Pet taxidermy and freeze-dry options for Onalaska, Wisconsin
Roughly 620 dogs and cats die in Onalaska 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.
- Clear steps for the first few hours
- Shipping frozen, explained plainly
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Onalaska, Wisconsin
What pet preservation is like in Onalaska
Some Onalaska families say goodbye on a deck overlooking the river, with a vet who comes to them, keeping the animal's last moments calm and familiar. Others go to the clinic where their companion has been seen for years. If you'd like a little unhurried time afterward, or a short ceremony, ask the provider about options and price before the appointment.
Heartache over a beloved animal is real, and it's isolating when friends brush it off. Helplines, web discussion boards and bereavement specialists who see pet owners regularly are available, and La Crosse has in-person options through clinics and community groups. When the low mood hangs around for weeks and starts eating into sleep and work, talking with a professional is a healthy choice.
Small towns like Onalaska often have a taxidermist who does deer and turkeys each season. They may be willing to freeze your pet for you, or to point you to someone who does pets, and that can be a real help. Just remember that mounting a buck and recreating your cat's face are different skills, so look at their pet work before you commit.
About 20,297 people live in Onalaska, which makes it the 41st-largest of the 50 Wisconsin communities we cover.
Nearby, we also have local pages for La Crosse (5 miles, a larger centre), Winona (26 miles) and Rochester (64 miles, a larger centre), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
7,450
Onalaska: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
20,297 ÷ 2.5 = 8,119 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 7,450. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
620
Estimated dog and cat losses in Onalaska each year
How we calculated this
7,450 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 620 a year. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
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.
Cremation, burial and preservation in Wisconsin
With roughly 70.7%[5] of people cremated in Wisconsin, crematory vans often collect from vet clinics on a fixed schedule, sometimes daily. Ask what time the collection comes. If your pet died in the afternoon, there may be only hours before they're loaded with other pets. One call asking the clinic to pull your pet from the list and freeze them is the most useful thing you can do today.
The Wisconsin 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 Onalaska, not as a count of pets.
How Onalaska's climate affects the first hours
In January, February, March, November and December, it's tempting to leave a pet outside in Onalaska 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.
Cold, dry winter air in Onalaska is kind to freeze-dried work, but carrying a preserved pet from a cold car into a warm house can fog a glass case with condensation. If your pet comes home in January, leave the box closed indoors for an hour or two so it warms gradually before you unwrap it.
How much to budget for preservation
Pet preservation is priced by weight, method and pose, not by city, so what you'd pay from Onalaska 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.
We keep the detailed Wisconsin price table on one page so it stays current: see Wisconsin prices.
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 Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin below apply.
To find your county or city office in Wisconsin, start with the official Wisconsin local government directory.
For Wisconsin's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Wisconsin guide. Local rules in Onalaska 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: no soft bedding, no sunny window, no car.
- Wrap them in two heavy bags, squeeze out the air, and get them frozen inside 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 from each practitioner, ideally unedited photos in daylight.
- Ask for a written quote covering base, chosen pose, shipping there and back, and later 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.
Living with a preserved pet in Onalaska
Some families honor a companion by watching the sun go down over Lake Onalaska, biking a stretch of the Great River trail, or setting out spring bulbs along the front walk. Others gather on the anniversary with photos and a favorite meal. Take whatever time you need, whether that's a week or a year; remembering doesn't come with a deadline, and nobody else sets the pace.
or look at how readers voted in our polls, The services page is the place to compare what is included, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones. If you live between Onalaska and Madison, Appleton, Green Bay and Racine, either page applies. Every other community in Wisconsin, and all of the United States, is listed too.
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?
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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 Onalaska big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 7,450 Onalaska households keep a dog or cat and around 620 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 20,297), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Onalaska?
The closest communities we cover are La Crosse (about 5 miles), Winona (about 26 miles) and Rochester (about 64 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Onalaska too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Onalaska?
January, February, March, 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 85°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Is cremation common in Wisconsin?
For people, yes: about 70.7%[5] of Wisconsin 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 Onalaska follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Is freeze-drying or taxidermy better for my pet?
Neither is better in general. Freeze-drying keeps your pet's actual body and suits sleeping or lying poses; it takes longer and is more sensitive to humidity. Taxidermy fits tanned skin over a sculpted form, allows sitting or alert poses and depends heavily on the artist's sculpting. Freeze-drying is the more common choice, at 62.3%[9] of the market by one industry estimate.
Will my preserved pet look like they did when alive?
They'll look like your pet at rest, not like a living animal. Fur, markings and body shape usually come through well. Faces are harder: noses can darken, lips and eyelids shrink slightly, and open eyes are usually glass. Closed-eye sleeping poses tend to look most natural, and lots of reference photos help the practitioner capture what made your pet recognizable.
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] 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 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.
- [9] Freeze-drying accounted for 62.3% of the pet preservation services market. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2023.
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.