Grieving a pet in Davis
By our estimate, about 2,050 dogs and cats die in Davis every year, so someone near you is grieving right now too. Here's where people find support, locally and online.
- No therapy pitch, just clear options
- Ideas for remembering them around Davis
- Suggestions by email, in your own time
Davis, California
Grief support around Davis, near and online
If grief lingers, therapists in the Davis and Sacramento area work with people grieving animals, and students can use campus counseling services. Some Davis residents find comfort in a regular bike ride to a favorite spot, or a quiet bench in the Arboretum where they used to sit with their pet. Giving grief time and space is part of healing.
In a university town, many people live far from family, and a pet may have been the steady companion through exams, research deadlines and several moves. Losing that companion can feel isolating. Tell a friend, a labmate or a colleague; many people in Davis have loved animals and will understand. A simple farewell at home, on your own terms, is enough.
In a smaller place like Davis, organized pet loss groups are uncommon, so the usual route is a mix: your local vet, a friend or two who understand, and an online group or phone line for the harder evenings. For in-person support, a larger center such as Sacramento may have a group or a counselor who works with animal loss, and some counselors are happy to see you by video instead.
Davis is home to about 66,110 people, the 126th-largest of the 307 California communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Sacramento, about 14 miles (22 km) away, which is where some providers serving Davis are based.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Dixon (8 miles), Woodland (9 miles) and West Sacramento (10 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
24,500
Davis: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
66,110 ÷ 2.5 = 26,444 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 24,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
2,050
Davis families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
24,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,050 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.
None of the figures on this this page are ours alone: they rest on American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Loss and remembrance in California
Where cremation is as common as it is in California (about 70.5%[5] of deaths), a memorial often happens weeks after a death rather than within days. That delay suits pet grief well. You don't have to organize anything while you're still in shock; a gathering, a walk or a planting can come a month or two later, when you know what you want to say.
The California figure comes from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
Planning remembrance around Davis's weather
Heat changes how people gather. In Davis, an outdoor memorial or scattering in July works better in the early morning or just before sunset, with shade and water for everyone. A short, simple gathering in comfortable conditions usually means more to people than a long one where everyone is wilting and watching the clock.
Grief is physically tiring, and heat adds to it. In Davis, where July highs average about 95°F, people who've just lost a pet often forget to eat or drink properly, then wonder why they feel so flat. Keep a water bottle within reach and eat something simple at regular times. Looking after your body won't take the sadness away, but it gives you more to meet it with.
Budgeting for support and aftercare in Davis
Money worries and grief often arrive together. In a US survey, 61%[6] of owners said the cost of aftercare was a concern. Support itself doesn't have to add to the bill: many groups ask only for an optional donation, and phone and online support is mostly free. If you'd like a counselor, compare two or three and ask about sliding-scale fees.
We keep the detailed California price table on one page so it stays current: see California prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Time off, burial and scattering in California
Most of what helps with grief needs no permission at all: a candle, a letter, a walk. The exceptions are a burial or scattering outdoors, which California and local authorities may regulate, and time off work, which usually rests on your employer's policy. The main points we have for California are below.
To find your county or city office in California, start with the official California local government directory.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the California level first; our California rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Davis or your HOA adds anything.
A gentle plan for the weeks ahead
- Tell a teenager straight away and in person where possible. Finding out from a brother or sister, or via a message, can land as being shut out of the family.
- Ask what they'd like to do rather than assigning a role. Some want to be at the burial; some would rather write something privately.
- Expect grief to look like irritability, or like pulling away. Teenagers often grieve behind a closed door, among friends or on a screen.
- Share your own sadness in small doses. A parent who tears up, then gets on with the day, teaches them grief can be lived through.
- Give school a heads-up when exams or major deadlines are coming. A brief, private note to a single teacher does the job.
- Watch for weeks of withdrawal, slipping grades or any talk of things being hopeless. If those show up, speak to the school counselor or your doctor.
Places and ways to remember them
Children in Davis families often ask thoughtful, scientific questions when a pet dies, about what happened in the body and what cremation means. Honest, age-appropriate answers help. Letting them take part in the goodbye, such as writing a letter, choosing a photo or planting sunflower seeds in the pet's memory, gives them something to hold onto. Their curiosity is a healthy way of making sense of loss.
look through our guides and the blog, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, or compare your instinct with the poll results, run the numbers with the free planning tools. If you live between Davis and Los Angeles, Fresno, San Francisco and San Diego, either page applies. Every other community in California, 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.
Which kind of support have you tried since your loss?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
How did your workplace respond when your pet died?
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.
Pet loss grief check-in
A private, two-minute check-in on how you're coping, with ideas that match where you are.
Farewell & memorial service planner
Build a simple goodbye: who, where, readings, rituals and a checklist.
Questions people ask
How does Davis's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Davis, with average highs around 95°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Winters are mild, with average lows staying above freezing, so outdoor burial or scattering is usually possible year round.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Davis?
Usually yes. Dixon is about 8 miles away, Woodland is about 9 miles away and West Sacramento is about 10 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
How many pet owners live in Davis?
By our estimate, about 24,500 households in Davis have at least one dog or cat, and around 2,050 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 66,110, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
How do California attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the California human cremation rate at about 70.5%[5]. We show it on the Davis 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.
What is anticipatory grief?
It's grief that starts before a pet dies, often during a long illness or old age. In the RSPCA survey, 75.4%[8] of owners experienced it. It can bring sadness, irritability and guilt about feeling sad while your pet is still here. That's normal. Many people find it helps to plan a few good days together and to ask the vet what the end might look like.
Is it normal to grieve my pet more than some people I've lost?
Yes, and it's more common than people admit. In a 2026 UK study, 21.0%[9] of people who had lost both a pet and a person named the pet's death as their most distressing loss. Research comparing the two found closeness, not species, is the strongest predictor of how much it hurts. A pet shares every ordinary hour, which is exactly why the gap feels so big.
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 California's cremation rate at 70.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 61% of US owners in the Cooney survey rated the cost of after-death body care as a concern (27.9% concerned, 33.1% very concerned). Cooney, Kogan, Brooks, Ellis - Pet Owners' Expectations for Pet End-of-Life Support and After-Death Body Care, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine (2020), 2020.
- [7] A private pet-loss counselling hour (CA$220 in Calgary) costs about as much as a basic private cremation, while at least four university and charity lines in the US, UK and Australia/NZ are free to call. Our estimate: Count of free-to-call lines: Tufts, Cornell, Blue Cross, Pets and People (free call). How we calculate.
- [8] 75.4% of RSPCA pet-loss survey respondents experienced anticipatory grief before their pet died. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
- [9] Among UK adults who had lost both a pet and a person, 21.0% named the pet's death as their most distressing bereavement. Hyland et al., 'No pets allowed: Evidence that prolonged grief disorder can occur following the death of a pet', PLOS ONE (2026), 2026.
Tell us what would help
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.