A lasting stone for your pet in Hobart
Hobart has an estimated 82,000 dog- or cat-owning households. When a stone is the memorial you want, the local climate, your yard and any HOA or lease rules all shape the right choice.
- Stones matched to winters and summers in Hobart
- Real published prices, not guesses
- Garden, cemetery or take-it-with-you options
Hobart, Tasmania
Where a stone can go in Hobart
Memorials don't have to be decided in the first week. Many Hobart families bring ashes home in a simple container, then choose a lasting keepsake once the first sharp grief has settled. That pause lets you think about whether you want one piece or several, perhaps small keepsake urns or jewellery for relatives on the mainland, and gives you time to compare quality and prices without pressure.
Hobart's older homes, weatherboard cottages and sandstone terraces often come with gardens that suit an outdoor memorial, while apartments near the waterfront suit something small that sits on a shelf. Think about where the memorial will live before you choose. A weatherproof stone or planted tree works in a sheltered garden; a compact urn, a paw print impression or a piece of cremation jewellery travels with you if you move.
Soil makes a difference to how a stone settles. Heavy clay holds water and heaves in frost, while sandy soil drains fast but lets stones sink at one corner. In Hobart, a bed of 2 to 4 inches of compacted gravel under the stone solves both problems, and it means the stone can be lifted cleanly if you ever move.
With roughly 247,000 residents, Hobart is the largest of the 2 Tasmania communities we cover.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Launceston (101 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
82,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Hobart
How we calculated this
247,000 ÷ 2.5 = 98,800 households; × 49% (dog) + 34% (cat) = 82,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
6,800
Estimated dog and cat losses in Hobart each year
How we calculated this
82,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 6,800 a year. A floor, not a ceiling.
49%[1]
49% of Australian households have at least one dog, up from 40% in 2019.
12.69 years[2]
US dogs have an average life expectancy at birth of 12.69 years.
34%[3]
34% of Australian households have at least one cat, up from 27% in 2019.
11.18 years[4]
US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 years.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is Animal Medicines Australia, Pets in Australia 2025 (media release) and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science; we only apply it to this.
Grave or ashes? The local habit in Australia
Because cremation is so common in Australia (about 71%[5] of people are cremated), outdoor memorials here often work alongside an urn indoors. A common pattern is to keep most of the ashes at home, bury a small portion in the garden and set a stone over it. That way the garden has a place to visit and nothing is lost if you move.
FuneralSmart (2023) is where the Australia figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Hobart tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Frost, sun and damp: matching stone to Hobart
Think about the seasons you actually get around Hobart. Install when the ground is soft and the weather is comfortable, check any ashes compartment seal before the wettest or coldest part of the year, and give the stone a gentle clean with plain water once or twice a year.
How much to budget for a pet stone
If you're in Hobart, ask a local monumental mason as well as online sellers. Masons who make human headstones often have granite offcuts suitable for a pet marker, and they know which stones handle local sun and salt air. There's no published local price list we trust, so the table shows US figures for comparison.
For a line-by-line price table, see the Tasmania overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Burial, HOA and cemetery rules in Tasmania
Burying a pet on land that belongs to someone else, such as a parent's farm or a friend's garden, needs the owner's clear agreement, and it's wise to note the spot for whoever owns the land next. The stone itself is usually the easy part. Our local notes on burial and scattering in Tasmania follow.
In Australia, strong UV is harder on memorials than cold. Resin, painted lettering and printed designs fade quickly in full sun, so granite with carved letters, or a natural stone with deep engraving, is worth the extra cost. Rules on burying pets at home are set by local councils and vary, and renters need their landlord's agreement. A local monumental mason is often the best source for a granite marker.
The rules that apply across Tasmania (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our Tasmania page. Hobart may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
What to do first, and what can wait
- Photograph the spot now. A picture of the grave or garden bed helps any maker suggest a size that suits it.
- Set a rough budget. Count the marker itself, the engraving, shipping and whatever a cemetery charges to install it; our memorial budget planner totals these for you.
- Choose the material. Match it to your winters and summers rather than the catalog photo.
- Draft two or three wording options and sleep on them for a few days, then go with the one that hasn't worn thin.
- Send the details for quotes. A maker can price the job from five things: dimensions, stone, the inscription, any photo and where to ship it.
- Approve the proof and arrange delivery, then set the stone on drained gravel so it stays level for years.
More ways to remember your pet in Hobart
The landscape around Hobart, from kunanyi/Mount Wellington to the Derwent shoreline and the bush on the city's edges, draws many people towards natural memorials. A biodegradable urn or a memorial tree planted in your own garden can feel right here, and native plantings suit the cool climate. If you're thinking of scattering in a reserve or on the water, check the rules for that place first and choose a calm, still day.
or see what other families chose in the poll results, read our guides and latest articles, use the free tools before you ring anyone, Our services overview lays out every option side by side. Close to Hobart we also cover Launceston; the full list for Tasmania and for Australia is a click away.
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.
Which stone would you choose for your pet's marker?
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If you moved house, what would happen to the memorial?
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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
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Memorial stone planner
Plan size, material and engraving length so your wording fits the stone.
Memorial tree finder
Pick a tree for a planting urn that suits your climate, space and pet.
Questions people ask
Is Hobart big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 82,000 Hobart households keep a dog or cat and around 6,800 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 247,000), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Is cremation common in Australia?
For people, yes: about 71%[5] of Australia deaths end in cremation, according to FuneralSmart (2023). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Hobart follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
What size stone suits a cat's grave compared with a dog's?
A cat's grave is small, so a flat stone around 12 by 6 inches, or an engraved river rock, marks it well. A medium or large dog's grave is longer, and many families choose a 16 by 8 inch marker or bigger, set at the head end. Our memorial stone planner helps you check whether the wording fits the size you choose.
What do people usually engrave on a pet memorial stone?
Most choose the pet's name and years, plus one short line: a nickname, a place they loved or a phrase the family always said. A paw print or small outline is a popular alternative to words. Read the wording out loud, check the spelling with someone else and keep it short enough to read from the path.
Can a memorial stone hold my pet's ashes?
Yes. Some stones have a hollow underside sealed with a plug, or a cavity behind a screwed plate. Check the stated capacity: ashes typically weigh about 3-5% of body weight[7], so a large dog may need more space than most garden stones offer. A waterproof inner bag protects the ashes from damp.
How much does a pet memorial stone cost in Hobart?
We haven't found a reliable local price survey, so compare two or three written quotes. For scale, US sellers list engraved garden stones from ~$39[8] and flat granite markers from $157.95[9]. Local monument masons often cut small pet markers too, and their price may include delivery.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 49% of Australian households have at least one dog, up from 40% in 2019. Animal Medicines Australia, Pets in Australia 2025 (media release), 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] 34% of Australian households have at least one cat, up from 27% in 2019. Animal Medicines Australia, Pets in Australia 2025 (media release), 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] Australian cremation rates hovered around 70-72% between 2020 and 2023, with Sydney and Melbourne often above 80%. FuneralSmart, 2023.
- [6] Photo-etched or flat granite pet markers start at about $158–$160 at two US sellers. Our estimate: Memorials.com flat granite from $157.95; Comfort Co. photo granite from $159.99. How we calculate.
- [7] 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.
- [8] Engraved pet garden stones start at about $39 at the median of three US sellers. Our estimate: median of starting prices [$38 Adirondack, $38.95 Memorials.com, $89.99 Comfort Co.]. How we calculate.
- [9] Flat granite pet grave markers at Memorials.com start at $157.95. Memorials.com – Pet Memorial Stones, 2026.
Ask for pet stone options near Hobart
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.