Growing something from the goodbye in Midwest City
About 1,800 dogs and cats are lost in Midwest City 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
- No obligation, we reply by email
Midwest City, Oklahoma
Your living memorial options around Midwest City
Summer sun in central Oklahoma bleaches paint and cracks cheap plastics fast, and spring hail can dent anything made of thin metal. For the yard, engraved granite or cast bronze placed low among the flowers is best, where hail and wind do less harm. Anything kept indoors should last for decades. If you move, a small bronze plaque can be unscrewed from its base and packed with the rest of the household goods.
Military households around Tinker relocate every few years, which favors memorials that travel light. Cremation jewelry, a compact keepsake urn, a display case or a photo book all pack neatly for a PCS move. If you rent base housing or an off-base home, a garden stone may have to stay behind, so choose one light enough to carry if you'd like one outdoors.
Most families in and around Midwest City arrange cremation through their local vet, who works with a regional crematory, and then do the memorial themselves. That's a good split. Bio urns ship by mail, and the local feed store, nursery or hardware store usually has the compost, pine bark and a pH kit you need. The one thing worth buying locally is the tree, because a nursery near you already knows what survives your winters and summers.
About 58,799 people live in Midwest City, which makes it the 7th-largest of the 26 Oklahoma communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Midwest City are based about 8 miles away in Oklahoma City, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
If you want to compare providers, look at Del City (4 miles), Oklahoma City (8 miles, a larger centre) and Moore (11 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
21,500
Midwest City: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
58,799 ÷ 2.5 = 23,520 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 21,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
1,800
Estimated dog and cat losses in Midwest City each year
How we calculated this
21,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,800 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.
Cremation habits in Oklahoma, and what they mean for a bio urn
About 58.6%[5] of people in Oklahoma are cremated, which puts it in the middle: cremation is common, but so is burial. For pets, that often means families weigh a planting urn against a whole-body burial in the yard. Both can grow a tree. The planting urn takes less space and can go almost anywhere; a whole-body grave needs more depth and distance from water, and the tree should go beside it rather than directly on top.
That Oklahoma rate is a human one, published by NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). We quote it for Midwest City only as a pointer to how families here already think about cremation.
When to plant in Midwest City's climate
A potted memorial in Midwest City has a hard time: roots in a container feel both the 93°F heat of July and the freeze of January, February and December more sharply than roots in the ground. Choose a species rated for a colder zone than yours, move the pot into shade in summer, and into an unheated garage or against a sheltered wall in winter.
With freezing lows in January, February and December and hot months like June, July and August, a Midwest City memorial planting has a short list of good days. If a pet dies in midsummer or midwinter, keep the ashes at home and use the wait well: mix them with compost and let the blend rest, test the pH, and choose the tree. By the time the season turns, everything is ready and the planting day can be calm.
Budgeting for a living memorial in Midwest City
Here's how the pieces add up for a Midwest City family. Private cremation of a dog averages about $260[6] nationally. A pet bio urn with a seed capsule is sold for about $99[7], and a planting system without the tree for $119[8]. Compost, pine bark and a pH kit add a few dollars more. Ask local providers for a written total before you choose.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Oklahoma: Oklahoma 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.
What Oklahoma allows for ashes, in general terms
Water releases need a little more care than a garden planting. Rivers, lakes, reservoirs and coastal waters in Oklahoma 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.
Not sure which office covers Midwest City? The Oklahoma local government directory is the official list.
The Oklahoma page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Midwest City's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
What to do first, and what can wait for the right season
- If you find your pet has died at home, move them gently onto a towel or blanket in the coolest room you have, and call your vet or a pet crematory. Many will collect or tell you where to bring them.
- 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 before your pet leaves the house. These can go into the planting later, or into a small 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 Midwest City and wherever you go next
Many long-time Midwest City residents are retired military or civilian base staff, and a few like to add a touch of that service in a memorial: a unit patch in a shadow box, an engraved ID-tag-style pendant, or a small folded flag beside the urn. Others prefer a favorite photo and the animal's name on a small plaque. Either way is right if it feels right to you.
or compare your instinct with the poll results, Compare every option on our services page, look through our guides and the blog, use the free tools before you ring anyone. More local pages: Moore, Edmond, Oklahoma City and Broken Arrow, the Oklahoma 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.
If you rent or might move, how would you handle a memorial planting?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Would you consider releasing your pet's ashes in water?
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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 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
Which nearby towns can I compare with Midwest City?
The closest communities we cover are Del City (about 4 miles), Oklahoma City (about 8 miles) and Moore (about 11 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Midwest City too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How do Oklahoma attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Oklahoma human cremation rate at about 58.6%[5]. We show it on the Midwest City 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.
Is Midwest City big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 21,500 Midwest City households keep a dog or cat and around 1,800 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 58,799), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Midwest City?
January, February and December: 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 93°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How many dogs and cats are there in Midwest City?
By our estimate, about 21,500 households in Midwest City have a dog or a cat, and around 1,800 of those pets die each year. We calculate this from the city's population, average household size and national pet ownership and lifespan figures. The method is shown on this page, and the real number of animals is higher.
Is it legal to release pet ashes in the sea or a river?
Rules differ by place and by who manages the water, and many were written for human remains. In general, avoid drinking-water reservoirs, busy swimming areas and places where anglers gather, use a water-soluble urn or loose ashes only, and let nothing plastic float away. Ask the relevant agency or landowner before the day.
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 Oklahoma's cremation rate at 58.6% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] CareCredit's 2025 cost study put the US national average for private dog cremation at $260 (range $206-$473). CareCredit (Synchrony) - How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize a Dog? (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [7] The Bios Urn for pets, a biodegradable urn with a seed capsule, costs $99. Bios Urn – Pets, 2026.
- [8] The Living Urn's pet bio-urn planting system (without a tree) costs $119. The Living Urn – Pet tree urn, 2026.
- [9] Each shelter-animal flame cremation emits about 31 kg CO2e on average. Our estimate: 19,000 t CO2e / 607,000 animals. How we calculate.
Plan a living memorial in Midwest City
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.