Whole-Family Cemetery Directory – USA

Together in death as in life

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Attachment.  1829. Oil on canvas. 39 7/8 x 32 7/8 in. Saint Louis Art Museum.
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Attachment [detail]. 1829. Oil on canvas. 39 7/8 x 32 7/8 in. Saint Louis Art Museum.

All U.S. cemeteries listed below allow for the interment of human and pet remains. (Click HERE for our International Whole-Family Cemetery Directory.)

Click HERE to learn more about our work promoting contemporary whole-family cemeteries.

Disclaimer: The Green Pet-Burial Society does not endorse any of these cemeteries – we encourage you to research each cemetery, including customer satisfaction reviews, before making arrangements. Contact the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Funeral Consumers Alliance, and Funeral Ethics Organization for more information.

  1. Conservation Whole-Family Cemeteries (full-body burials)
  2. Whole-Family Cemeteries (not green or cremains only)
  3. Cemeteries with Separate Pet Sections (green or not green)
  4. Burial-at-Sea

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Conservation Whole-Family Cemeteries (full-body burials)

These green cemeteries are wildlife preserves which allow an animal’s remains to be buried in a family’s cemetery plot (as tiered or adjacent graves).

California

We are waiting to confirm if two cemeteries in California are whole-family ecocemeteries.

Florida

Maine

For a review of pertinent Main cemetery laws, as well as the case of the dog Tiddy who was buried in 1903, visit a 2017 blog by attorney Meghan L. Myers

  • *Cedar Brook Burial Ground, Limington, ME (The cemetery operates as a tree farm. A tree is planted on each grave, to be harvested in 30-40 years.)

New Jersey

North Carolina

  • *Carolina Memorial Sanctuary, Mills River, NC. (Pet remains may be buried alongside human remains, and they also have a separate pet section.) added 5/9/18

Oklahoma

South Carolina

Texas

Read about the legal history of pet burials in Texas here

Washington

  • White Eagle Memorial Preserve Cemetery, Goldendale, WA. “We have designated the area along the outside perimeter of White Eagle as a place to bury pets.” This land is a conservation stewardship area which is legally protected in perpetuity.

* Certified by the Green Burial Council.

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Whole-Family Cemeteries (not green or cremains only)

These cemeteries allow human and pet remains (full-body and/or cremains) to be interred together, some also have a separate pet section. Contact each cemetery for specific policies. When contacting a pet cemetery – always make sure it is deeded in perpetuity.

Maine

  • Life Forest provides burial plots for composted or cremated remains, and replaces headstones with trees. Auburn, ME.

Maryland

Nebraska

  • Rolling Acres Complex in Lincoln, NE. Tom and Pat manage their cemetery, will be flexible to meet requests. Area C allows for green burials which currently accounts for about 5% of requests, with growing interest among those under 40.

New Hampshire

  • Life Forest provides burial plots for composted or cremated remains, and replaces headstones with trees. Hillsboro, NH.

New Mexico

  • Best Friends Forever at Sunset Memorial Park, Albuquerque, NM. They provide full-body burials of pets’ remains as well as cremains. In this pet cemetery, only human cremains may be buried. For those seeking a ‘green burial’, a biodegradable casket is laid directly upon the earth – but all caskets are covered with a domed polyurethane vault (as of 12/20/15).

New York

Human Cemeteries: NY allows pet cremains to be buried in human cemeteries.
Pet Cemeteries: NY allows human cremains to be buried with pet remains in pet cemeteries. Contact cemeteries for their policies and check to see if the pet cemetery is deeded in perpetuity.

  • Vale Cemetery, Schenectady, NY. They also have a small green burial section, but can only bury pet cremains. (added 10/16/17) – news article.
  • Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, Hartsdale, NY. America’s oldest pet cemetery. They are deeded in perpetuity, allow human cremains to be buried in a pet’s grave, and will allow you to use a green casket. (added 7/4/15)
  • Rush Inter Pet Cemetery, Rush, New York. They are not deeded in perpetuity, yet allow human cremains to be buried in a pet’s grave. All caskets offered are made from styrene. (added 7/4/15)

Oregon

Pennsylvania

  • People and Pet Gardens at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Hermitage, PA. They inter pets and humans, but they don’t provide green burial options at this time.

