Marking your pet's resting place in Aurora
By our count, roughly 12,500 Aurora families lose a dog or cat every year. A memorial stone is one of the few decisions with no deadline, so here's what to know before you order.
- Granite, slate, river rock and cast stone compared
- Setting fees and cemetery rules in plain words
- Options you can lift and move if you relocate
Aurora, Colorado
Local makers and practical limits in Aurora
Aurora's semi-arid climate, strong sun and hail are tough on outdoor memorials. Paint fades, wood splits and thin materials can crack in a hailstorm, while granite, flagstone and sealed stone last. A tree memorial is possible with steady watering, and native, drought-tolerant plants suit the dry summers. If the ground is frozen, plant in spring. A flagstone set flush with the ground is also safer from the snowplow and the lawnmower than a raised marker.
With more than three-quarters of Coloradans now cremated, keeping ashes at home is familiar to many Aurora families. A pet's ashes might go into a stoneware urn, a pine box with a name plate, a clay paw print or a pendant. Military families who move often tend to prefer something small, sturdy and easy to pack. Ask for a lid that seals firmly.
If there's no monument company in Aurora itself, a larger center such as Denver usually has one. Many will engrave a pet marker from granite offcuts left over from bigger jobs, often for less than you'd expect, and some will email a proof so you only make one trip. It's worth a phone call before you order online.
With roughly 410,053 residents, Aurora is the 3rd-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Denver, roughly 9 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Aurora run from there.
Families in Aurora often end up using a provider from Denver (8 miles), Centennial (10 miles) and Englewood (10 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
150,000
Aurora: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
410,053 ÷ 2.5 = 164,021 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 150,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
12,500
Estimated dog and cat losses in Aurora each year
How we calculated this
150,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 12,500 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.
We built the this numbers from American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
Burial, cremation and headstones in Colorado
In places where cremation is as common as it is in Colorado, where about 77.4%[5] of people are cremated, ashes give families more freedom. A stone doesn't have to sit over a grave. It can mark a scattering spot, hold a portion of ashes in a cavity or stand in a patio planter, and it can move with you when you do.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Colorado figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Aurora tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Aurora weather and your pet's stone
Aurora winters are the real test for a memorial stone. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, and every freeze-thaw cycle lets water into porous stone, freeze, expand and pry off flakes, often from the edges of engraved letters first. Dense granite shrugs this off; slate, sandstone, concrete and cast resin can crack within a few winters.
Order in winter and set in spring is a good rhythm for Aurora. Mortar and construction adhesive don't cure properly in the cold, and January lows around 18°F are far below what they need. If your stone has a separate base or a glued plaque, ask the maker to assemble it in the workshop rather than on a cold day in your yard.
Stone, engraving and setting: the real prices
Pet memorial stones cover a wide price range in the US, and the material matters more than the size. Engraved garden stones start at ~$39[6] across three US sellers, while flat granite markers start from $157.95[7] and upright granite headstones run $258–$628[8]. The table shows published prices you can use to judge any quote from a maker serving Aurora.
The Colorado price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Rules to check before placing a stone in Colorado
Before you dig anywhere in Colorado, find out where underground cables and pipes run; in the US, calling 811 gets them marked for free. Then check any homeowners' association covenants, since some limit permanent features or anything visible from the street. A small flush stone in a backyard bed rarely breaks any rule.
Not sure which office covers Aurora? The Colorado local government directory is the official list.
Start with the Colorado rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Aurora's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
How to choose, order and set a pet stone
- Give yourself time. A stone has no deadline, and a fresh grave settles for a month or two before it can take a heavy marker.
- Talk about the words with your family. Kids tend to come up with the truest lines, and reading a phrase aloud is the quickest test of whether it belongs.
- Decide how permanent it should be. Set on gravel, a stone lifts out if you move; set in concrete, it usually stays.
- Order from a maker who sends a proof, then hold your phone out at full reach to view it, which is close to the distance you'll read it from outdoors.
- Choose an installation day with soft ground and good weather, then scrape out a shallow hollow deep enough to take a 3 to 4 inch layer of gravel.
- Place the stone together. Many families make it a small ceremony, with a story, a favorite toy or a plant.
Keeping the memory close
Aurora's big skies and mountain views shape many memorials. Families often think of the Front Range on the western horizon, Cherry Creek State Park or the Aurora Reservoir when they remember a pet. If you plan to scatter ashes, pick a sheltered spot and a still day, because plains wind is strong. Check park rules, and keep a little back for home if you want a keepsake.
look through our guides and the blog, try the free planning tools, or see what other families chose in the poll results, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services. Close to Aurora we also cover Lakewood, Arvada, Thornton and Denver; the full list for Colorado and for the United States 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?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Where would your pet's stone go?
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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
Which nearby towns can I compare with Aurora?
The closest communities we cover are Denver (about 8 miles), Centennial (about 10 miles) and Englewood (about 10 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Aurora too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How many pet owners live in Aurora?
By our estimate, about 150,000 households in Aurora have at least one dog or cat, and around 12,500 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 410,053, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Is cremation common in Colorado?
For people, yes: about 77.4%[5] of Colorado 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 Aurora follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
How does Aurora's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Aurora, with average highs around 90°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Is it too late to get a stone for a pet who died years ago?
Not at all. Many families order a stone months or years later, once they know where they'll settle or when the grief has softened enough to choose words. If you're not sure exactly where your pet was buried, a stone can mark the general area or a spot in the garden they loved.
Is a personal memorial allowed in a park near Aurora?
Almost never. Parks departments generally don't allow personal stones, and scattering ashes may need permission. Some parks offices sell dedicated benches or trees with a small plaque, sometimes including a pet's name, though waiting lists can be long. The usual approach is to honor the park in the wording and set the stone somewhere private.
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 Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 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.
- [7] Flat granite pet grave markers at Memorials.com start at $157.95. Memorials.com – Pet Memorial Stones, 2026.
- [8] Upright granite pet headstones at Memorials.com run $257.95–$627.95. Memorials.com – Pet Memorial Stones, 2026.
Ask for pet stone options near Aurora
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.