Pet urns in Midvale, Utah
Around 1,100 dogs and cats are lost in Midvale each year, by our estimate. If yours is one of them, this page explains urn sizes, prices and engraving, with no rush to decide.
- Wood, ceramic, marble and brass compared
- Tips for moving ashes safely
- Ideas for apartments and houses
Midvale, Utah
Choosing a pet urn in Midvale
Midvale's smelter history and working-class roots give the town a practical character, and many residents choose simple, unfussy memorials: a small wooden urn, a framed photo tucked behind a collar, or a clay paw print. In apartments with no yard at all, a floating wall shelf or a shadow box creates a small place of remembrance without taking up floor space.
Midvale homeowners sometimes plant a maple or lay an engraved flagstone by the back steps, while renters, who may move every year or two, lean toward things that fit in a pocket or a glovebox: a slim locket holding a few grains, a palm-sized glass heart, a printed photo book. Whatever you pick should suit the rooms you live in now and survive moving day.
There's no need to rush the urn in Midvale, even if the ashes come back sooner than you expected. The temporary container your vet hands you is sealed and safe. Plenty of rural families keep it on a shelf through the winter and decide in spring whether to bury, scatter or display. If you'd like help thinking it through, tell us about your pet and we'll email some options.
About 36,099 people live in Midvale, which makes it the 30th-largest of the 52 Utah communities we cover. Salt Lake City, roughly 10 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Midvale run from there.
Families in Midvale often end up using a provider from Murray (3 miles), Sandy (4 miles, a larger centre) and Cottonwood Heights (4 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
13,500
Midvale: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
36,099 ÷ 2.5 = 14,440 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 13,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
1,100
Midvale families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
13,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,100 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.
To check the figures yourself, see American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Keeping ashes at home: the local attitude
Only around 46.1%[5] of deaths in Utah end in cremation, so many pet owners here have never held an urn or seen ashes. It helps to know what to expect: ashes are pale, coarse and heavier than they look, packed in a sealed bag. Once you've seen them, choosing a container stops feeling strange and becomes a practical job you can do well.
The Utah 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 Midvale, not as a count of pets.
Keeping an urn safe through Midvale's seasons
With hot summers and freezing winters, timing matters for anything done outdoors. Burying ashes is easiest in late spring or early autumn, when the ground is workable and the heat has eased. Many families in Midvale keep the urn indoors through January, February and December and hold a small burial or scattering when the weather turns mild, with a keepsake set aside for anyone who can't be there.
Because Midvale swings from July heat to winter frost, a planted memorial needs a little planning. Put a biodegradable urn and a young tree in the ground in spring or early autumn, water it through its first summer and mulch it before January. A tree that survives its first year usually settles in, and it will mark the spot for decades.
Urn prices by material, and what adds to them
Engraving is usually the add-on that surprises people. Simple name-only engraving on a pet urn typically adds $15–$25[6], a photo engraving $40–$100[7] and a paw print or symbol $20–$35[8] (per one large retailer). On a mid-priced wooden urn, name-and-dates engraving can add about 36% to the price[9]. The table below shows typical US ranges, so you can compare Midvale quotes like for like.
We keep the detailed Utah price table on one page so it stays current: see Utah prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What Utah allows with pet ashes
There are no rules about which urn you use or how long the ashes stay in their temporary container. Where local rules do apply is burial and scattering. As a general guide, private land with the owner's permission is simplest; parks, beaches and waterways often have their own rules, and some ask you to request permission first.
To find your county or city office in Utah, start with the official Utah local government directory.
The Utah page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Midvale's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
How to get from ashes to urn
- Give yourself a week or two before choosing. The first days are rarely the best time for design decisions.
- Picture where the urn will sit, and take a tape measure to it: depth of shelf, clearance under a cupboard, room on the mantel.
- Estimate the ashes. Cremated remains weigh about 3-5% of body weight[10]; the ashes weight estimator gives a quick figure.
- Decide on personalization: name and dates, a photo, a paw print or nothing at all.
- Order the main urn and any keepsakes together, then each piece shares one finish.
- Transfer the ashes over a tray, windows shut and no draft, and only if the bag really won't pass through the opening.
- Keep the crematory's certificate or label close by, slipped under the base or filed in a drawer in the same room.
Ways to remember your pet at home
The Salt Lake Valley's freezing winters and blazing summers are hard on anything placed outdoors, and Midvale is no exception. If you do set a memorial outside, pick granite, bronze or glazed ceramic and bed it into the soil so it cannot tip or be carried off. An urn on a bookshelf, by contrast, needs no protection from frost, sun or curious passersby.
or compare your instinct with the poll results, use the free tools before you ring anyone, Compare every option on our services page, look through our guides and the blog. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover West Jordan, Lehi, St. George and West Valley City, and every city in Utah.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
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Where does (or will) your pet's urn live?
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Free tools to help you plan
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Urn size calculator
Find the urn volume you need from your pet's weight, plus keepsake and sharing options.
Ashes sharing planner
Split ashes fairly between family members, keepsake urns and jewelry.
Questions people ask
Is Midvale big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 13,500 Midvale households keep a dog or cat and around 1,100 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 36,099), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Is cremation common in Utah?
For people, yes: about 46.1%[5] of Utah 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 Midvale follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Midvale?
The closest communities we cover are Murray (about 3 miles), Sandy (about 4 miles) and Cottonwood Heights (about 4 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Midvale too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Where are the providers that serve Midvale actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Salt Lake City, about 10 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Midvale and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Is it okay to bury the ashes on our land near Midvale?
On land you own, burying ashes is generally fine and much simpler than burying a body. Choose a spot away from wells and streams, and use a biodegradable urn if you want the ashes to return to the soil. If the property might be sold one day, keep a small portion indoors so you're not leaving everything behind.
Can I scatter my pet's ashes in a park near Midvale?
Often you can, but parks set their own rules, and some ask you to request permission first. Choose a quiet spot away from paths, playgrounds and water intakes, scatter close to the ground and downwind, and leave nothing behind. If you're unsure, check with the parks department or scatter on private land with the owner's agreement.
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 Utah's cremation rate at 46.1% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Simple name-only engraving on a pet urn typically adds $15–$25; name plus dates adds $25–$40. Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
- [7] Photo engraving on a pet urn typically adds $40–$100, and a full epitaph $50–$100. Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
- [8] Adding an engraved paw print or symbol to a pet urn typically costs $20–$35. Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
- [9] Name-and-dates engraving adds about 36% to the price of a mid-priced wooden pet urn. Our estimate: midpoint engraving $32.50 ($25–$40) / midpoint wood urn $90 ($30–$150). How we calculate.
- [10] Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
Ask for urn and keepsake ideas by email
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.