A living memorial for your pet in Hackensack
By our estimate, around 17,000 households in Hackensack share their home with a dog or cat, and roughly 1,400 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
Hackensack, New Jersey
Where a living memorial fits in Hackensack
Some Hackensack families divide ashes so that relatives in other towns or states can keep a share, using small keepsake urns or jewelry designed to hold a pinch. Others prefer a single piece that stays with the person who cared for the animal day to day. Either choice is reasonable; just tell the provider in advance if you want the ashes divided into several containers.
Bergen County winters are fairly short, with freezing months mainly January and February, but snow, road salt and summer heat still wear down outdoor memorials. Granite, slate and bronze last longer than resin through that cycle. If you rent, a planter with a small engraved stone lets you take the memorial with you when your lease ends, and it can come indoors during the worst of winter.
Many people near Hackensack 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.
With roughly 46,380 residents, Hackensack is the 19th-largest of the 58 New Jersey communities we cover. Yonkers, roughly 10 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Hackensack run from there.
Our pages for Lodi (2 miles), Garfield (3 miles) and Bergenfield (3 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Hackensack as well.
Our estimate
17,000
Hackensack: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
46,380 ÷ 2.5 = 18,552 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 17,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
1,400
Hackensack families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
17,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,400 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.
The numbers above come from American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, if you'd like to read the original sources.
The local attitude to ashes and memorials
In New Jersey, roughly 56.5%[5] of people are cremated, a share that has been rising for years. That shift shows in pet aftercare too: more people now ask what to do with ashes, and bio urns are part of the answer. If some relatives prefer burial, a living memorial can be a good middle ground. The ashes go into the ground, just as a burial would, and the tree gives everyone a place to visit.
The New Jersey percentage above is from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) and refers to human funerals. Treat it as context for Hackensack, not as a count of pets.
Seasons, soil and weather for a memorial in Hackensack
A mild climate like Hackensack's gives you a wide choice of trees and shrubs, and that's where the risk lies: it's tempting to choose something that looks lovely but is short-lived or grows too big. Think about the spot in twenty years. A small flowering tree, a fruit tree on a dwarfing rootstock or a native shrub suits most yards far better than a forest tree planted beside the house.
Rain is your friend with a planting urn. In a place like Hackensack, with regular rainfall and few hard frosts, water gradually carries salts from the ashes down and away from the root zone. You still need to mix the ashes through plenty of compost and soil first, but a mild, damp climate makes the soil chemistry more forgiving than in a desert or a cold, dry region.
Price ranges for planting and water urns
Add up every part before you commit. Beyond the cremation, a living memorial in Hackensack can include the bio urn, compost and bark, a pH kit, the tree or shrub, a guard against deer or rabbits, and perhaps a marker. Our memorial budget planner lists each line so nothing surprises you. Most families find the tree is the cheapest part and the cremation the most expensive.
We keep the detailed New Jersey price table on one page so it stays current: see New Jersey prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Rules worth knowing in New Jersey before you scatter
Water releases need a little more care than a garden planting. Rivers, lakes, reservoirs and coastal waters in New Jersey 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.
The official New Jersey local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Hackensack.
The rules that apply across New Jersey (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our New Jersey page. Hackensack may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
Your next steps, whatever your situation
- If you find your pet has died at home, lift them carefully onto a blanket or towel and lay them in the coolest part of the house, then phone the vet or a nearby pet crematory. Most can either pick them up or point you to a drop-off place.
- Say you want individual cremation and that you plan to plant the ashes. That one sentence steers the provider away from communal options that return nothing.
- Keep the collar, a tag and a little fur while your pet is still with you at home. Later on they can be buried alongside the urn or tucked away in a keepsake box.
- Leave the memorial decisions for another week. Nobody should have to settle on a species and a spot on the evening their pet died.
- When the ashes arrive, open the box once to see how much there is and how the inner bag is sealed, then put the lid back and keep it somewhere dry.
- Use our [memorial tree finder](/tools/memorial-tree-finder) once you feel ready, and plan the planting for a calm weekend in the right season.
Remembering your pet, in Hackensack and wherever you go next
Hackensack's mix of high-rise apartments and older houses with small yards gives families two broad paths: an indoor memorial that fits a bookshelf, or a garden marker by the back steps. Urns are made in sizes small enough for a studio, and a frame with a photo and a paw print takes almost no space. Take your time; ashes are returned in a container that keeps them safe meanwhile.
read our guides and latest articles, or see what other families chose in the poll results, run the numbers with the free planning tools, Our services overview lays out every option side by side. If you live between Hackensack and Paterson, Trenton, Clifton and Jersey City, either page applies. Every other community in New Jersey, and all of the United States, is listed too.
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.
If water cremation (aquamation) were offered near you, would you choose it?
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?
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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 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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Hackensack?
Usually yes. Lodi is about 2 miles away, Garfield is about 3 miles away and Bergenfield 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.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Hackensack?
January and February: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 85°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Where are the providers that serve Hackensack actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Yonkers, about 10 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Hackensack and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Roughly how many pets die in Hackensack each year?
Our estimate is around 1,400. It comes from Hackensack's population (about 46,380), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 17,000 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
What trees grow well as a memorial in Hackensack's mild climate?
Almost anything that suits your space, which is why it's worth thinking about size. A small flowering tree, a fruit tree on a dwarfing rootstock or a native shrub suits most gardens better than a big forest tree. A local nursery can tell you which natives do well in Hackensack and which tolerate slightly alkaline soil after ashes are mixed in.
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 New Jersey's cremation rate at 56.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 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.
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.