Getting your pet's paw print in Turin
Many vets and pet crematories will take a paw print before cremation, but often only if someone asks. This guide to Turin covers timing, home kits, costs and turning a print into jewelry or art.
- Prints of senior pets while they're well
- Local finishing or mail-order makers
- Honest costs from real price lists
Turin, Piedmont
Arranging a paw print around Turin
Turin families choose all kinds of memorials: a small urn for a bookshelf, a pendant holding a trace of ashes, a memorial stone for a balcony planter, or a framed paw print. Turinese taste tends toward understated, well-made things, and pieces in walnut, local stone or plain ceramic sit comfortably in the city's high-ceilinged apartments. Ask for prints or fur clippings at the first contact, since they must be taken before your pet leaves home.
Many Turin families have roots in the Alpine valleys or the Piedmont countryside, and some like the idea of returning a pet's ashes to a family place in the mountains or among the vineyards of the Langhe. A bio urn planted with a tree on family land is another option. Because a scattering or planting is permanent, many people first set aside a little of the ashes in a pendant or keepsake to keep in the city.
Apartment and condo living in Turin adds a practical wrinkle. Collection teams may need a freight elevator, a loading bay or a parking permit, and building staff often ask for a set arrival time. That fixes the moment your pet leaves, so treat the print as something to finish before that slot. Book collection for an hour after the vet's visit rather than straight after, and you'll have room for a clay print and an ink copy without watching the clock.
With roughly 886,000 residents, Turin is one of the Piedmont communities we cover.
Our pages for Genoa (77 miles), Milan (78 miles) and Como (85 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Turin as well.
38.16%[1]
In 2023, 38.16% of deaths in Italy were cremated (91 crematoria).
~$32[2]
Paw-print add-ons at US crematories have a median price of about $32, from $10 to $76.
3-5% of body weight[3]
Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight.
Burial, cremation and paw prints in Italy
Burial is still more common than cremation for people in Italy, where about 38.16%[1] are cremated. Many pet owners here bury too, often on their own land where that's allowed. That gives you something city cremation doesn't: time. You can take a paw print at home, calmly, before the burial, with no one waiting at the door.
Cremation Society of Great Britain, International Cremation Statistics 2023 (2023) is where the Italy figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Turin tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Weather in Turin and your pet's print
In warm weather, the first hours after a pet dies at home matter for comfort and for the print. Keep your pet in the coolest room, on a towel, and take the print early, before the body stiffens. In cold weather, a pet kept in a chilled room will have firm pads, so press the clay gently onto the paw instead.
Where the money goes: the print, then the finishing
In Turin, your vet is usually the first contact and will arrange collection by a pet crematorium, which may offer a clay or ink paw print. Ask by name: a Pfotenabdruck in German, an empreinte de patte in French, a pootafdruk in Dutch. For comparison, a US crematory network lists a clay paw print at $76[4], and a UK studio casts small dog paws in resin from about £120[5].
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Piedmont: Piedmont costs. What each service includes is on the services page.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What Piedmont allows after your pet dies
Burial rules in many places, including Piedmont, exist partly because the drugs used in euthanasia stay in the body and can harm wildlife or other pets that dig. A print carries none of those concerns, which is why no one regulates it. If you're choosing between a home burial and cremation, the notes below cover what's allowed here; take the print before either.
A short checklist for a clean print
- Tell your child what's happening in plain words, then offer them a part in making the print if they want one. Our guide to print-making with children has age-by-age ideas for what they can do.
- Give them a real job: they can roll the clay, pick the card, or write the name.
- Let them press a hand or fingerprint beside the paw if they want to.
- If the print is taken after death, let an adult or the vet do it, and show your child the finished keepsake.
- Make a copy for your child's room, so the original can stay somewhere safe.
- Come back to it later. Some children want the print framed straight away; others return to it months on.
Remembering your pet through their print
If you are thinking of scattering ashes, many Turin owners think of the Po, the hill across the river or a quiet Alpine meadow. Choose a calm day and a spot away from busy paths and the riverside rowing clubs. Holding back a spoonful in a small urn, a locket or a keepsake box first means that, whatever you decide about the rest, a part of your pet stays at home with you.
or see what other families chose in the poll results, try the free planning tools, go deeper with the guides or catch up on recent articles, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services. the full list for Piedmont and for Italy is a click away.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Who would you rather take the print?
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If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Free tools to help you plan
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Paw print keepsake chooser
Match a print method to your pet's size, fur and the keepsake you want to keep.
Jewelry ash capacity guide
How much ash fits in pendants, rings and glass, and how many pieces one pet can fill.
Questions people ask
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Turin?
Usually yes. Genoa is about 77 miles away, Milan is about 78 miles away and Como is about 85 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Is cremation common in Italy?
For people, yes: about 38.16%[1] of Italy deaths end in cremation, according to Cremation Society of Great Britain, International Cremation Statistics 2023 (2023). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Turin follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
How do I get a clear print from very furry paws?
Trim the tufts between the pads with blunt-tipped scissors, leaving the fur around the edge, which gives the print its outline. For cats, long-haired dogs and rabbits, an inkless kit or soft clay often works better than ink. Rabbits have no pads at all, so clay shows the long shape of the hind foot beautifully.
How much does a paw print keepsake cost in Turin?
Local published prices for prints are scarce outside the US; most vets and crematories include them in a package or quote on request. As a benchmark, a US crematory network lists a clay paw print at $76[4] and a UK studio casts a small dog's paw in resin from about £120[5]. Ask for a written local price.
Should I take a paw print while my senior pet is still alive?
If you can, yes. A relaxed living pet usually gives the clearest print, and you can take as many as you like without pressure. It can also give anticipatory grief something useful to do; in an RSPCA survey, 75.4%[6] of bereaved owners said they grieved before their pet died. Choose a calm, good day and keep the session short.
Will the crematory send the paw print back with the ashes?
It depends on the provider. Some take the print at intake and return it with the ashes; others hand it to your vet or post it separately. Ask how the print is labeled and when it will come back, and ask for a photo of it before cremation so you know it's clear. If you'd rather not wait, take your own before collection.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] In 2023, 38.16% of deaths in Italy were cremated (91 crematoria). Cremation Society of Great Britain, International Cremation Statistics 2023, 2023.
- [2] Paw-print add-ons at US crematories have a median price of about $32, from $10 to $76. Our estimate: median of [$10 clay (AGP), $15 laser engraving (AGP), $49 ink (Final Gift), $76 clay (Final Gift)]. How we calculate.
- [3] Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
- [4] Final Gift charges $49 for ink paw prints, $76 for a clay or silver-clay paw print, $111 framed, and $133 framed with a fur clipping; a fur clipping alone costs $23. Final Gift Pet Memorial Center – Memorial Products, 2026.
- [5] Brighton Body Casting in the UK charges from about £120 to cast a small dog's paw pads in resin; medium and large breeds cost about 1/5 and 1/3 more. Brighton Body Casting – Pets, 2026.
- [6] 75.4% of RSPCA pet-loss survey respondents experienced anticipatory grief before their pet died. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
Ask who takes paw prints in Turin
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.