If you have ever stood at a grave and wished you could also visit a pet you loved just as deeply, you already understand why this question is becoming more common. People do not always separate grief into neat categories. A dog who carried you through a divorce, a cat who was there for a decade of quiet evenings, a rabbit your child learned responsibility with—these relationships can feel like family, because they are family. So when you start thinking about where you want to be remembered, it is natural to ask whether a cemetery can hold the story of a person and the pet who shared that person’s life.
The honest answer is that it depends. Some cemeteries have embraced the idea of “people plus pets” areas or policies that allow pet remains in specific circumstances. Others do not allow any non-human remains at all. And plenty of families land somewhere in the middle: they are not sure what is possible, and they are trying to make decisions while they are still grieving. The goal of this guide is to make the landscape clearer, so your funeral planning feels grounded and practical—without losing the tenderness that belongs here.
Why Cemeteries Are Hearing This Question More Often
Part of the reason is simple: more families are making decisions about ashes. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the U.S. cremation rate is projected to be 63.4% in 2025, compared with a projected burial rate of 31.6%. That shift changes what families need from cemeteries. Instead of only asking about plots, they are asking about niches, urn gardens, memorialization rules, and long-term options for what to do with ashes. At the same time, the Cremation Association of North America reports a U.S. cremation rate of 61.8% in 2024, with projections continuing upward.
For many families, the “pet question” arrives inside that broader reality. If cremation is the path you chose for your pet, you may have pet urns for ashes at home. If cremation is also the path you expect for yourself, you may be thinking about how to keep everyone’s memorial in one place—especially if you want your children to have a single, simple place to visit in the years ahead.
The Three Most Common Cemetery Approaches to Pets
When families talk about “pets in human cemeteries,” they are often imagining one of three arrangements. They sound similar at first, but the rules and the paperwork can be very different, so it helps to name them clearly.
Special sections or “people plus pets” areas
Some cemeteries set aside an area—sometimes a portion of a cemetery, sometimes a portion of a mausoleum or columbarium—where pets may be allowed in connection with human burial or inurnment. The details matter. In New York, for example, the state’s guidance describes how cemeteries can limit incidental pet cremated remains to a specific section (often described as a “people plus pets” section) and can require explicit written authorization and sealed containers. The New York Department of State explains these rules and limitations in its pet cremated remains FAQ. Even if you do not live in New York, it is a helpful illustration of how formal and specific cemetery rules can be when pets are involved.
Incidental interment in an existing human lot or niche
This is the arrangement families most often mean when they say, “I want my pet with me.” In some cemeteries, a pet’s cremated remains may be permitted as an “incidental” placement—such as placing a sealed pet keepsake inside a casket at the time of burial, or placing a sealed container within the same lot or niche under the cemetery’s rules. The guiding idea is that the cemetery can still keep clean records of what is interred, where it is interred, and who has the right to authorize that placement. If you want a realistic overview of how cemeteries handle this in practice, Funeral.com’s guide Can Pet Ashes Be Buried with Humans? walks through what families typically encounter.
Whole-family cemeteries and adjacent companion spaces
In some areas, the most straightforward option is a cemetery model designed for the idea from the beginning—sometimes called “whole-family” or companion-focused burial grounds. These are not everywhere, and they are often easier to find by looking for directories that track them. The Green Pet-Burial Society maintains a directory of whole-family cemeteries where pets may be allowed in connection with human remains in specific ways. You will still need to confirm the rules directly with the cemetery, but it can be a practical starting point when local cemeteries have no established policy.
What “Allowed” Usually Means in Real Life
When a cemetery says it “allows pets,” that does not usually mean everything is possible. Most of the time, the cemetery is trying to manage three concerns at once: legal authorization under state law and its own governing documents, recordkeeping and maintenance obligations, and consistency with its existing rules for memorialization and interment. The outcome is a set of requirements that can feel strict, but are often designed to protect clarity over decades.
In practice, you should expect that cemeteries are far more likely to allow cremated pet remains than full-body pet burial within a traditional human cemetery. That is one reason many families choose pet cremation urns even when they originally imagined burial. If you are starting from scratch and want to see what different memorial containers look like, Funeral.com’s collections for pet urns for ashes include a wide range of sizes and styles, including pet figurine cremation urns that feel like a tribute in a living space as well as a container.
It is also common for cemeteries to require that pet remains be placed in a sealed urn, not commingled with human remains, and documented in writing. Again, New York’s guidance makes those boundaries explicit, including the idea that a cemetery may require the pet cremated remains to be in their own sealed urn and addressed through written authorizations. Rules like that are not universal, but the logic behind them is widespread: the cemetery wants to know exactly what is present in each lot or niche, and to avoid confusion later.
How Urn Choices Connect to Cemetery Rules
This is where decisions about cremation urns for ashes, small cremation urns, and keepsake urns stop being purely emotional and become quietly practical. A cemetery may have size restrictions for niches, vault requirements for in-ground urn burial, or limitations on how many containers can be placed in a single space. If you choose a container without knowing the constraints, you can end up forced to re-container later, which is stressful and avoidable.
If you are planning for an adult’s cremated remains, start with the idea of a primary urn and then decide what, if anything, you want alongside it. Funeral.com’s cremation urns for ashes collection is a helpful place to see what full-size urns look like, while the small cremation urns and keepsake urns collections reflect the reality that many families share ashes or keep a portion for personal memorials.
For pet ashes, the same principle applies, just on a different scale. A family might keep the main pet urn at home for years, then later inter it when an owner dies, or place a very small portion into a separate container to make future cemetery placement easier. Funeral.com’s pet keepsake cremation urns are designed for that kind of “hold close now, decide later” approach.