Virginia

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Cemeteries with Separate Pet Sections (green or not green)

Alabama

California

  • Greenlawn Memorial Park, Bakersfield, CA (added 6/15/19) – a new separate pet cemetery is being created. For traditional pet burials only, not ‘barnyard animals’ – see article.
  • Sierra Hills Pet Cemetery at East Lawn Sierra Hills Memorial Park, Sacramento, CA (Greenback & I80 location) – They are no longer selling new plots, but will still maintain the cemetery and inter pet remains for families who already have empty plots. Designated as a separate pet cemetery, with one portion, St. Francis Pet Estates, separated from the human burial side by a demarcation line. Not green cemetery – plastic caskets and cremains only. – news article.

Illinois

  • Evergreen Memorial Cemetery,  Bloomington, IL – since 2011, they permit the burial of dog and cat remains in a separate section.
  • The Garden of Saint Francis (a.k.a. Pet Cemetery) of Saint Luke Cemetery, Chicago, IL – “unconsecrated cemetery land set aside for the burial of companion animals…A variety of burial options are available.” (added 12/12/15)
  • Roselawn Pet Cemetery of Roselawn Memorial Park, Springfield, IL. (added 6/19/15) – news article.
  • Whispering Woods at Springdale Cemetery, Peoria, IL (added 8/8/15). They are considering a green burial section and are receptive to hearing your requests.

Louisiana

  • Heaven’s Pets at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, LA. – Interment of pet cremains only. (added 12/24/15).

Maryland

  • Pet Haven at Highview Memorial Gardens, Fallston, MD – not green. (added 6/23/15)
  • Petland at Resthaven Memorial Gardens, Frederick MD. Resthaven also has a whole-family burial section, Garden of Faithful Friends. (added 6/7/17)

Michigan

New Hampshire

  • Life Forest, New Hampshire. (Human and pet cremains only – may be interred in the same grave). added 4/2/21

New Mexico

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Texas

  • Rainbow Bridge Garden at Eloise Woods Community Natural Burial Park, Cedars Creek, TX (they are also a green whole-family cemetery, see above)

Washington

  • White Eagle Memorial Preserve Cemetery, Goldendale, WA. “We have designated the area along the outside perimeter of White Eagle as a place to bury pets.” This land is a conservation stewardship area which is legally protected in perpetuity.

Burial-at-Sea

*Eternal Reefs – “An Eternal Reef is a designed reef of 100% natural cast concrete that can include the cremated remains of a loved one and/or pets. Eternal Reefs create new marine habitats for fish and other forms of sea life…Including pets with their two legged family members is the single most frequent request that we get…It is rare that we have a placement that does not include a pet with their family member.”

* Certified by the Green Burial Council.

updated March 7, 2025

8 thoughts on “Whole-Family Cemetery Directory – USA

  1. I have the cremated remains of my Mother, and six small family dogs. When I pass on, I would like to have all of the cremated remains, including my own, buried in one grave. Is this legal/possible? Where? I am in Pennsylvania.
    Thank you.

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    • Finding a cemetery that will accept multiple cremains would be easier than finding one where full-body burials are desired. You don’t mention green burials, for which there are fewer options; still, options are limited. We list one cemetery in PA — Hillcrest Memorial Park. Depending on where you live in PA, cemeteries in surrounding states might be closer to you. I’d recommend calling cemeteries you’d be interested in and see if they’d work with you. Since you are talking about eight different cremains, you might want to investigate a designated scatter site. Regarding ecological options, for your own cremation you may want to arrange for alkaline hydrolysis, which doesn’t put toxins into the atmosphere, uses less fuel, and the cremains are more bioavailable for plant life. There is also Eternal Reef for an ocean burial.

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  2. I am wondering if the above states that allow humans and pets to be buried together also allow euthenization of the pet when the owner passes away? What if the owner wishes to be buried with thier pet but the pet isnt the first to go?

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    • Shannon, you raise an important concern. To our knowledge, all states allow vets to kill healthy animals in accordance with a ‘pet owner’s’ demand. This already happens and is more often than you may think. One of the reasons for doing so is because some people believe that their pets would be miserable without them. We know, however, that these pets would do just fine with a caring person/family, and that is the reason why we advocate for ‘pet trusts’ or similar arrangement https://greenpetburial.org/projects/pet-trusts/.

      Additionally, whole-family cemeteries, which allow the remains of humans and nonhuman animals to be buried in the same cemetery, help to deter such killings, since people have the option to arrange for their pets remains to be interred near their own remains at some point in the future – an option which is currently unavailable in many states and, subsequently, which leads some people to have their pets killed first. We address this here: https://greenpetburial.org/projects/whole-family_cemeteries/

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      • I appreciate this honest answer. We love our pets. A way to show our love is by making arrangments incase we die unexpectedly or before our impending death.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Pingback: Virginia General Assembly to Consider Bill allowing Pets to be Buried beside Humans | Green Pet-Burial Society

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