Paw and nose prints in Lakewood: a calm guide
About 4,800 households in Lakewood 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.
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Lakewood, Colorado
How owners in Lakewood get a paw print
Many Lakewood families keep a pet's memorial close: an urn on a mantel, a paw print cast, or a pendant holding a small amount of ashes. If you'd like to scatter some ashes in the mountains later, ask for the ashes to be divided before they're returned, so part stays home in a keepsake urn and part is ready for a trip into the foothills.
Colorado's intense sun, dry air and freeze-thaw winters are hard on outdoor memorials. Granite and bronze hold up well, while softer stone and painted resin can crack or fade. If you'd like a memorial tree, native species that handle dry summers and cold winters do better. Planting in spring gives roots a full season to settle before the first hard freeze.
Around a city this size you'll find all sorts of animals, from giant-breed dogs to horses on the edge of town. Big paws need a bigger slab of clay or a foam impression tray, and a horse needs a different approach altogether: most owners keep a hoof print pressed into a clay slab or painted onto card, with a farrier helping to lift and hold the foot.
About 156,927 people live in Lakewood, which makes it the 5th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Denver, about 6 miles (9 km) away, which is where some providers serving Lakewood are based.
Families in Lakewood often end up using a provider from Wheat Ridge (5 miles), Denver (5 miles, a larger centre) and Englewood (6 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
57,500
Lakewood: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
156,927 ÷ 2.5 = 62,771 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 57,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
4,800
Estimated dog and cat losses in Lakewood each year
How we calculated this
57,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 4,800 a year. Treat it as a minimum.
53%[1]
53% of US households own a dog, which is about 71 million households.
12.69 years[2]
US dogs have an average life expectancy at birth of 12.69 years.
39%[3]
39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households.
11.18 years[4]
US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 years.
Sources for the statistics above: American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Burial, cremation and paw prints in Colorado
Cremation accounts for about 77.4%[5] of human deaths in Colorado, so many households already have a shelf or cabinet where family ashes and photos sit. A pet's print tends to join that shelf. That's worth knowing before you choose a format: a clay disc needs a small stand, an ink print suits a frame the same size as your photos, and a print engraved straight onto the urn saves space altogether.
The Colorado percentage above is from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) and refers to human funerals. Treat it as context for Lakewood, not as a count of pets.
Heat, humidity, cold and drying times
Winter in Lakewood brings average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March, November and December. Cold makes modeling clay stiff, so warm it in your hands for a few minutes and roll it smooth before pressing. If your pet has been kept in a cold garage, a clinic cooler or a crematory's cold room, the paw pads will be firm, so press the clay onto the paw rather than the paw into the clay.
Clinics and crematories in and around Lakewood often keep pets in cold storage before cremation, especially in January, February, March, November and December when collection runs can be delayed by weather. That doesn't prevent a print, but it helps to ask before your pet goes into the cooler. A quick print while the paw is still soft is far easier than one taken later from a cold, stiff paw.
Paw print costs around Lakewood, line by line
By our estimate, around 765,000 US families a year[6] are open to a personalized pet keepsake, so providers in Lakewood are used to the question. The cheapest route is a home print, which costs only clay and a card. The next step up is a crematory add-on: by our estimate the median is about $32[7], and a clay paw impression can cost as little as $10[8]. Framing, engraving and silver are where totals climb.
The full price table by product is on our Colorado page, and the services page explains what each option includes.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Local rules worth knowing in Colorado
Nothing in Colorado restricts a paw print, a nose print or a lock of fur. What local rules do shape is where ashes may go, and some favorite places, such as parks, beaches and trails, need the landowner's permission. If that permission is hard to get, a print can carry the memory of the place instead: frame it beside a photo taken there, or have the trail's name engraved under the paw.
Colorado keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Lakewood.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Colorado level first; our Colorado rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Lakewood or your HOA adds anything.
A short checklist for a clean print
- For a horse, have the farrier out beforehand to trim the hoof and tidy it up. Clean the sole thoroughly and let it dry.
- Press the hoof into a thick slab of clay resting on a board, or coat the sole in non-toxic paint and set it down on stiff card. Ask a helper to keep the leg still while you do it.
- Keep the last shoe and a length of tail or mane hair, since plenty of owners later have the hair plaited or cast in resin.
- For a bird or a very small pet, use very soft clay or inkless paper and the lightest pressure. Tiny toes show best in clay.
- For a fluffy cat or rabbit, go inkless so nothing ends up on fur they'll wash later; for rabbits especially, clay captures the long, narrow foot well.
- Dry and store every print indoors, and photograph it so a maker can work from the image.
From paw print to pendant, frame or garden stone
Bear Creek Lake Park, Green Mountain and the foothills trails around Red Rocks and Morrison are places many Lakewood families link with good times outdoors. If you'd like to scatter some ashes somewhere like that, choose a quiet, private spot and check the rules for any park or open space. Keeping a small portion aside means you'll always have a keepsake at home.
See what each option includes on our services page, or see what other families chose in the poll results, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, browse in-depth guides or recent articles. If you live between Lakewood and Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Aurora and Denver, either page applies. Every other community in Colorado, and all of the United States, 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.
When did (or will) you take your pet's print?
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Where would your pet's print live?
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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 cremation common in Colorado?
For people, yes: about 77.4%[5] of Colorado deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Lakewood follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
How many pet owners live in Lakewood?
By our estimate, about 57,500 households in Lakewood have at least one dog or cat, and around 4,800 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 156,927, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Lakewood?
Usually yes. Wheat Ridge is about 5 miles away, Denver is about 5 miles away and Englewood is about 6 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
How does Lakewood's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Lakewood, with average highs around 88°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
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.
Will my vet or crematory take a paw print before cremation?
Most will if asked, and many include a clay or ink print in the package. But requests can be missed on a busy day, especially at emergency clinics. Mention it when you book, ask for it to be written on the aftercare form and ask whether it comes back to you that day or with the ashes. Once your pet has been cremated, the chance is gone.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] 53% of US households own a dog, which is about 71 million households. American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, 2025.
- [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] 39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households. American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, 2025.
- [4] US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 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.
- [5] The NFDA projected Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Around 765,000 U.S. families a year are likely open to a personalized pet keepsake. Our estimate: 1.5M pet cremations x 51% interest in personalized memorials. How we calculate.
- [7] 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.
- [8] Memorial add-ons at A Greener Place: $15 laser-engraved paw print, $10 clay paw impression, $10 nose print, $5 fur clipping. A Greener Place Pet Aquamation – Pricing, 2026.
- [9] The typical sterling silver pet cremation pendant costs about $190, based on the middle of three sellers' price points. Our estimate: median of [Urns.com median $129, Memorials.com midpoint of $87.95–$297.95 = $193, Final Gift sterling paw pendant $240]. How we calculate.
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