An outdoor memorial for your pet, made for Green Bay
Around 3,250 dogs and cats die in Green Bay 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
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Local makers and practical limits in Green Bay
Clay paw or hoof impressions, pendants holding a trace of ash, and saplings planted over a plant-based urn are all ways Green Bay owners keep a connection. Families splitting remains between relatives across Wisconsin often order several small keepsakes at once, so no one has to decide who gets to keep the animal. Order them together so they match. Matching sets also make gifts easy.
Green Bay families often mark a loss in ways tied to home and routine. A collar hung on a hook by the back door, a portrait on the living room wall, or ashes kept in a carved chest near a favorite napping spot are familiar choices. No approach is more correct than another, so follow what feels natural. Some owners add a small shelf of framed photos over the years instead of a single item.
Neighborhoods with homeowners' associations are common in and around Green Bay. Most associations care about what's visible from the street, not what sits in a backyard bed, but some restrict permanent structures or anything set in concrete. A loose-set garden stone is rarely a problem; an upright headstone in the front yard might be. Check your covenants if you're unsure.
Green Bay's population is around 106,675, the 3rd-largest of the 50 Wisconsin communities we cover.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Howard (5 miles), De Pere (7 miles) and Kaukauna (20 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
39,500
How many dog- or cat-owning households Green Bay has (estimate)
How we calculated this
106,675 ÷ 2.5 = 42,670 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 39,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
3,250
Estimated dog and cat losses in Green Bay each year
How we calculated this
39,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 3,250 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 Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
Grave or ashes? The local habit in Wisconsin
In high-cremation places such as Wisconsin, with 70.7%[5] of human deaths ending in cremation, a pet stone often stands in for a grave that never existed. That can matter more than people expect. Having a fixed place to go on an anniversary, even a small stone in a flower bed, gives grief a destination that an urn on a shelf sometimes doesn't.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Wisconsin figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Green Bay tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Choosing a stone that suits Green Bay's seasons
Order in winter and set in spring is a good rhythm for Green Bay. Mortar and construction adhesive don't cure properly in the cold, and January lows around 11°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.
With 5 months of freezing lows in Green Bay, 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
Pet cemeteries price very differently from garden stones. By our estimate, the median starting burial price across 15 US pet cemeteries is ~$600[6], and a small pet's whole-body burial across five posted price lists comes to ~$350[7], often before any marker. One natural burial ground charges $250 for a boulder headstone, with engraving from $670[8]. A stone for a Green Bay garden avoids those extras.
Prices for Green Bay track the wider Wisconsin market, so use the Wisconsin price table as your baseline and the services page to see what is included.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What Wisconsin allows for pet graves and markers
Some human cemeteries now have a pet section or accept a pet's ashes in a family plot, while many still refuse animals entirely. If you'd like your pet near relatives, ask the cemetery office for its written policy on pets, ashes and marker sizes before buying anything. Below is what we know about pet burial and scattering in Wisconsin.
To find your county or city office in Wisconsin, start with the official Wisconsin local government directory.
The Wisconsin page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Green Bay's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
A step-by-step plan for your situation
- Mark the spot simply for now. While the soil is still sinking and the words aren't settled, something temporary, like a paver, a pot or a circle of pebbles, is enough to show where your pet rests.
- Decide where the stone will live long term: in a garden bed, at a pet cemetery, inside a large planter, or somewhere portable if a move is likely.
- Choose the material for your climate. Granite for hard winters and strong sun; slate or river rock where it's mild and dry.
- 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. Have a second person at home read every letter of it.
- Set the stone on compacted gravel so it drains and stays level, and add a plant beside it if you like.
More ways to remember your pet in Green Bay
Anything left outside in Brown County has to survive ice, road salt spray and heavy snow. Granite and fieldstone outlast painted concrete by many years. If you bury an urn in the yard, wait for the thaw and choose a spot away from where the plow or the snowblower piles drifts each winter. Solar lights set into the ground will vanish under drifts, so a raised marker is easier to visit in winter.
the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, or compare your instinct with the poll results, See what each option includes on our services page. Close to Green Bay we also cover Kenosha, Racine, Madison and Eau Claire; the full list for Wisconsin 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.
Where would your pet's stone go?
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If you moved house, what would happen to the memorial?
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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
Is cremation common in Wisconsin?
For people, yes: about 70.7%[5] of Wisconsin 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 Green Bay follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Does the Green Bay climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 81°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.
How many pet owners live in Green Bay?
By our estimate, about 39,500 households in Green Bay have at least one dog or cat, and around 3,250 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 106,675, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Green Bay?
Usually yes. Howard is about 5 miles away, De Pere is about 7 miles away and Kaukauna is about 20 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
When is the best time to install a pet memorial stone in Green Bay?
Wait until the ground has thawed and dried out a little, usually late spring, or install in early fall before the first hard freeze. A fresh grave also needs a month or two to settle. Until then, a temporary marker holds the spot, and the engraved stone can wait safely indoors.
How much does a pet memorial stone cost in Green Bay?
Published US prices give a good guide. Engraved garden stones start at ~$39[9], natural engraved river stones run $38–$115[10], flat granite markers start from $157.95[11] and upright granite headstones cost $258–$628[12] (per one large retailer). Delivery, a photo and cemetery setting fees are extra, so ask Green Bay makers for a written total.
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 Wisconsin's cremation rate at 70.7% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Across 15 US pet cemeteries' posted starting burial prices, the median entry price was about $600. Our estimate: median of starting prices [400,185,300,550,575,99,660.44,730,740,850,850,800,850,600,600]. How we calculate.
- [7] 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.
- [8] At Great River Natural Burial, a natural boulder headstone costs $250, engraving starts at $670, and pet caskets cost $170–$250. Great River Natural Burial – Pet Cemetery Pricing, 2026.
- [9] 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.
- [10] Adirondack Stone Works sells engraved natural-stone pet memorials from $38 (6–7 inch mini) to $115 (13–14 inch large), with 1–4 lines of text included. Adirondack Stone Works Pet Memorials, 2026.
- [11] Flat granite pet grave markers at Memorials.com start at $157.95. Memorials.com – Pet Memorial Stones, 2026.
- [12] Upright granite pet headstones at Memorials.com run $257.95–$627.95. Memorials.com – Pet Memorial Stones, 2026.
Find a stone maker who serves Green Bay
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.