Choosing a pet memorial stone in Colorado Springs
By our count, roughly 15,000 Colorado Springs 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
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Pet memorials in Colorado Springs: the local picture
Strong sun at altitude, summer hail and constant freeze-thaw cycles can weather outdoor memorials quickly in Colorado Springs. Granite, slate and metal last far longer than painted wood or plastic, which crack and fade within a few seasons. If you plant a memorial tree or shrub, choose a species suited to dry, high-altitude conditions, and plant in late spring after the last frost so it has time to establish.
Colorado has one of the higher cremation rates for people in the country, and many Colorado Springs families are comfortable keeping ashes at home or scattering them. Some want to scatter part of a pet's ashes somewhere they hiked or spent time together, such as in the foothills. Check the rules for the land first, since parks and national forest have their own regulations.
Some families near Colorado Springs ask a local landscape yard for a natural boulder and then have it engraved. It can be a beautiful, very personal memorial, but check that the engraver will work on that type of rock, because soft or crumbly stone won't hold fine letters. A dense, smooth face gives the cleanest result. Families in nearby Denver often face the same choice.
About 494,743 people live in Colorado Springs, which makes it the 2nd-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Denver, roughly 63 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Colorado Springs run from there.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Fountain (13 miles), Castle Rock (38 miles) and Pueblo (41 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
180,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Colorado Springs has (estimate)
How we calculated this
494,743 ÷ 2.5 = 197,897 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 180,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
15,000
Estimated dog and cat losses in Colorado Springs each year
How we calculated this
180,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 15,000 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.
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.
The published sources behind those figures are American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Grave or ashes? The local habit 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.
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 Colorado Springs tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Which stones survive the weather in Colorado Springs
Snow and salt are both hard on stone in Colorado Springs. 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.
Cold snaps in Colorado Springs, when lows average around 19°F in January, can crack stones that hold water. Stones with an ashes cavity need a good seal so water doesn't collect inside and freeze. If yours has a screw plate or plug, check it in the fall, and ask the maker whether the stone is rated for outdoor use in freezing climates.
Stone, engraving and setting: the real prices
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 Colorado Springs 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.
Where a pet stone can go in Colorado
Rules about marking a pet's grave are light almost everywhere; the rules that matter are about the grave itself. Depth, distance from water and whether you own the land come up most often. If burial at home isn't allowed or practical, a stone can still mark buried ashes, a scattering spot or simply a favorite corner. Local notes for Colorado follow.
The official Colorado local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Colorado Springs.
Start with the Colorado rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Colorado Springs's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
From first idea to a stone in the ground
- Let your child help choose the spot. A place they can get to by themselves, or look at from their bedroom, tends to mean more to a child than any adult would guess.
- Start with a stone they decorate themselves. A smooth river rock and some weatherproof paint pens keep a child busy and included when the loss is freshest.
- Ask them for one word or line to include. Years on, it's usually the child's own phrase that the whole family holds dearest.
- Show them the proof before you approve it, and let them check the spelling of the pet's name letter by letter.
- Keep the homemade stone beside the engraved one, or bring it indoors to a shelf once the permanent marker is set.
- Give each child a job on the day: one carries the marker, one arranges pebbles around the edge, one waters whatever you plant beside it. Our guides have more ideas.
Remembering your pet beside the stone
Pikes Peak rises over every part of Colorado Springs, and many families want a memorial that connects with that landscape. A garden stone of local granite, a tree planted in spring, or an urn by a window facing the mountains are all common choices. Some families keep a little ash in a pendant or keepsake, so the memory can travel with them.
run the numbers with the free planning tools, go deeper with the guides or catch up on recent articles, See what each option includes on our services page, or see what other families chose in the poll results. More local pages: Aurora, Lakewood, Denver and Fort Collins, 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.
What feels like the right amount to spend on a garden stone?
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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
How does Colorado Springs's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Colorado Springs, with average highs around 87°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.
Will I have to travel to Denver to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Denver (roughly 63 miles from Colorado Springs) collect from here as a matter of routine, and the paperwork is done by email or phone. If you want to be present for a witnessed cremation, that is when the drive matters.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Colorado Springs?
The closest communities we cover are Fountain (about 13 miles), Castle Rock (about 38 miles) and Pueblo (about 41 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Colorado Springs too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Is Colorado Springs big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 180,000 Colorado Springs households keep a dog or cat and around 15,000 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 494,743), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
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[9], so a large dog may need more space than most garden stones offer. A waterproof inner bag protects the ashes from damp.
How many words fit on a small pet memorial stone?
Less than most people expect. As a rough guide, a 12-inch-wide stone with 1-inch capital letters fits about 14 to 16 characters per line once margins are allowed for, and most small stones take two to four lines. A name, the years and one short line is the classic layout. Our memorial stone planner previews it for you.
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] Across five posted US pet-cemetery price lists, the median whole-body burial for a small pet, including plot and opening/closing, was about $350. Our estimate: median of [Rainier $150 plot incl. first burial, Cedar Bend $290, Forest $350, Great River $750, Precious Memories $1,500]. How we calculate.
- [9] 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.
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