The Salary of a Pet Mortician
When you lose a pet, you may want to have a funeral service to remember its life and to help you with the grieving process. Pet funeral service companies help individuals through the process of burying or cremating their pets. They often bury pets in special pet cemeteries. Some traditional (human) funeral businesses also offer pet funeral services.
Mortician Salary
The median annual salary of a human mortician was $54,100 nationwide in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest 10th percentile earned up to $29,080, and the 25th percentile made up to $40,180. The 75th percentile earned up to $71,530 per year, and the 90th percentile made at least $91,140 annually.
Pet Funeral Directors
Pet funeral directors, or morticians, can expect to earn in the lower range of their human funeral director counterparts if they focus primarily on pets. Pets generally do not cost as much to inter or cremate as humans.
Pet Groomers
Some pet groomers may offer grooming services for pets that have died. They may also work in a pet funeral service business. The median annual income of a pet groomer was $26,370 nationwide, as of May 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest 10 percent earned at or below $19,310 per year, while the 90th percentile made $62,040 per year or more.
Skills
Pet grooming skills are a primary requirement, but a pet mortician also should exhibit tact, discretion, sympathy and empathy for grieving pet owners. Pet morticians may coordinate and carry out pet funeral services, care for pet cemetery grounds and perform other duties related to the death of pets.
Writer
Leyla Norman has been a writer since 2008 and is a certified English as a second language teacher. She also has a master's degree in development studies and a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology.