Pet cemetery could re-open in Brockville after nearly six-year pause

Pet owners in Brockville could soon once again have a local place to lay their beloved companions to rest.

At their meeting on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Brockville General Committee members will consider a staff recommendation and accompanying report to resume pet burial services at Pet Cemetery C following a nearly six-year suspension caused by zoning issues.

The cemetery in question is located adjacent to Brockville Cemetery and there are currently 25 families in the area waiting to learn whether pet burials will once again be offered in Brockville.

According to the report, pet burial services were suspended in October 2020 after the city discovered the cemetery lands had been incorrectly zoned. Since then, staff have worked to satisfy all requirements imposed by the Consent Granting Authority, slowly clearing the way for services to potentially resume.

Now that the resuming services could become a reality, staff are considering two options:

• Option 1 – Reinstate pet burial services with no changes to user fees ($206 plus tax for burial and purchase of lot), but adopt a separate price list and management bylaw.
• Option 2 – Reinstate pet burial services with full cost recovery, based upon 16 burials, the average number of burials historically completed, the user fee would go from $206 to $550.

Based on an estimated 16 pet burials between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, 2026, the expected revenue would be $3,090, with anticipated maintenance costs for 2026 including labour being around $8,500.

According to City staff, the proposed fee increase is intended to ensure the program pays for itself, so to speak. Since services were suspended, the city has reportedly spent more than $30,000 maintaining the pet cemeteries, along with an additional $7,374 to complete the work required to resolve the zoning issue.

If the second option is approved by council, the city would establish approximately 1,100 new burial lots, allowing enough funding and capacity for an estimated 55 years of service based on the historical demand of about 20 burials annually.

City staff detail that each lot would measure two feet by five feet to accommodate either one pet casket or two cremated pets. Other proposed plans for the cemetery include accessible walking paths, benches, landscaped garden spaces and three parking spaces accessed from County Road 46 (Lyn Road).

Staff propose in their recommendation that resuming the local service would address a growing need for pet owners in the area while allowing the city to recover the ongoing costs of maintaining the cemetery.

The report also clarified that while Pet Cemeteries A and B will continue to be maintained, no new burials would take place in those sections.