Cremation for rabbits, ferrets and chinchillas in Amarillo

Amarillo, Texas

Finding the right help for a small pet in Amarillo

Many Amarillo families grew up burying pets in the backyard or out on family land, and that's still common on larger lots. The hard, dry caliche soil under much of the Panhandle can make digging tough, though, and renters and people on small lots often can't. Choosing a private cremation, with the ashes brought back to you, lets you keep your pet close and decide later whether to bury the ashes at home or out on the ranch.

Amarillo's weather swings hard. July highs reach the low 90s with dry heat, winters bring freezing nights from December through February, and the wind blows nearly all year. Blizzards, hail and dust storms can all close roads. In summer, keep a pet's body on a towel in an air-conditioned room with ice packs around it and call quickly; in a winter storm, a cool room indoors buys you time until roads clear.

Some Amarillo families only realize their rabbit was unwell after the fact: a quiet evening, no droppings, a pet found stretched out in the hutch next morning. If the death was sudden and you keep other rabbits, call your vet before burying. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease can travel on bedding, shoes and hands, and your vet will know whether it has turned up in the area recently.

With roughly 205,130 residents, Amarillo is the 17th-largest of the 325 Texas communities we cover.

The closest communities we cover are Plainview (71 miles), Clovis (94 miles) and Lubbock (114 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Amarillo too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.

Sources for the statistics above: Embrace Pet Insurance and O'Neill et al. 2020, Veterinary Record.

Cool, covered and safe: Amarillo weather notes

In summer, keep a small body out of the sun and in the coolest part of the house, or chilled in a sealed bag in the fridge. In winter, an unheated garage does the same job. Either way, a sealed bag inside a sturdy box keeps your pet peaceful and protected while you decide, and makes the handover to a vet or crematorium in Amarillo much simpler.

It helps to keep a small aftercare kit ready all year in a climate like Amarillo's: a sturdy lidded box, an old towel, a few sealable bags and a cool box with ice packs. In June, July and August you'll need the cool box within an hour or two. In January, February and December the garage or a porch does the same job. Having the kit ready saves a frantic search for a box on a hard day.

Burial, ashes and paperwork in Texas

Pet cremation is lightly regulated almost everywhere. A UK trade body has described it as an unregulated market^[7], and one directory counts only a handful of US states with laws aimed specifically at pet crematories^[8]. Whatever applies in Texas, your best protection with a small pet is a written note from the provider saying whether the cremation is individual, partitioned or communal, and when the ashes will be returned.

The official Texas local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Amarillo.

Start with the Texas rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Amarillo's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.

Small keepsakes for a small life

Amarillo spreads across the flat High Plains of the Texas Panhandle, with older brick neighborhoods near Wolflin and the medical district, newer subdivisions to the south and west, and ranchettes on the edges of town. Distances in the Panhandle are big, and Lubbock, the nearest large city, is about two hours south. Say which part of town or which county you're in, so we can shortlist providers who collect from home.

try the free planning tools, Every option Amarillo families choose between is on the services page, or see what other families chose in the poll results, go deeper with the guides or catch up on recent articles. If you live between Amarillo and San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Fort Worth, either page applies. Every other community in Texas, and all of the United States, is listed too.