a shelf. A preserved pet is a bigger step along the same line, keeping your companion close in physical form. Framing it that way can help relatives who find the idea strange. And if some of your pet goes to the crematory, the urn and the preserved piece can sit side by side.
The Washington figure comes from Direct Cremate (citing CANA) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
Seasons, shipping and humidity in Auburn
Shipping from Auburn is usually straightforward in a mild climate, with fewer heat or snow delays than many places. Still pack generously: a thick cooler, plenty of dry ice and your pet frozen solid for at least a day or two before sending. Send early in the week so there's time to recover if a delivery slips.
Auburn can be damp around November without ever feeling muggy. Freeze-dried pets are most at risk where damp air sits still, in closed rooms and cupboards. If you need to store the piece for a while, during a move for example, wrap it loosely in acid-free tissue in a box with silica gel packets, never in sealed plastic that traps moisture.
What pet preservation costs in Auburn
Pet preservation is priced by weight, method and pose, not by city, so what you'd pay from Auburn 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.
The Washington 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.
What Washington rules mean for a preserved pet
Shipping a frozen pet has its own rules. Dry ice is regulated for transport, so carriers ask for the package to be labeled with the amount used, and some services won't accept it at all. Ask your practitioner which carrier they want and follow their packing instructions exactly. For anything you don't preserve, the usual burial and scattering rules in Washington apply.
To find your county or city office in Washington, start with the official Washington local government directory.
For Washington's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Washington guide. Local rules in Auburn can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
A checklist for the first hours
- Don't rush into a decision, rush into a freezer. Which method and which practitioner are questions that can wait.
- Keep your pet away from warmth: off the blankets, out of the sun, never in a vehicle.
- Wrap them in two heavy bags, squeeze out the air, and get them frozen inside hours.
- Talk with the people you live with about which room the finished piece would go in and who'd be looking at it daily.
- Look at finished pets of your species by each practitioner; untouched photos in natural light tell you most.
- Ask for a written quote including base, pose, delivery both ways and any touch-ups.
- Expect a long wait and plan how you'll mark those months, for example with a small memorial at home.
Caring for the piece, and for the memories
Other animals in the house can grieve too. A surviving cat or companion may search rooms, eat less or seem restless for a while, and keeping feeding and play routines steady helps them settle. For your own grief, veterinary school hotlines, online support groups and therapists who specialize in bereavement are all available, whether the loss was sudden or long expected.
For a plain comparison of the choices, open services, run the numbers with the free planning tools, or compare your instinct with the poll results, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Vancouver, Tacoma, Seattle and Bellevue, and every city in Washington.
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
Where are the providers that serve Auburn actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Tacoma, about 12 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Auburn 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 Auburn?
There is no frozen-ground season here; average lows stay above freezing all year. The other pressure point is August, when highs around 78°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Is cremation common in Washington?
For people, yes: about 79.1%[5] of Washington deaths end in cremation, according to Direct Cremate (citing CANA) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Auburn follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Auburn?
Usually yes. Kent is about 6 miles away, Federal Way is about 6 miles away and Covington is about 6 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
The only taxidermist near Auburn 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.
Do I need a permit to have a wild bird preserved in the US?
Most native wild birds are protected under federal law, and possessing one, even a bird you found dead, can be illegal without a permit. Domestic and captive-bred birds, such as budgies, cockatiels, parrots, chickens and domestic pigeons, are generally outside those rules. If your bird is anything else, ask the practitioner and your state wildlife agency before you ship.
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] Washington had a 79.1% cremation rate in 2024, among the highest in the US. Direct Cremate (citing CANA), 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 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.
Ask which practitioners take 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.