Greener pet aftercare in Englewood, Colorado
By our estimate, around 13,000 households in Englewood share their home with a dog or cat, and roughly 1,100 of those pets die each year. More of those families now ask about planting or water memorials. Here's how to do it well.
- Planting, garden and water urns compared
- Honest notes on local rules
- Help choosing a native species
Englewood, Colorado
Where a living memorial fits in Englewood
South Broadway in Englewood is known for antique and vintage shops, and some households here are drawn to memorials with a bit of history: a vintage box repurposed as an urn, an old frame for a favorite photo, a small brass dish for tags. Others prefer something modern and simple. Choose what feels like your pet, and remember you can change it later.
Englewood's small lots and apartments mean most memorials here are indoors: an urn on a windowsill, a framed paw print, a collar hung by the door. Some families with a patio choose a small stone planter or a potted tree. If you rent, which many Englewood residents do, a memorial that moves with you avoids any conversation with a landlord.
Many people near Englewood have a lake, pond or river they walked with their dog every day. A water-soluble urn released there can feel exactly right. Before you do it, check who owns or manages the water: a private pond needs the owner's say-so, a public lake is usually managed by a state or county agency, and some reservoirs supply drinking water and don't allow anything to be released. Choose a quiet time and let nothing float away.
Englewood's population is around 35,305, the 25th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Englewood are based about 6 miles away in Denver, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Our pages for Littleton (4 miles), Lakewood (6 miles, a larger centre) and Denver (6 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 Englewood as well.
Our estimate
13,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Englewood
How we calculated this
35,305 ÷ 2.5 = 14,122 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 13,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
1,100
Englewood families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
13,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,100 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.
We built the this numbers from American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
Why cremation culture in Colorado shapes your options
With roughly 77.4%[5] of people in Colorado cremated, the local funeral culture leans firmly toward ashes rather than graves. That has a practical upside for a living memorial. Nurseries, crematories and even some parks departments are used to questions about ashes, and you'll usually get a straight answer. It's still worth asking before you plant or scatter anywhere you don't own, because common practice isn't the same as permission.
That Colorado rate is a human one, published by NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). We quote it for Englewood only as a pointer to how families here already think about cremation.
Choosing the right month to plant in Englewood
Early spring in Englewood is when nurseries sell bare-root trees, often at a lower price than trees in pots. They need planting quickly, as soon as the ground can be dug after January, February, March, November and December, which fits well with ashes that have waited through the winter. Have the soil blend ready beforehand, soak the roots for an hour, and plant on a calm, overcast day.
In Englewood, average lows fall below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, and frozen ground makes digging hard or impossible. That's no reason to rush. Ashes keep safely indoors for as long as you like, so many families wait for spring, once the soil has thawed and drained. Early autumn works too, as long as the tree has about six weeks of open ground to root in before the hard frosts.
Eco memorial prices, from urn to tree
Bio urns vary more in price than you might expect. A national guide puts biodegradable urns at $70–$260[6], depending on material, size and whether a seed or tree system is included. For a lake or sea release, one water urn designed to float briefly and dissolve sells for $149[7]. In Englewood, the tree and the soil amendments are usually the cheapest part of the whole memorial.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Colorado: Colorado 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.
Where you can plant or release ashes in Colorado
Natural burial grounds and some pet cemeteries in Colorado accept ashes in biodegradable urns, and a few ask for nothing else: no plastic, no metal, no varnish. If you're considering one, ask what the urn may be made of, whether a tree or marker is allowed above it, and whether the fee includes looking after the plot.
Not sure which office covers Englewood? The Colorado local government directory is the official list.
The rules that apply across Colorado (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our Colorado page. Englewood may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
From ashes to a growing tree: the steps
- If the ashes have been on a shelf for years, planting is still an option. Ashes don't degrade with age, so nothing has been missed.
- Open the container carefully indoors or out of any breeze, and look to see if there's a sealed inner bag holding the ashes.
- Weigh or measure what you have, then use our urn size calculator to see which planting urn or water urn fits.
- Decide whether to keep any back. Having lived with the ashes so long, plenty of families choose to plant the bulk and hold on to a small amount.
- Pick a date that carries meaning, such as the anniversary or your pet's birthday, and invite anyone who knew them.
- Treat the old urn kindly afterwards. A ceramic or wooden urn often finds a second life holding a houseplant or small mementos.
Remembering your pet, in Englewood and wherever you go next
Freeze-thaw winters and strong summer sun make outdoor memorials in Englewood a careful choice. Granite and bronze hold up, while resin and painted wood can crack or fade. On a balcony or small patio, a heavy, low planter is less likely to blow over. If you bury ashes in a small yard, keep away from utility lines and fences you might replace.
or look at how readers voted in our polls, try the free planning tools, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services, go deeper with the guides or catch up on recent articles. More local pages: Aurora, Denver, Thornton 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 kind of tree or plant would you choose?
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
Where are the providers that serve Englewood actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Denver, about 6 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Englewood and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Englewood?
Usually yes. Littleton is about 4 miles away, Lakewood is about 6 miles away and Denver is about 6 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Is Englewood big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 13,000 Englewood households keep a dog or cat and around 1,100 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 35,305), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Is cremation common in Colorado?
For people, yes: about 77.4%[5] of Colorado 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 Englewood follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
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.
How long can I keep pet ashes before planting them?
As long as you like. Cremated remains don't break down or spoil in a sealed container, so a planting can happen next month, next year or after a move to a house with a garden. What does break down is a biodegradable urn, so keep the ashes in their original container and only transfer them into the bio urn shortly before planting.
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] Funeral.com cites U.S. Funerals Online that biodegradable urns typically cost about $70–$260. Funeral.com – How Much Do Cremation Urns Cost in 2025, 2025.
- [7] The Living Urn's Eco Water Urn for water burial costs $149 and holds up to 225 cubic inches; it floats for several minutes before dissolving. The Living Urn – Eco Water Urn, 2026.
- [8] Each shelter-animal flame cremation emits about 31 kg CO2e on average. Our estimate: 19,000 t CO2e / 607,000 animals. How we calculate.
Tell us about your pet and your garden
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.