How we check and order listings

Every provider here was checked on its own website. We list 369 providers in 30 metro areas; 180 answer enough questions on their sites to have a full page in search, and 287 have had our newer, more detailed check.

Who gets listed

• We start from public map listings for in-home pet euthanasia, pet cremation, pet cemeteries, pet hospice and house-call vets in each metro area, plus the area pages of national in-home networks.
• Then we read each business's own website (its home page and a few pages about services, prices and aftercare). A business is listed only if its site says it offers one of these services. General clinics that don't mention end-of-life care are left out.
• We respect each website's robots.txt. If a site blocks automated reading or shows a security check, we don't get around it; we read it the way a visitor would or ask by phone instead.

Listings we keep apart

When we can't confirm a local facility for a cremation listing (for example, its website text matches other listings word for word and doesn't say where cremations are done), we keep it on a separate page with the checks that didn't pass, until we can confirm it by phone. Businesses can ask to be verified for free.

What we record

Only what the provider's own site says, with the date we read it: services, the area they cover, posted prices, same-day or after-hours visits, sedation first, how they help with large dogs, whether family and other pets can be present, cremation type, how long ashes take, keepsakes, walk-in cremation and pickup when a pet dies at home. If the site doesn't say, we leave it blank instead of guessing. We chose these questions by reading what families ask in public forums and say in reviews.

How lists are ordered

1. Each provider sits in one group by its main service: in-home euthanasia, then cremation and aquamation, pet cemeteries, hospice, clinics, and house-call vets.
2. Inside a group, providers whose site mentions same-day visits come first.
3. Then providers that post prices.
4. Then by how many of the questions above their site answers.
5. Then alphabetically.

Ratings, reviews and money play no part. We never call anyone "best", and no business can pay for a higher spot.

Prices

Price ranges on area pages use the lowest price each provider posts for a service, usually for the smallest pet. We show a range only when at least 3 providers in the area post a price; with fewer we name each provider's own price. Visitor price reports are shown only once an area has 5 or more reports sent on at least 3 different days, and never tied to a named provider without review.

Keeping it current

Each listing shows the day we last read the provider's site. We re-check on a schedule and add new areas over time. A provider page goes into search only when the provider's site answers at least three of the questions families ask most; until then the page is still here, but marked so search engines skip it.

We are a directory, not veterinarians. Nothing on this site is medical advice.