By one market estimate, freeze-drying accounts for 62.3%[1] of the pet preservation market. Our live results show how readers of this site weigh that option against taxidermy, partial pieces and cremation.
Before you look at the bars
Every result on this page comes from readers who chose to vote. Each poll accepts one vote per person, doesn't record names or emails, and the totals update live, so what you see today may shift next week. We never seed polls with starting numbers.
Because voters are visiting a site about pet preservation, they're much more open to it than the typical owner. Treat the bars as a picture of people in your position, not a measure of what all pet owners think. If you haven't voted yet, you can do that on the polls page first so your answer isn't shaped by everyone else's.
We also show every option we offered, including the unpopular ones. If almost nobody picks "standing alert" as a pose, that still tells you something useful: that readers mostly picture their pet at rest. That fits how practitioners describe freeze-drying, which works most naturally with sleeping and lying poses.
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Context
Independent figures on pet preservation mostly come from market research. They suggest a small, freeze-dry-led field: one market report puts freeze-drying at 62.3%[1] of the market and taxidermy at ~7%[2] of owners' choices, and values the industry at about USD 88.6 million[3] in 2023.
62.3%[1]
Freeze-drying accounted for 62.3% of the pet preservation services market.
~7%[2]
About 7% of pet owners choose taxidermy, per Astute Analytica.
USD 88.6 million[3]
The global pet preservation services market (freeze-drying and taxidermy) was valued at USD 88.6 million in 2023.
If our method poll shows more readers leaning toward full preservation than those figures suggest, that's expected: people who aren't interested don't visit. If it shows many readers choosing a partial piece or cremation, that's worth noticing too, since price and the long wait are real reasons to choose something smaller. The preservation cost estimator lets you test those factors for your own pet.
If you were preserving your pet, which route would you lean toward?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
The bigger picture
Preservation is one small corner of how people remember a pet. Market research reports that 56%[4] of pet owners choose memorial services of some kind, and that grief runs deep: 40%[5] of owners say losing a pet hurt as much as, or more than, losing a person. Those feelings sit behind every vote here. Peer-reviewed work backs this up: a 2026 PLOS ONE study found 7.5% of UK adults bereaved of a pet met the criteria for prolonged grief disorder[6]. And by our estimate, around 765,000 US families a year are likely open to a personalized pet keepsake[7], so preservation questions touch a far wider group than the preservation trade itself.
Cost matters too. In a US study, 61%[8] of owners rated the cost of after-death care as a concern, and freeze-drying is at the top of the price range. Our general polls on memorials and spending help put preservation answers alongside the other ways people remember a pet. The memorial budget planner is the practical next step if money is part of your hesitation.
Compare the display question with the method question, too. Readers who picture a preserved pet in their bedroom or old favorite spot are often the same ones drawn to a sleeping pose, while those choosing "somewhere private" may lean toward a small partial piece. Looking across polls like this is more revealing than any single bar.
Using the results
If your household is divided, our article on deciding while grieving has ways to talk it through. If the wait worries you, the timeline guide shows what happens month by month. The services overview compares every option, and our locations pages explain how to reach studios near and far.
One more caution. A poll can tell you what people hope for, not what they were happy with a year later. If you want to understand how preserved pets hold up and how owners live with them, read our page on caring for a preserved piece and ask practitioners whether past clients would talk to you.
How do you feel about waiting months for a preserved pet to come home?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
A gentle note
Looking at questions about poses and freezers can be hard when your pet has just died. That reaction is common: 66.9%[9] of the thousands of owners in the RSPCA's pet-loss survey found their grief stronger than they'd braced for. Take breaks, and come back when you're ready.
If you're finding the waiting especially hard, our guide to grief while preservation work takes months is written for exactly that. When you're ready to look at real options, send us your pet's details.
Reader polls
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.
How do you feel about waiting months for a preserved pet to come home?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Where would a preserved pet live in your home?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
No. They're live, anonymous answers from readers of a pet preservation site who chose to vote. That makes them a useful window into how people considering preservation think, but they don't represent all pet owners. We show published research alongside them for a wider view.
Because the results are live. Every new vote is added as it comes in, so the split can move, especially on polls with fewer votes. Check the total number of votes before comparing one poll with another, and expect results to settle as more readers take part.
We don't seed polls with starting numbers or edit results. Each poll allows one vote per person to stop a single visitor from skewing the totals. If we ever had to remove obvious automated spam, we'd say so on this page.
Yes, please do. Send it through the contact form with a note saying it's a poll idea. We're especially interested in questions owners wish they'd asked before choosing preservation, such as how long the wait felt or how their family adjusted.
Because preservation is rarely the only thing people keep. Many owners combine a preserved piece with photos, a collar, ashes or a paw cast. Showing a general question, such as how losing a pet compared with losing a person, alongside our preservation polls helps put the answers in context.
There's no magic number, but a few dozen votes can swing noticeably with each new answer, while a few hundred tend to settle. Check the vote count shown beside each poll. Even with many votes, remember the results describe readers of this site, not every pet owner.
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.
