Getting your pet's paw print in London
About 220,000 households in London lose a dog or cat each year, by our estimate. A clear paw print, taken at home or by your vet, is often the keepsake people are most glad to have.
- Take the print before cremation
- Clay, ink or cast, explained simply
- Published prices, no guesswork
London, England
Who takes paw prints in London
Many London parks have memorial benches with small plaques, and while dedicating one is usually reserved for people and comes with long waiting lists, it shows how Londoners like to mark a place. For a pet, a memorial stone in a back garden or a planter on a balcony creates something similar at home. Choose frost-resistant stone or slate if it will sit outside through a damp London winter.
Tree and bio urns appeal to Londoners who want a living memorial, but you'll need somewhere to plant it. A garden, allotment or relative's land works, while public parks generally won't allow it without permission. If you rent, a large pot with a young tree or shrub can move with you. Paw prints in clay or ink, taken before cremation, are another lasting keepsake that takes up almost no space.
Because London has several pet crematories within reach, you can actually compare what their prints look like. Some press a thick clay disc and stamp the name; others take a flat ink print on card, or a silver-clay impression that is fired into metal. Ask each one to email a photo of a recent example. A crisp outline with visible pad shapes is what you want. A blurry round blob suggests the print is done in a hurry.
London's population is around 8,982,000, the largest of the 33 England communities we cover.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Chelsea (2 miles), Kensington (3 miles) and Richmond (8 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
2,695,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households London has (estimate)
How we calculated this
8,982,000 ÷ 2.4 = 3,742,500 households; × 41% (dog) + 31% (cat) = 2,695,000. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
220,000
dog and cat deaths per year in London, our estimate
How we calculated this
2,695,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.74 yrs) ≈ 220,000 a year. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
41%[1]
41% of UK households own a dog.
12.69 years[2]
US dogs have an average life expectancy at birth of 12.69 years.
31%[3]
31% of UK households own a cat.
11.74 years[4]
UK cats have a life expectancy at birth of 11.74 years.
The published sources behind those figures are UK Pet Food (formerly PFMA) Pet Population 2026 and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Burial, cremation and paw prints in England
In England, about 83.0%[5] of people are cremated, one of the higher rates around. Where cremation is this familiar, pet crematories are well established and a paw print is often a standard line on the price list. The catch is that standard can mean automatic. Ask what kind of print they take, whether you can see it before cremation and whether you can have a second copy.
Source for the England number: Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA) death & cremation statistics (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for London, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Clay, ink and the local climate
If you're thinking of an outdoor memorial in London, such as a garden stone with your pet's print pressed in, the weather decides when to make it. Concrete doesn't cure well in frost or fierce heat. Take the print now in clay or ink and keep it indoors, then make the stone in a mild month when the ground is workable.
Where the money goes: the print, then the finishing
Many UK vet practices send every pet to the same crematorium: 60%[6] of independent practices that answered the CMA had an exclusive contract with one. So the print you're offered in London is usually whatever that crematorium makes. If you'd like something different, such as a flat ink print for engraving or a resin cast (one studio charges from £120 for a small dog[7]), take it yourself or ask for your pet to go elsewhere.
For a line-by-line price table, see the England overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What England allows after your pet dies
Burial rules in many places, including England, 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.
In the UK, most families arrange cremation through their vet, and the CMA's 2026 remedies require practices to set out prices for add-on options as well as communal and individual cremation. Ask for a paw print by name and get the price in writing. Independent pet crematoria often take clay or ink prints too, and UK winters are damp, so give air-dry clay extra time to dry indoors before you frame or post it.
The England page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. London's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
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: rolling the clay, choosing the card color or writing 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, and tuck the original away out of harm's way.
- Come back to it later. One child wants it framed the same week; another won't look at it for months.
From paw print to pendant, frame or garden stone
London homes are often small, so a compact urn on a mantelpiece or bookshelf suits many families better than a large casket. Wood, ceramic and slim photo urns are popular, and a cremation keepsake such as a pendant or ring lets you keep a little of your pet close on the Tube or at work. Ask for a portion of ashes to be set aside if you'd like to share them among family members.
See what each option includes on our services page, or see how other readers answered in our polls, try the free planning tools, browse in-depth guides or recent articles. If you live between London and Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Bristol, either page applies. Every other community in England, and all of the United Kingdom, is listed too.
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.
Whose print are you thinking about?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What worries you most about taking a print yourself?
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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
Is London big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 2,695,000 London households keep a dog or cat and around 220,000 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 8,982,000), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Which nearby towns can I compare with London?
The closest communities we cover are Chelsea (about 2 miles), Kensington (about 3 miles) and Richmond (about 8 miles). Providers based in those places often serve London too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Is cremation common in England?
For people, yes: about 83.0%[5] of England deaths end in cremation, according to Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA) death & cremation statistics (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in London follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
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%[9] of bereaved owners said they grieved before their pet died. Choose a calm, good day and keep the session short.
Can a paw print be taken after my pet has died?
Yes. A print can usually be taken in the first hours after death at home, and later by a vet or crematory before cremation. If the leg has stiffened, press the clay gently onto the paw rather than forcing the paw down. A print from a relaxed, living pet tends to be crisper, which is why many owners take one while their pet is still a healthy senior.
Can my pet's paw print be turned into a tattoo?
Yes, and it's a popular choice. A tattoo artist will want a clear, high-contrast flat print, so an ink or inkless print works better than clay. Scan it at a high resolution and bring the file to your consultation. Many people have the print tattooed at actual size, sometimes with the pet's name or a nose print alongside.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 41% of UK households own a dog. UK Pet Food (formerly PFMA) Pet Population 2026, 2026.
- [2] US dogs have an average life expectancy at birth of 12.69 years. Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science - Banfield Pet Hospital life expectancy tables (13.3 million dogs, 2.4 million cats, 2013-2019), 2023.
- [3] 31% of UK households own a cat. UK Pet Food (formerly PFMA) Pet Population 2026, 2026.
- [4] UK cats have a life expectancy at birth of 11.74 years. Teng et al. 2024, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery - VetCompass cat life tables, 2024.
- [5] In 2024, 83.0% of deaths in England & Wales ended in cremation. Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA) death & cremation statistics, 2024.
- [6] 60% of independent UK vet practices responding to the CMA had an exclusive contract with one crematorium. UK Competition and Markets Authority - Veterinary services for household pets, Provisional decision report Part A (Oct 2025), 2025.
- [7] 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.
- [8] 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.
- [9] 75.4% of RSPCA pet-loss survey respondents experienced anticipatory grief before their pet died. RSPCA — Pet Loss Survey Results, 2026.
Get paw print options in London
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