Dog cremation near Oakdale: costs and next steps
By our estimate, 6,500 Oakdale households share their home with a dog. When the time comes for yours, here's how cremation works locally and what it usually costs.
- Honest Oakdale costs by dog size
- Private cremation with ashes returned
- Paw prints and keepsakes arranged early
Oakdale, Minnesota
Getting help for your dog in Oakdale
January lows around 6F and a long freezing season mean an unheated garage will hold a pet's body at a safely cold temperature overnight; seal it in a plastic tote or covered box. In July, when highs reach about 81F, the job is to cool the body quickly: a basement floor, a folded towel, and ice packs wrapped in cloth tucked around the torso.
Oakdale is a Washington County suburb about seven miles east of Saint Paul, bounded and crossed by I-694, I-94 and Highway 36. Most homes date from the 1970s onward, with curving subdivisions, townhouse developments and some apartments. Aftercare services covering the east metro routinely include Oakdale, and a few that work out of Saint Paul or Woodbury are close enough to compare side by side.
Home burial is more common in smaller communities, especially where people have land. It's a perfectly good choice, but it's worth thinking about whether you'll stay in the property, what's under the ground and whether you'd like to be able to take your dog with you if you ever move. Cremation keeps that option open.
About 30,588 people live in Oakdale, which makes it the 34th-largest of the 67 Minnesota communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Saint Paul, about 7 miles (11 km) away, which is where some providers serving Oakdale are based.
Oakdale sits within easy reach of Maplewood (4 miles), White Bear Lake (6 miles) and Woodbury (6 miles, a larger centre). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Oakdale; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
6,500
How many dog-owning households Oakdale has (estimate)
How we calculated this
30,588 ÷ 2.5 = 12,235 households; × 53% (dog) = 6,500. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
510
Oakdale families who lose a dog each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
6,500 dog-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs) ≈ 510 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.
68.5%[3]
The NFDA projected Minnesota's cremation rate at 68.5% for 2024.
$260[4]
CareCredit's 2025 cost study put the US national average for private dog cremation at $260 (range $206-$473).
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.
Burial, cremation and tradition in Minnesota
About 68.5%[3] of people in Minnesota are cremated, a figure that has been climbing for years. Pet cremation has followed the same curve: more families now choose to bring their dog's ashes home than bury them in the garden, especially in towns and suburbs where yards are smaller.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Minnesota figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Oakdale tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Planning around the weather in Oakdale
Winter weather in Oakdale can make travel slow, and rural collection routes are often the first to be postponed when roads ice over. The upside of cold is time: in an unheated garage or porch that stays near freezing, your dog can wait a day or two for collection. Wrap them in a blanket, lay them on a board or in a sturdy box and make sure other animals can't get to them.
If you're driving your dog to the vet or crematory yourself on a winter day, a cold car actually helps. Lay your dog on a blanket in the back, with a towel underneath, and drive carefully. In January, when lows average about 6°F, check the roads before you set off, and don't feel you have to go that day if conditions are poor; your dog will keep safely in the cold.
What dog owners in Oakdale typically pay
US pet services prices, including vet bills, were about 42% higher in 2025 than in 2019[5], so older price lists you find online may understate what Oakdale providers charge today. The ranges below come from a recent cost guide. Use them to spot a quote that's far out of line, then ask for an itemized total covering collection, cremation and the urn.
Multiply it out: roughly 510 dogs a year in Oakdale (our estimate) at the national private-cremation average of $260[4] is about $0.1 million of local spending. That is why it pays to ask two providers, not one.
For a line-by-line price table, see the Minnesota overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Cremation cost calculator
Estimate a realistic price range for your pet's size, location and the type of cremation.
Burial and scattering rules for Minnesota
Rules about pets after death are set locally, so it's worth knowing the basics for Minnesota before you decide. Cremation itself is straightforward everywhere; burial and scattering are where local rules come in.
To find your county or city office in Minnesota, start with the official Minnesota local government directory.
