Thinking about preserving your pet in Laramie?
Roughly 990 dogs and cats die in Laramie 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.
- Freeze-drying, taxidermy or a partial keepsake
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Laramie, Wyoming
Getting your pet frozen and to a specialist from Laramie
Losing a pet mid-semester, far from home, can be isolating. Campus counseling services, national pet-bereavement lines and online groups are all options. Laramie's long, windy winters can drag moods down further, so if sadness lingers for weeks or starts affecting sleep, appetite or coursework, reaching out to a professional is a reasonable thing to do, not an overreaction.
Some people wait until the snow melts in the Snowy Range or the wildflowers appear at Vedauwoo to hold a remembrance. Tying it to your pet's birthday or homecoming day can help. Ashes don't change in a sealed urn, so there's time to wait for graduation weekend or a return visit, when everyone who knew the animal can come too.
Snow, floods or a long drive can make reaching a larger centre such as Laramie from Laramie impossible on the day your pet dies. Don't wait for the roads to clear before cooling your pet. Use your own freezer, a neighbor's, or a cooler topped up with fresh ice every few hours, and write down each step, because a practitioner will ask.
About 32,284 people live in Laramie, which makes it the 4th-largest of the 10 Wyoming communities we cover.
Our pages for Cheyenne (43 miles, a larger centre), Fort Collins (57 miles, a larger centre) and Windsor (68 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Laramie as well.
Our estimate
12,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Laramie has (estimate)
How we calculated this
32,284 ÷ 2.5 = 12,914 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 12,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
990
Estimated dog and cat losses in Laramie each year
How we calculated this
12,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 990 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.
What local cremation habits mean for your request
Because around 78.5%[5] of people in Wyoming are cremated, aftercare providers here are organised around cremation, and preservation specialists are few by comparison. That's a reason to plan the handover carefully if you combine the two. Agree in writing who takes your pet first, who removes any part being preserved, and that the cremation of the rest is private so the ashes you get back are your pet's.
For the Wyoming 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 Laramie rather than as pet data.
Keeping your pet frozen through Laramie's weather
Frozen ground through January, February, March, April, October, November and December in Laramie 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.
Cold, dry winter air in Laramie 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 December, leave the box closed indoors for an hour or two so it warms gradually before you unwrap it.
What pet preservation costs in Laramie
Large dogs are where prices climb fastest. On one US studio's published list, pets over 20 lb are priced at $2,781 + $69/lb[6]; by our estimate, a 50 lb dog would come to ~$4,851[7] on that list before a base or shipping. Ask several practitioners for a quote by weight, and ask whether a head-and-shoulders piece or a paw would be possible instead.
We keep the detailed Wyoming price table on one page so it stays current: see Wyoming prices.
Free tool
Freeze-dry & taxidermy cost estimator
Estimate cost and waiting time for freeze-drying or taxidermy by size and pose.
What Wyoming rules mean for a preserved pet
Most people never need to think about law when preserving a pet. The exceptions are wild or native animals, pets that died of a notifiable disease, and pets sent across a border, where animal health paperwork may apply. If any of those fit, raise it with your vet and practitioner first. Anything you don't keep follows the ordinary burial and scattering rules.
Not sure which office covers Laramie? The Wyoming local government directory is the official list.
For Wyoming's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Wyoming guide. Local rules in Laramie can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
A checklist for the first hours
- If your pet is at a clinic, ask the staff to write on the paperwork that your pet is held for preservation and must not be cremated.
- Ask them to freeze, not refrigerate, and to keep any clipping of the coat to the bare minimum.
- Bring your pet home frozen in a cooler, or arrange for the practitioner or a courier to collect.
- Keep your pet frozen solid for at least a day or two before any shipping, as most practitioners ask.
- 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 and ask the practitioner to confirm your pet went straight into their freezer.
Once the finished piece is home in Laramie
Farewells in Laramie are often small and informal: roommates or family crowded onto a couch, a candle, a few stories about the animal's quirks. Some providers will arrange a short visitation before cremation if you ask. Students grieving far from home may find it helps to set up a video call with family so everyone can say goodbye together, even from different time zones.
or look at how readers voted in our polls, look through our guides and the blog, run the numbers with the free planning tools, Our services overview lays out every option side by side. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Rock Springs, Cheyenne, Sheridan and Evanston, and every city in Wyoming.
Reader polls
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Questions people ask
Roughly how many pets die in Laramie each year?
Our estimate is around 990. It comes from Laramie's population (about 32,284), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 12,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
How do Wyoming attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Wyoming human cremation rate at about 78.5%[5]. We show it on the Laramie 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.
Does the Laramie 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, April, October, 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.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Laramie?
Usually yes. Cheyenne is about 43 miles away, Fort Collins is about 57 miles away and Windsor is about 68 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
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.
Why is it so hard to find a pet preserver near Laramie?
Because it's a small craft. One industry report counts a little over 100 US pet taxidermy businesses[10], spread across a country where most households have a pet. Many are one- or two-person studios with long queues. That's why most families choose by portfolio and send their pet frozen to wherever the right practitioner is, rather than settling for whoever is closest.
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 Wyoming's cremation rate at 78.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 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.
- [7] On a per-pound-above-threshold reading of its price list, one Ohio studio would charge about $4,851 to freeze-dry a 50 lb dog. Our estimate: $2,781 + $69 × (50 − 20) lb. 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.
- [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.
- [10] The U.S. has more than 100 pet taxidermy businesses, generating an estimated USD 25–30 million in annual revenue. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2023.
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