Thinking about preserving your pet in Howard?
By our estimate, about 8,200 households in Howard 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.
- Real published prices, never guesses
- Care tips for a preserved pet at home
- Gentler options if full preservation isn't right
Howard, Wisconsin
Finding a practitioner from Howard
Missing an animal can shadow a whole winter, especially when a daily routine suddenly vanishes. Friends and coworkers who met your companion can help, as can free helplines staffed by veterinary students, internet support circles and counselors who take animal bereavement seriously. If a month goes by and the fog still hasn't lifted, a professional can help, and asking is nothing to feel awkward about.
Some Howard families honor a companion with a spring outing on the Mountain Bay Trail, or by setting out a tree or a bed of tulips after the snow melts. Others keep a candle burning each year on the date. Nobody has to hurry any of this; remembering in your own way and at your own pace is completely fine, and it may look different for each person in the house.
Small communities share things, and someone near Howard probably owns a chest freezer, a generator or a truck with room for a cooler. Asking for help with something this personal can feel awkward, but most people understand losing an animal. A week of borrowed freezer space is an ordinary favor in the country, and offering to replace the electricity or bring a bag of ice goes a long way.
About 22,233 people live in Howard, which makes it the 38th-largest of the 50 Wisconsin communities we cover.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Green Bay (5 miles, a larger centre), De Pere (10 miles) and Kaukauna (22 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
8,200
How many dog- or cat-owning households Howard has (estimate)
How we calculated this
22,233 ÷ 2.5 = 8,893 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 8,200. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
680
Howard families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
8,200 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 680 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.
Where these figures come from: American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
How Wisconsin thinks about cremation, and where preservation fits
In Wisconsin, where cremation covers about 70.7%[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.
For the Wisconsin figure we rely on NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Read it as a picture of local custom around death and remembrance in Howard rather than as pet data.
How Howard's climate affects the first hours
Dry indoor heat through Howard winters is fine for a preserved pet, but placement still matters. Keep the piece away from radiators, heating vents and fireplaces, which dry and crack delicate features, and away from cold windows where condensation forms. A shelf on an inside wall, out of direct sun, usually suits a freeze-dried or mounted pet well year-round.
Cold weather in Howard is actually easier for shipping a frozen pet. With average lows around 11°F in January, a well-packed cooler stays frozen longer in transit. The risk shifts to delays: snow can hold up carriers, so send early in the week, keep the tracking number close and ask the practitioner to confirm the moment the box arrives.
What pet preservation costs in Howard
Pet insurance rarely helps here. Standard policies generally don't cover aftercare, and end-of-life add-ons have low ceilings; one wellness add-on could reimburse up to $650[6] toward cremation, burial and keepsakes. Budget from savings, try our preservation cost estimator and ask whether the practitioner takes a deposit up front with the balance due before return shipping.
Prices for Howard track the wider Wisconsin market, so use the Wisconsin 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.
Rules worth knowing in Wisconsin
Two kinds of rules can apply to a preserved pet. Wildlife rules come first: if your pet is a native wild bird, turtle, snake or other protected species, possessing or preserving them may need paperwork, even if you kept them legally for years. Then there are the ordinary aftercare rules on burial at home and scattering ashes, for any part of your pet you don't keep.
Not sure which office covers Howard? The Wisconsin local government directory is the official list.
For Wisconsin's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Wisconsin guide. Local rules in Howard can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
Just lost your pet? An order to follow
- 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, air pressed out, and freeze within hours.
- Talk with the people you live with about where a preserved pet would live and who would see it every day.
- 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 think about how to honor your pet in the meantime; a small memorial at home is one way.
Other ways to keep your pet close
In Howard's many young households, losing the family pet is often a child's introduction to death. Plain, truthful language works better than euphemisms, and kids cope better with a part to play: drawing a card, choosing a chew toy or ball to go along, or laying a dandelion on the blanket. If the family wants quiet time together before collection, ask the provider whether that's doable and what, if anything, it adds.
or see how other readers answered in our polls, read our guides and latest articles, The services page is the place to compare what is included, try the free planning tools. More local pages: Kenosha, Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, the Wisconsin 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?
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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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Howard?
Usually yes. Green Bay is about 5 miles away, De Pere is about 10 miles away and Kaukauna is about 22 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Does the Howard climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 81°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, November 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.
How do Wisconsin attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Wisconsin human cremation rate at about 70.7%[5]. We show it on the Howard 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.
Is Howard big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 8,200 Howard households keep a dog or cat and around 680 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 22,233), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Can I keep my pet's skull or skeleton instead of a full preservation?
Yes. Some practitioners clean and whiten a skull, and a few articulate full skeletons, especially for birds, reptiles and small mammals. It's a quieter keepsake than a lifelike piece and suits people who like the idea of keeping something real but find fur and glass eyes unsettling. Ask about the method used, the wait and whether the remaining body can go for cremation.
Can I preserve just a paw or tail and have the rest of my pet cremated?
Yes, and many families find it easier to live with than a full-body piece. The practitioner preserves the paw, tail, wing or feathers, and the rest of your pet goes to a cremation provider. Agree in writing who handles the handover and that the cremation is private, so the ashes you get back are your pet's alone. Partial work usually costs far less and takes less time.
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 Wisconsin's cremation rate at 70.7% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Embrace's Wellness Rewards add-on could reimburse up to $650 toward cremation, burial and keepsakes. Pet Insurance Review - Does Pet Insurance Cover Euthanasia? (Dec 2023), 2023.
- [7] 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.