Dog bath

High: A Spa Dog mobile unit serving Beverly Hills and Hollywood charges $90 for bath treatment, including "aromatherapy spritz."

Low: A bath at home is free, except for shampoo. Self-service emporiums, including U Wash Doggie in Studio City, provide tub, shampoo, towels and blow dryers. The cost at U Wash ranges from $12.99 to $19.99, depending on dog size.

Kennel fee, dogs

High: When you're away, you can board your canine for $65 a night at Paradise Ranch in Sun Valley. A massage for the dog is $35 extra.

Low: The Pasadena Humane Society boards dogs under 40 pounds for $14 a night and over that weight for $16. But you must be a member of the group, which costs $35 a year.

Kennel fee, cats

High: Paradise Ranch in Sun Valley charges $55 a night.

Low: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Los Angeles facility boards cats for $15 a night.

Poop pickup

High: Doo Care, based in Tucson, Ariz., expects to have franchises open in Southern California later this year. Residential yard service that includes scooping and disposal costs about $10 per visit.

Low: Self-service costs nothing but your dignity.

Goodbye, old friend

High: Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas sells burial packages, including plot and casket, for $593 to $1,206, depending on pet size. Headstones begin at $305.

Low: The Bureau of Sanitation in Los Angeles will send a truck free of charge to pick up dead animals, "except for horses and cows," according to its site. The animal must be placed curbside.