A lasting stone for your pet in Centennial
Centennial has an estimated 40,000 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.
- 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
Centennial, Colorado
Stone makers, yards and delivery in Centennial
Centennial homes typically have backyards with lawn and garden beds, so outdoor memorials are an easy option for many families. A flat granite stone, a boulder with an engraved plaque or a small memorial garden can all fit. Check any HOA guidelines before installing something visible from the street. Inside, an urn beside a paw print frame or a small memory box fits any room.
Many Centennial families have relatives spread across the Denver metro and beyond, and memorials that can be shared are popular. Splitting the ashes into several small containers, or ordering several copies of a paw print, lets everyone have something. Jewelry holding a tiny amount of ashes is another option, and it suits relatives who live far from Arapahoe County. Ask about these choices before cremation takes place, because portions are easiest to prepare at the start.
Heavier stones don't always come to your door. Freight carriers sometimes deliver to a depot instead, and a granite marker near 40 lb is awkward without a hand truck. When you order for delivery to Centennial, ask whether the price includes home delivery, whether a liftgate is used and what happens if the stone arrives chipped.
Centennial's population is around 108,658, the 11th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Aurora, roughly 10 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Centennial run from there.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Parker (8 miles), Englewood (8 miles) and Littleton (8 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
40,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Centennial
How we calculated this
108,658 ÷ 2.5 = 43,463 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 40,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
3,350
dog and cat deaths per year in Centennial, our estimate
How we calculated this
40,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 3,350 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.
Burial, cremation and headstones in Colorado
Cremation is the norm in Colorado: about 77.4%[5] of people who die there are cremated. Pet owners tend to follow the same pattern, which shapes the kind of stone families choose. Here, a memorial stone often marks buried ashes in a flower bed or sits beside an urn, rather than covering a full grave, so smaller stones and ones with a sealed ashes compartment are popular.
For the Colorado figure we rely on NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Read it as a picture of local custom around death and remembrance in Centennial rather than as pet data.
Centennial weather and your pet's stone
Snow and salt are both hard on stone in Centennial. A flush marker disappears under snow from January, February, March, November and December, so add a small stake or a tall plant nearby if you want to find it easily. Keep de-icing salt away from the memorial: salt draws water into stone and speeds up flaking, especially on limestone, marble and concrete.
With 5 months of freezing lows in Centennial, frost heave is as big a risk as cracking. Wet soil expands as it freezes and can tilt a stone set directly on the ground. Set yours on 3 to 4 inches of compacted gravel so water drains away, and choose a flat, wide marker over a tall narrow one. Our cold-weather memorial notes go further.
How much to budget for a pet stone
If you want a picture on the stone, budget for it separately. A laser-etched portrait on a full headstone costs about $500–$800[6] from monument engravers, while small photo-etched granite pet markers from online makers start from $159.99[7]. Ask makers serving Centennial for a proof before they etch, and compare total prices including delivery.
The full price table by product is on our Colorado page, and the services page explains what each option includes.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Home burial, rentals and pet cemeteries in Colorado
If you own your home, you can usually place a garden stone wherever you like; the stricter rules concern burying a body, not marking a spot. If you rent, ask your landlord before burying anything or setting a stone in concrete, and choose a stone you can lift and take with you. Below are the burial and scattering notes we have for Colorado.
To find your county or city office in Colorado, start with the official Colorado local government directory.
The Colorado page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Centennial's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
Ordering a pet memorial stone, step by step
- Photograph the spot now. Makers can recommend proportions far better when they can see the bed or grave the stone is going into.
- 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. Let your local freeze and heat decide, not how it looks in the brochure.
- Draft two or three wording options and pick the one that still feels right after a few days.
- 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.
Small rituals that keep the stone meaningful
Dry air, strong sun and repeated freezing and thawing wear down outdoor memorials in Centennial. Natural stone and bronze hold up; painted concrete and resin may crack over a few winters. If you plan to plant a tree urn, choose a species suited to Front Range conditions and plant in spring, after the risk of hard frost. Water it through the first couple of summers.
there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services, or look at how readers voted in our polls, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures. More local pages: Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins and Denver, the Colorado overview and every city in the United States.
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.
What feels like the right amount to spend on a garden stone?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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
Does the Centennial climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 90°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, November and December, when lows sit below freezing, a home burial may have to wait for a thaw, so cremation with ashes returned keeps your options open.
Where are the providers that serve Centennial actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Aurora, about 10 miles away. That is normal for a city this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Centennial and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
How do Colorado attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Colorado human cremation rate at about 77.4%[5]. We show it on the Centennial page because pet aftercare choices tend to track it: where cremation is normal for people, communal and private pet cremation are both easy to find.
Is Centennial big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 40,000 Centennial households keep a dog or cat and around 3,350 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 108,658), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Are there pet cemeteries near Centennial that accept memorial stones?
Most pet cemeteries allow some kind of marker, but each sets its own rules on size, material and whether upright stones are permitted, and many charge a setting fee. Ask the cemetery for its written rules before ordering. Our pet cemetery marker checklist lists the questions worth asking.
Do many families in Centennial choose a memorial stone?
We don't track local sales, but the numbers suggest plenty do. By our estimate, around 3,350 dogs and cats die in Centennial each year, from about 40,000 dog- or cat-owning households, and a large share of US owners say they'd prefer home burial (40.4% cremation; 34.9% home burial; 1.9% aquamation[9] in one survey). Many of those graves end up marked with a stone.
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] A laser-etched portrait on a headstone costs about $500–$800, and a porcelain photo $200–$600. Memorials.com – Headstone Engraving Cost, 2026.
- [7] Photo-etched granite pet markers at The Comfort Company start at $159.99. The Comfort Company – Pet memorial stones, 2026.
- [8] 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.
- [9] Asked their preferred future after-death care, 40.4% of US owners chose traditional flame cremation and 34.9% home burial; 10.7% chose cemetery burial and 1.9% alkaline hydrolysis (aquamation). Cooney, Kogan, Brooks, Ellis - Pet Owners' Expectations for Pet End-of-Life Support and After-Death Body Care, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine (2020), 2020.
Price a pet memorial stone in Centennial
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.