Marking your pet's resting place in Ridgewood
By our count, roughly 810 Ridgewood 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.
- Engraving and proof steps explained
- Delivery weight and setting, planned ahead
- Quotes by email from makers who serve Ridgewood
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Choosing a pet memorial stone in Ridgewood
Freeze-thaw cycles and heavy snow are part of every Ridgewood winter, and sloping yards can make garden markers tilt. Bluestone, granite and bronze all last; resin and cast concrete don't. Lay a marker in a bed of crushed stone and tamp it firm, and keep it out of the path of snowmelt running down the slope, which slowly undercuts anything in its way.
Ridgewood families often lean toward understated, well-made keepsakes: a hand-turned wooden urn, an engraved silver pendant, a framed photo with a nose print. Prints and fur clippings should be requested while arranging collection, since they're taken before cremation. If several households want a keepsake, ask the provider to divide the ashes when they return them. A framer or engraver can finish the pieces within a few weeks.
In the country, wildlife is part of the plan. Foxes, coyotes and raccoons may dig at a fresh grave, so many families around Ridgewood lay a heavy flat stone or paving slab over the site first, then set the engraved marker once the soil has settled. A wide, flat stone does both jobs at once.
With roughly 26,527 residents, Ridgewood is the 37th-largest of the 58 New Jersey communities we cover. Yonkers, roughly 13 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Ridgewood run from there.
The closest communities we cover are Hawthorne (3 miles), Fair Lawn (3 miles) and Paramus (3 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Ridgewood too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
Our estimate
9,750
How many dog- or cat-owning households Ridgewood has (estimate)
How we calculated this
26,527 ÷ 2.5 = 10,611 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 9,750. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
810
dog and cat deaths per year in Ridgewood, our estimate
How we calculated this
9,750 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 810 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.
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.
Local traditions and what they mean for a pet stone
As cremation has grown to about 56.5%[5] of deaths in New Jersey, many pet cemeteries have added small plots just for ashes. These usually take a smaller flat marker than a full grave and cost less to open. If a cemetery appeals but a whole plot feels like too much, ask whether it has an ashes section and what size stone it allows there.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the New Jersey figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Ridgewood tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Choosing a stone that suits Ridgewood's seasons
Because frost is rare in Ridgewood, you can install a stone almost any time of year. The best days are dry ones after rain, when the soil is soft enough to dig but not muddy. Avoid setting a stone just before July, the wettest month, if you're on heavy clay; wet ground settles unevenly and the stone may tilt.
Something is in flower for most of the year in a mild climate like Ridgewood's, so you can plant for the date that matters. Choose a shrub or bulb that blooms around your pet's birthday or the anniversary of their death, and the stone gets its own reminder each year. Our memorial tree finder can help you pick.
What drives the price of a pet memorial stone
Pet cemetery burial is where costs climb. A typical pet burial in a sample of 15 US pet cemeteries cost $1,500–$2,000[6], and starting prices ranged from $99–$4,000[7]. One Iowa cemetery charges $400 for a standard granite headstone on top of the plot[8]. A stone for your own garden in Ridgewood is far cheaper; the table shows the range.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for New Jersey: New Jersey costs. What each service includes is on the services page.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What New Jersey allows for pet graves and markers
Before you dig anywhere in New Jersey, 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.
New Jersey keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Ridgewood.
We keep New Jersey's burial and scattering rules in one place: the New Jersey rules summary. Before a home burial in Ridgewood, also ask the city whether local ordinances add anything.
A step-by-step plan for your situation
- Work out what the stone is marking: the body itself, ashes in the ground, the place where ashes were scattered, or just a favorite corner of the yard.
- If ashes will go inside the stone, run the cavity's dimensions through our urn size calculator to be sure everything will fit.
- Choose dense stone and carved lettering. Painted or printed designs look bright on day one but fade outdoors.
- Keep the wording short. Most small stones fit two or three lines of 14 to 16 capital letters.
- Get written quotes from makers who serve your area, and ask what happens if the stone arrives damaged.
- Sign off the proof, and think about placement: a bed of gravel underneath, a spirit level on top, and enough distance from trees that roots won't tilt it.
More ways to remember your pet in Ridgewood
Ridgewood's mature gardens suit an outdoor memorial: a bluestone marker in a shade bed, a young tree planted over a biodegradable urn, a small bench under an old oak. For those in the apartments near the station, a wooden urn or a photo paired with a clay print fits a bookshelf. The ashes arrive sealed, so there's time to think before choosing anything permanent.
browse in-depth guides or recent articles, use the free tools before you ring anyone, See what each option includes on our services page, or compare your instinct with the poll results. Close to Ridgewood we also cover Jersey City, Elizabeth, Paterson and Newark; the full list for New Jersey 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.
If you moved house, what would happen to the memorial?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Where would your pet's stone go?
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
Is cremation common in New Jersey?
For people, yes: about 56.5%[5] of New Jersey 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 Ridgewood follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Ridgewood?
Usually yes. Hawthorne is about 3 miles away, Fair Lawn is about 3 miles away and Paramus is about 3 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Does the Ridgewood climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 85°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January and February, 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 Ridgewood actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Yonkers, about 13 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Ridgewood and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Do many families in Ridgewood choose a memorial stone?
We don't track local sales, but the numbers suggest plenty do. By our estimate, around 810 dogs and cats die in Ridgewood each year, from about 9,750 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[10] in one survey). Many of those graves end up marked with a stone.
How do I stop moss growing on my pet's stone in Ridgewood?
Moss and algae love damp shade, so a spot with a few hours of sun helps most. Keep soil and mulch off the stone's face, set it on gravel so it drains, and scrub it gently with plain water and a soft brush once or twice a year. Avoid bleach and wire brushes, which can damage the surface.
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 New Jersey's cremation rate at 56.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Furever Memorials' review of 15 US pet cemeteries puts the typical pet burial at $1,500–$2,000. Furever Memorials – Pet Burial Cost (15 cemeteries), 2025.
- [7] Starting burial prices in the 15-cemetery sample ranged from $99–$279 at Savannah Pet Cemetery (Georgia) to $850–$4,000 at Hartsdale (New York). Furever Memorials – Pet Burial Cost (15 cemeteries), 2025.
- [8] At Cedar Bend Humane Society's pet cemetery in Iowa, plot plus burial runs $290–$565 depending on pet size, and a standard granite headstone costs $400. Funeral.com – Pet Cemetery Burial Guide, 2025.
- [9] 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.
- [10] 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.
Find a stone maker who serves Ridgewood
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.