Marking your pet's resting place in Camas
Around 850 dogs and cats die in Camas each year, by our estimate. If yours was one of them, this guide covers which stones suit local weather, what they cost and where they can go.
- 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
Camas, Washington
Where a stone can go in Camas
Camas gardens are often landscaped with care, and some families like a memorial that blends in: a dogwood or Japanese maple set above a biodegradable urn, or a slate marker among the ferns. Anything buried stays with the house, so think about future moves. A handsome indoor urn or small keepsake piece travels more easily. Mark the spot on a garden plan for future owners.
Camas families often have relatives in Oregon as well as Washington, and sometimes farther afield. Splitting the remains between a family urn and a few pendants or mini urns means several households can each keep some. Settle numbers with the provider beforehand, and ask how each piece is sealed and packed. Labeling each one with a name and date avoids confusion years from now.
On a property near Camas, a big natural boulder can make a striking memorial, but moving one is serious work. A tractor bucket or skid steer can shift it, yet stones slip and roll; keep people well clear, and never stand downhill. For anything over a few hundred pounds, ask the engraver whether they can carve it where it will stay.
Camas is home to about 27,749 people, the 43rd-largest of the 67 Washington communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Camas are based about 14 miles away in Portland, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Our pages for Washougal (4 miles), Gresham (7 miles, a larger centre) and Vancouver (8 miles, a larger centre) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Camas as well.
Our estimate
10,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Camas has (estimate)
How we calculated this
27,749 ÷ 2.5 = 11,100 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 10,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
850
Camas families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
10,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 850 a year. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
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.
How local customs shape pet memorials
Cremation is the norm in Washington: about 79.1%[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.
That Washington rate is a human one, published by Direct Cremate (citing CANA) (2024). We quote it for Camas only as a pointer to how families here already think about cremation.
Which stones survive the weather in Camas
Even in a mild place like Camas, where lows in January average around 36°F, drainage matters. Water sitting under a stone encourages algae and lets it sink at one corner. Set it on a thin layer of gravel, keep mulch and soil off its face, and it will look much the same in ten years as on the day you placed it.
Grass keeps growing for much of the year in Camas, and it creeps over a flush marker faster than you'd think. A narrow edging strip of gravel or brick around the stone stops turf from swallowing the lettering, gives the mower a clean line and saves you trimming by hand every few weeks.
Budgeting for the stone, lettering and delivery
Material sets the price tier. By our estimate, photo-etched or flat granite markers start at ~$158–$160[6] at two US sellers, roughly four times an entry-level engraved garden stone. Bronze-on-granite headstones run $1,098–$2,598[7] (per one large retailer). For most gardens in Camas, a flat granite marker gives the best balance of lasting lettering and cost; the table shows the full range.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Washington: Washington 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.
Permissions worth checking in Washington
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 Washington follow.
The official Washington local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Camas.
The rules that apply across Washington (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our Washington page. Camas may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
From first idea to a stone in the ground
- Mark the spot simply for now. A flat paver, a potted plant or a ring of pebbles holds the place while the ground settles and you think about wording.
- Decide where the stone will live long term: your garden, a pet cemetery, a planter or somewhere that can move with you.
- Choose the material for your climate. Where winters bite and summers scorch, granite holds up; in gentler, drier places slate or a river rock does fine.
- Write the wording and count the letters. Name, years and one short line fit most small stones. Our memorial stone planner checks the fit.
- Ask two or three makers for written quotes that include lettering, any photo, delivery and setting.
- Approve a proof before anything is cut. Check spelling with someone else in the house.
- Set the stone on compacted gravel so that water moves away and the marker sits straight; a plant alongside is a nice touch.
Small rituals that keep the stone meaningful
The lower Columbia's rain and occasional Gorge ice storms are hard on garden markers. Dense stone and bronze last; painted concrete, wood and resin weather quickly. Inside the house there's far more freedom, and wood, ceramic, glass or metal all serve well, so choose what suits your décor and the animal you're honoring. Keep indoor urns away from a sunny window or fireplace.
there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details, or look at how readers voted in our polls, See what each option includes on our services page, try the free planning tools. Close to Camas we also cover Kent, Spokane, Tacoma and Bellevue; the full list for Washington 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.
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 moved house, what would happen to the memorial?
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
How do Washington attitudes to cremation compare?
Direct Cremate (citing CANA) (2024) puts the Washington human cremation rate at about 79.1%[5]. We show it on the Camas 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.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Camas?
There is no frozen-ground season here; average lows stay above freezing all year. The other pressure point is August, when highs around 82°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How many pet owners live in Camas?
By our estimate, about 10,000 households in Camas have at least one dog or cat, and around 850 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 27,749, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Where are the providers that serve Camas actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Portland, about 14 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Camas and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Do many families in Camas choose a memorial stone?
We don't track local sales, but the numbers suggest plenty do. By our estimate, around 850 dogs and cats die in Camas each year, from about 10,000 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.
What does a pet cemetery plot cost compared with a garden stone?
A lot more. In a sample of 15 US pet cemeteries, a typical burial cost $1,500–$2,000[10], and ongoing care can add more; one New York cemetery charges $105/yr or $3,500[11] for upkeep. A garden stone at home costs only the stone and delivery, starting at ~$39[8] for an engraved garden 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] Washington had a 79.1% cremation rate in 2024, among the highest in the US. Direct Cremate (citing CANA), 2024.
- [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] Bronze-on-granite pet headstones at Memorials.com run from $1,097.95 to $2,597.95 (with vase). Memorials.com – Pet Memorial Stones, 2026.
- [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] 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.
- [10] 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.
- [11] Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in New York charges $105 a year for plot maintenance, or $3,500 one time for perpetual care. VOA News – America's oldest pet cemetery, 2024.
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