Keep your options open if you are not ready
Many families feel pressure to “solve everything” right away—especially when grief is fresh. In reality, it is normal to live with ashes for a while. Keeping ashes at home can be a temporary step while you gather information, talk as a family, and confirm what a cemetery will permit. If you want a calm, practical guide to doing that respectfully, Funeral.com’s Keeping Ashes at Home explains placement, safety, and the emotional side of living with remains in your space.
Jewelry can be part of the plan, not a replacement
When a cemetery cannot promise a pet interment option—or when you want more than one person to feel connected—cremation jewelry can bridge the gap. It is not meant to replace a primary urn, but to carry a symbolic portion. Funeral.com’s cremation jewelry collection includes cremation necklaces and cremation bracelets, and the Journal’s Cremation Jewelry 101 helps families understand what these pieces hold and how they fit alongside urn decisions.
Headstones, Inscriptions, and the Emotional Details Families Care About
For many people, the most important part is not the technical placement of remains—it is whether the relationship can be acknowledged. That might mean a paw print symbol, a small line in an inscription, or a companion marker that recognizes a pet’s name. Cemeteries vary widely here. Some permit pet references on a human marker. Some allow a small secondary marker. Others forbid any mention of non-human remains in an area that is regulated as “human cemetery space.”
When you ask about “rules for pet headstones in human cemeteries,” you are often really asking: will the cemetery allow our story to be visible? If that matters to you, it is worth asking directly and getting the answer in writing. Sometimes a cemetery that will not allow interment will still allow memorialization. And sometimes the reverse is true: a cemetery may allow placement of a sealed container but require that the marker language remain consistent with its general policies.
Costs, Fees, and How Cremation Changes the Math
Families also deserve a clear conversation about costs, especially when they are considering companion arrangements. In many cases, allowing a pet’s cremated remains in a human cemetery is not “free,” even when it is allowed. There may be an additional interment fee, an administrative fee, or a requirement to purchase an additional right of interment. You may also see costs related to opening and closing a grave, niche placement fees, or charges connected to memorialization.
If you are trying to weigh burial versus cremation in the bigger picture, it helps to anchor yourself in national context. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial in 2023 was $8,300, while the median cost of a funeral with cremation was $6,280. Those figures do not include cemetery costs, which can significantly change totals depending on where you live and what you choose. If you want a practical breakdown that helps you compare apples to apples, Funeral.com’s Funeral Costs Broken Down is a strong companion read, and how much does cremation cost goes deeper on typical cremation price ranges and what drives them.
If the Cemetery Says No, You Still Have Meaningful Options
Hearing “no” from a cemetery can feel like a second loss. It can sound as if someone is telling you your relationship does not count. In reality, the “no” is usually about authorization and policy, not the value of the bond. And there are still ways to create one place of remembrance, even if interment is not possible.
One option is to keep the pet’s urn at home as a long-term memorial while planning for a human cemetery space that your family can visit. Another is to choose a nearby pet cemetery so the visits can happen in one trip, even if the graves are not side by side. Some families create a shared memorial corner at home for years, and then later place both human and pet cremated remains in a cemetery columbarium when the time comes. This is one reason families choose multiple containers: a primary urn for long-term interment, plus smaller pieces for personal closeness.
And for families who feel called to nature-based memorials, water burial can be a meaningful alternative when cemetery rules are restrictive. Funeral.com’s guide to water burial explains what ceremonies look like in real life, and the Journal’s coverage of biodegradable urns can help you think through materials and settings with care: Eco-Friendly Urns and Biodegradable Options. For some families, this becomes the answer to what to do with ashes when the goal is peace, simplicity, and a sense of return.
Questions to Ask Before You Commit to a Cemetery Plan
You do not need to walk into a cemetery office with perfect language. You just need to ask clearly, and you deserve clear answers back. The questions below are meant to help you get to “yes, here is what is allowed” or “no, and here is why,” without leaving you stuck in vague maybes.
- Do you allow pets in any form within this cemetery, including a dedicated “people plus pets” section or incidental placement?
- If pet cremated remains are allowed, must they be in a sealed urn, and are there container size or material requirements?
- Are pet remains allowed in the same grave or niche as a person, and if so, is placement limited to the time of the human burial or inurnment?
- How many containers are permitted in a single lot or niche, and how is that recorded in cemetery records?
- Are there additional fees for pet interment or for an additional right of interment, and can those fees be provided in writing?
- What are the rules for inscriptions or symbols on headstones and markers, including whether a pet’s name may be included?
- If pet interment is not allowed, do you allow pet memorialization without interment (for example, a line on a marker)?
- Who must authorize pet placement if there are multiple lot owners, and what documentation is required?
Bringing It Back to What You Want Most
When families talk about “side by side pet and owner burial,” they are usually talking about love and proximity, not logistics. They want a place that feels coherent. They want a future where a child, a spouse, or a friend can stand in one spot and feel the whole story. If you are in that place, it may help to remember that you do not have to solve the entire story today. You can choose a beautiful, durable urn now, keep options open, and ask the right questions as you move forward.
If your next step is simply choosing containers that keep your choices flexible, start with what fits your immediate needs and likely future plans: cremation urns for ashes for a primary memorial, small cremation urns or keepsake urns if you are sharing, and pet cremation urns if you are honoring an animal companion. If you want a gentle overview of how these choices connect to the bigger picture of planning, Funeral.com’s Journal article Choosing Cremation Urns, Pet Urns, and Cremation Jewelry Without Pressure is designed for families who want clarity without feeling pushed.
Whatever you decide, you are not asking for something strange. You are asking for a resting place that reflects the real shape of your life. And with the right questions—and the right containers—you can usually find a path that honors both love and the rules you have to live within.
