Planting your pet's ashes in Goodyear
About 3,850 dogs and cats are lost in Goodyear each year, by our estimate. If you'd like your pet's ashes to grow into a tree or return to the water, this page covers the soil, the season and the cost.
- Options for renters and apartments
- Water release rules in plain words
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Goodyear, Arizona
Your living memorial options around Goodyear
Strong sun and summer monsoon storms wear down outdoor memorials in the Valley. An engraved stone or granite marker lasts far better than wood or resin. If you'd like a living memorial and own your home, a biodegradable urn planted with a desert-adapted shrub or small tree suits the climate. HOA rules may affect what you can place in a front yard.
Many Goodyear residents moved here in the last decade and may move again, so portable memorials are practical. A compact urn, a cast of your pet's paw, or a pendant holding a pinch of ash can go with you to the next house. Ashes can be divided among family members in other states so everyone has a share. Families in the Valley often ship a share to relatives back east.
Families in Goodyear often combine a private cremation arranged through their vet with a planting at home a few weeks or months later. That gap is normal and useful. It gives you time to choose a species, prepare the soil mix and wait for the right planting season. Ask the crematory for the ashes in a simple container rather than paying for a decorative urn you won't keep, and put that money toward a good tree.
Goodyear's population is around 125,359, the 12th-largest of the 29 Arizona communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Goodyear are based about 22 miles away in Phoenix, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Our pages for Avondale (5 miles), Buckeye (20 miles) and Phoenix (22 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 Goodyear as well.
Our estimate
46,000
Goodyear: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
125,359 ÷ 2.5 = 50,144 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 46,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
3,850
Goodyear families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
46,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 3,850 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 Arizona feels about cremation
With a human cremation rate near 80.7%[5], Arizona has plenty of crematories competing for families, and that tends to show in the choice on offer. Ask more than one pet provider what they include. Some return ashes in a simple cardboard or paper tube, some add a wooden urn you may not want, and a few can quote for water cremation. The cheapest honest quote is usually the one you can plant from.
We take the Arizona rate from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It is a human statistic; there is no equivalent pet figure for Goodyear, and we would rather show a real number than invent one.
Choosing the right month to plant in Goodyear
Hot weather in Goodyear changes the plan for a planting ceremony too. With July highs near 105°F, an outdoor gathering at midday is uncomfortable and stressful for the new plant. Choose an early morning or evening in a cooler month, set out shade and water for guests, and water the tree in well straight after planting. A light, pale mulch helps keep the root zone cool.
Heat narrows the tree list in Goodyear. Months like May, June, July, August, September and October bring sustained highs, so choose species that already cope locally: drought-tolerant natives, or trees a local nursery recommends for full sun. A seed from a planting kit, bred somewhere cooler, is a gamble here. Plant a sturdy nursery sapling instead, mulch a wide ring around it and plan to water it through its first two summers.
Adding up the cost of a bio urn memorial in Goodyear
For a medium-size dog, published private aquamation prices at two US providers sit around $200–$259[6], and one Arizona provider's individual aquamation price of $75–$349[7] includes an urn, nameplate and ink paw print. Whether a Goodyear provider bundles extras like that makes a real difference when you compare. Add the bio urn or tree separately, and use the planner below to see the total.
The Arizona price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Where you can plant or release ashes in Arizona
Water releases need a little more care than a garden planting. Rivers, lakes, reservoirs and coastal waters in Arizona are managed by different bodies, and drinking-water sources are often off-limits. Wherever you release, use only a water-soluble urn or loose ashes, add nothing but loose flower petals, and let no plastic, ribbon or wreath wire float away.
Arizona keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Goodyear.
For Arizona's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Arizona guide. Local rules in Goodyear can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
Your next steps, whatever your situation
- Confirm the ashes will come back. Communal cremation usually means no ashes are returned, and you can't plant what you don't receive.
- Pick the type of bio urn: one that grows a tree, a simple biodegradable urn to bury in a quiet bed, or a floating urn meant for a lake, river or the coast.
- Ask permission from the landowner, landlord or park manager for anywhere that isn't yours.
- Plan for the weather. Around Goodyear, skip days when the soil is rock-hard, frozen or sodden, and wait for still, gentle conditions to plant or release.
- Release gently on water. Set the urn on the surface, let it float and sink on its own, and add only loose petals.
- Come back in a year. Top up the mulch, see how much the tree has put on, and photograph it to record the first anniversary.
Living memorials beyond the backyard
Estrella Mountain Regional Park and the Sierra Estrella foothills are places many Goodyear residents associate with sunsets, desert hikes and quiet mornings. County park rules govern the Estrellas, so read them before scattering anything. A portion kept in a small urn gives you a place to remember indoors during the months when the trails are too hot. Early morning, before the heat, is the gentlest time to go.
or see what other families chose in the poll results, run the numbers with the free planning tools, Compare every option on our services page, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Chandler, Glendale, Phoenix and Mesa, and every city in Arizona.
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 water cremation (aquamation) were offered near you, would you choose it?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Would you consider releasing your pet's ashes in water?
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 tree finder
Pick a tree for a planting urn that suits your climate, space and pet.
Aftercare options compared
Compare private, communal and water cremation with burial on cost, timing and what comes home.
Questions people ask
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Goodyear?
There is no frozen-ground season here; average lows stay above freezing all year. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 105°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Will I have to travel to Phoenix to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Phoenix (roughly 22 miles from Goodyear) 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.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Goodyear?
Usually yes. Avondale is about 5 miles away, Buckeye is about 20 miles away and Phoenix is about 22 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Roughly how many pets die in Goodyear each year?
Our estimate is around 3,850. It comes from Goodyear's population (about 125,359), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 46,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
I rent in Goodyear. Can I still have a living memorial?
Yes. Plant in a large container, such as a half-barrel or a big pot with a dwarf tree or flowering shrub, and it moves with you. Use only a small share of the ashes in the pot, well mixed with compost. If you'd like to plant in a rented yard, get the landlord's permission in writing, and remember the tree stays when you leave.
Do bio urns work with ashes from flame cremation?
Yes. A bio urn works with ashes from flame cremation or water cremation. Both leave mineral-rich, alkaline ash, so the soil advice is the same either way: dilute the ashes well through compost and soil, let the mix rest if you can, and test the pH before a young tree goes in.
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 Arizona's cremation rate at 80.7% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Private aquamation for a 21–50 lb dog costs about $200–$259 at two posted US price lists. Our estimate: Delaware 10–49 lb $200; A Greener Place 21–50 lb $259. How we calculate.
- [7] A Greener Place in Mesa, Arizona, charges $75–$349 for individual pet aquamation by weight, including an urn, nameplate and ink paw print. A Greener Place Pet Aquamation – Pricing, 2026.
- [8] If just 10% of U.S. pet cremations moved to aquamation, about 4,200 t CO2e a year would be avoided. Our estimate: 1.5M x 10% x 31.3 kg x 90% reduction. How we calculate.
Plan a living memorial in Goodyear
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.