For Minnesota's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Minnesota guide. Local rules in Oakdale can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
Your next steps, one at a time
- Take a breath. There is no clock running on the first hour. When a dog dies at home, settle them onto a towel somewhere cool and, if you're able, gently close their eyes.
- Take anything you want to keep now: a paw print, a clipping of fur, their collar and tags.
- Call your vet, or the emergency clinic if it's after hours, and let them know. If you're not certain your dog has died they can confirm it, and they'll walk you through how their aftercare works.
- Decide on private or communal cremation. This is the choice that shapes everything else, including the price.
- Arrange collection from your home or the clinic, and ask for the total cost in writing.
- Choose what the ashes come home in, or keep the simple container for now and choose an urn later.
- Let yourself grieve. Tell the people who knew your dog, and put the lead away when you're ready, not before.
Memorials and keepsakes for your dog
The Oakdale Nature Preserve, with its trails through prairie, woods and wetland, and Tanners Lake on the southwest edge are well-loved local places, and the Gateway State Trail cuts across the north side. Scattering on public land needs permission. Families here often plant something in their own yard, perhaps a small tree over a biodegradable urn, or keep the ashes indoors near a sunny spot where a cat or bird once spent its afternoons.
read our guides and latest articles, or see what other families chose in the poll results, use the free tools before you ring anyone, Compare every option on our services page. If you live between Oakdale and Saint Paul, Duluth, Rochester and Bloomington, either page applies. Every other community in Minnesota, 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.
What would you most want to keep from your dog?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Would you send a favourite toy or blanket with your dog?
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If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Free tools to help you plan
Cremation cost calculator
Estimate a realistic price range for your pet's size, location and the type of cremation.
Urn size calculator
Find the urn volume you need from your pet's weight, plus keepsake and sharing options.
Pet age & senior years calculator
Convert your pet's age and see when senior-care and planning conversations usually start.
Questions people ask
Why does the Oakdale page quote a human cremation rate?
Because it is the best local signal we have. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) reports about 68.5%[3] of Minnesota residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Oakdale?
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 81°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Where are the providers that serve Oakdale actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Saint Paul, about 7 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Oakdale and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Oakdale?
The closest communities we cover are Maplewood (about 4 miles), White Bear Lake (about 6 miles) and Woodbury (about 6 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Oakdale too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How many families in Oakdale choose cremation for their dog?
Nobody counts this city by city, but we can estimate it. By our estimate, Oakdale has about 6,500 dog-owning households and loses roughly 510 dogs a year. Research from both sides of the Atlantic suggests about two in three bereaved owners choose cremation[7], so a large share of those families will be arranging one. Treat it as a rough guide rather than a local count.
Can my dog stay in the garage until the crematory can collect in winter?
In cold weather, a cool garage or unheated porch is a reasonable place for a day or two. Wrap your dog in a blanket, lay them in a sturdy box or on a board and make sure pets and wildlife can't reach them. If daytime temperatures climb well above freezing, call for collection sooner rather than later.
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] The NFDA projected Minnesota's cremation rate at 68.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [4] CareCredit's 2025 cost study put the US national average for private dog cremation at $260 (range $206-$473). CareCredit (Synchrony) - How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize a Dog? (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [5] US pet services prices (including vet bills) were 42% higher in April 2025 than in 2019, versus a 22% rise for pet food; pet services inflation was 4.6% year on year. Bank of America Institute - Best in show: US pet ownership (27 May 2025), 2025.
- [6] About 19% of all US dog deaths are in-home euthanasias. Our estimate: 83.0% euthanised x 22.8% of euthanasias at home = 18.9%. How we calculate.
- [7] UK and US survey evidence converges on roughly two-thirds of bereaved owners choosing cremation (UK 67%; US 68% ever) and about 29-32% choosing burial. Our estimate: mean(67, 68) = 67.5; burial range 29% (UK) to 32% (US). How we calculate.
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