• Backyard pet burial is legal in Washoe County if you own the land, but not if you rent or lease.
• Disposal of a pet – even ashes – is not permitted on state and federal lands. It’s considered illegal dumping or abandoning personal property.
• Washoe County Regional Animal Services offers $10 disposal of dogs and cats.

• Question: Is it legal to bury your pet in your backyard?

• Short answer: It can be legal in your own backyard, but not elsewhere. You’ve got to own the property, and the grave can’t be too close to groundwater – a situation that applies to significant portions of south Reno and east Sparks.

There are also recommendations about burial depth so the body isn’t dug up by scavengers. Lingering euthanasia chemicals could poison wildlife.

Burial on public lands is not permitted.

There are three pet cremation options in Reno-Sparks beyond your own vet.

Question origin

I found myself talking to a Reno woman whose cat needed to be euthanized. With the rising cost of cremation, she planned to ask the veterinarian to give her the body so she could bury it herself.

It was winter and the rocky Nevada soil was even harder to dig in. I was concerned she wouldn’t be able to dig deep enough to keep scavengers away.

Also, I had been told by two veterinarians that improper disposal was illegal, and I passed this along to the woman. That turned out to be not quite right, so I decided to find out what’s really going on.

Washoe County pet burial guidelines

Northern Nevada Public Health – formerly Washoe County Health District – has a webpage headlined “Specific Burial Guidelines” for domestic pets and animals.

It makes clear that pet burial can be legal, but not always. The guidelines include a few recommendations and caveats.

• The pet’s owner must own the property. If you’re renting, leasing or on someone else’s property, it’s a no-no.
• The hole should be big enough to contain the animal with 2 to 3 feet of coverage. Health department spokesperson Scott Oxarart said a burial depth closer to 3 feet is encouraged.
• It recommends adding lime or similar material before putting the dirt back to aid decomposition and reduce the potential for smells. Lime, or calcium hydroxide, can be bought at many hardware and livestock feed stores.
• Water can be an issue. An animal can’t be buried within 3 feet of groundwater depth. Burial also must be a minimum of 25 feet from a drinking water well.

According to a map provided by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, there is a big swath of Sparks and Reno where the water table is less than 3 feet, so pet burial would not be allowed.

“For the most part, people living in Nevada would not be living near a high water table of 3 feet or less,” said Greg Pohll, a TMWA hydrogeologist.

“There are exceptions in the Reno and Las Vegas areas including homes near a river or creek, or in the case of the Reno area on the east side of the valley.  The east side of the valley is an area where all groundwater flows before discharging to Steamboat Creek or the Truckee River.”

Still not sure about the groundwater level at your home? You can email [email protected] to ask about your home’s proximity to groundwater.

Pet burial in the wilderness not permitted

What if you don’t have a backyard in which to bury your pet? Maybe you live in an apartment or you rent a house so the property isn’t yours.

One thing people may consider – at their own peril – would be taking the dead pet to the Nevada wilderness.

As Oxarart mentions, that could lead to a fine for illegal dumping if caught.

Lisa Herron of the U.S. Forest Service said that regulations do not allow leaving the remains of any pets – euthanized or not; the full body or ashes – on federal lands.

“The remains of loved pets can be a sensitive topic,” she said. “However, the remains/ashes of a pet are considered property and federal regulations prohibit the leaving – abandoning – of any personal property on federal lands.”

As for possible penalties for burying a pet in places overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, Lisa Ross of the BLM’s Carson City District said, “There are several laws and regulations that could apply to the burial/dumping of animals or carcasses ranging from improper disposal of refuse, creating a hazard and abandoning property. Special areas throughout the state may also have additional regulations, such as National Conservation, Wilderness Areas and Wild and Scenic Rivers.

“Penalties could range from monetary fines and court appearances, cost of reclamation if necessary to jail time.”

Why pet burial can be dangerous for other animals

Even if it were possible to bury an animal on state or federal land without getting caught, it’s not a wise idea because it could put other animals at risk.

Nate LaHue, a veterinarian with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said a euthanized animal can spread deadly toxins to any scavengers that might dig up the body. Even an animal that died naturally could transmit domestic diseases to wildlife.

For example, he said, a dog that died of distemper could infect wolves and coyotes as well as racoons.

“In the small animal world, if an animal is euthanized, it is done with pentobarbital,” he said.

“Pentobarbital is highly toxic and can cause death in any animal that consumes it. Therefore, if a wild animal ate the carcass and became sick or died, the individual would be liable for criminal penalties.”

He said there have been multiple cases investigated with individuals cited, including a veterinarian who lost his license for causing death in eagles who feasted on euthanized livestock.

“The two main ways to avoid this are to cremate the carcass or bury it deep enough that it cannot be dug up,” he said. “Most places regulate that the animal must have at least 3-4 feet of compacted soil on top of the carcass – this would most likely require the use of machinery.”

NDOW recommends against burying animals anywhere. The main accepted ways of carcass disposal, LaHue said, are cremation, deep burial – usually in a landfill – and rendering.

Composting can be an option if the animal is not diseased and was not given drugs, he added.

Cremation options

Veterinary offices offer a variety of cremation options if they euthanize your pet.

The three main choices are communal, where your pet is cremated with others and ashes are not returned; individual, where your pet is cremated with others but separated by a brick or bar and ashes are returned; and private, where your pet is the only one in a cremation session and ashes are returned.

Additional services can often be purchased, such as a ceramic paw print, fur clippings, or nose or paw ink prints. The latter are sometimes used as the basis for tattoos.

If a pet dies outside a vet’s office or you simply prefer to handle the matter yourself, there are three options in the Reno-Sparks area:

• Heart’s Companion Pet Memorial Center: Communal rates range from $100 for 0 to 5 pounds up to $275, depending on weight.
• West Coast Pet Memorial Services: Communal rates range from $186 for 10 to 25 pounds, $208 for 25 to 50 pounds, $246 for 50 to 75 pounds, and then approximately $40 increments for each 25 pounds above that. It also offers the opportunity to attend your pet’s cremation.
• Washoe County Regional Animal Services: $10 disposal fee for dogs and cats only. “That fee will likely be going up with our fee overhaul and the rising cost of disposal services for our shelter,” said WCRAS director Shyanne Schull.

Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to [email protected] or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.