Paw and nose prints in Loveland: a calm guide
Roughly 2,500 dogs and cats die in Loveland each year, by our estimate, and many owners only think of a paw print afterwards. Here's how to make sure yours is taken in time.
- Ask for a print when you book
- Help for paws, noses and hooves
- We reply by email, no obligation
Loveland, Colorado
Who takes paw prints in Loveland
Loveland is also known for public sculpture, with dozens of pieces in parks and along streets, and a strong community of artists and foundries. Families here sometimes commission a small bronze or a custom urn, which takes time but lasts for generations. If that appeals, ask about timelines and costs early. A simple urn can hold ashes while a custom piece is being made.
Loveland calls itself the Sweetheart City, and each February it remails thousands of valentines with a special Loveland postmark and verse. Some local families lean into that spirit with a heart-shaped keepsake or a small engraved locket. Others choose something plain: an urn on a bookshelf, a stone among the perennials, a framed paw impression by the door. The right memorial is simply the one that feels like your pet.
Farm and country homes around Loveland often have animals that city guides forget. A horse's hoof print is best taken after the farrier has trimmed and cleaned the foot, pressed into a thick clay slab or painted onto heavy card. Keep the last shoe as well. For chickens, ducks or a pet parrot, very soft clay shows the delicate toes far better than ink.
Loveland is home to about 81,387 people, the 15th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Loveland are based about 46 miles away in Denver, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Windsor (10 miles), Johnstown (11 miles) and Fort Collins (13 miles, a larger centre), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
30,000
Loveland: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
81,387 ÷ 2.5 = 32,555 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 30,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
2,500
Estimated dog and cat losses in Loveland each year
How we calculated this
30,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,500 a year. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
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.
The published sources behind those figures are American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Ashes, graves and the print that comes first
When roughly 77.4%[5] of human funerals in Colorado end in cremation, the whole system is built for speed, and pet aftercare often runs the same way. Collection can be booked for the same afternoon, and some crematories cremate within a day or two. That efficiency is a kindness, but it also shrinks the time in which a print can be taken. Ask how soon cremation will happen, and if it's quick, take the print yourself before collection.
The Colorado figure comes from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
Getting a clean print in Loveland in any season
With 6 months of freezing average lows, Loveland winters are hard on posted parcels too. If you're sending a clay print away to be cast in metal or scanned for jewelry, wrap it well, avoid shipping over a weekend and send a photo or scan first where the maker accepts one. Then the original never has to leave your warm house at all.
Clinics and crematories in and around Loveland often keep pets in cold storage before cremation, especially in January, February, March, April, 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.
Budgeting for a print and what it becomes
A paw print is one of the least expensive keepsakes there is. Many US crematories sell it as a small add-on: one Arizona provider lists a clay paw impression at $10, a nose print at $10 and a laser-engraved paw print at $15[6], and across the US price lists we've checked, paw-print add-ons have a median of about $32[7]. Prices in Loveland vary by provider, so ask whether a print is already included before you pay extra.
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
Rules in Colorado mostly cover the practical side of a pet's death: where a body can be buried, how deep, and where ashes may be scattered. None of it stops you taking a print. It's worth knowing, though, because a print set into a stone often goes where the burial or ashes go, and a landlord or homeowners' association can have its own say.
The official Colorado local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Loveland.
The rules that apply across Colorado (home burial, scattering and who oversees pet cremation) are summarized on our Colorado page. Loveland may add its own conditions, so check with the city or county before digging.
Your paw print plan for Loveland
- Tell your child what's happening in plain words, and ask whether they'd like to help with the print. Our guide to print-making with children suggests roles for different ages.
- Give them a real job: rolling the clay, choosing the card color or writing the name.
- Let them press a hand or fingerprint next to the paw, if they'd like 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. One child wants it framed the same week; another won't look at it for months.
Turning a print into something lasting
Loveland's long winters, which can bring frost from November into April, and its strong high-altitude summer sun decide which outdoor memorials last. Bronze and granite handle both; painted wood and resin often split or bleach. Tree urns have the best odds when planted in May, with a hardy species such as a bur oak or a crabapple, and a hose that reaches it. Planting close to the house makes that summer watering far easier.
Compare every option on our services page, or look at how readers voted in our polls, run the numbers with the free planning tools, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details. Close to Loveland we also cover Lakewood, Aurora, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs; the full list for Colorado and for the United States 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.
When did (or will) you take your pet's print?
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
Which nearby towns can I compare with Loveland?
The closest communities we cover are Windsor (about 10 miles), Johnstown (about 11 miles) and Fort Collins (about 13 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Loveland too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Will I have to travel to Denver to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Denver (roughly 46 miles from Loveland) collect from here as a matter of routine, and the paperwork is done by email or phone. If you want to be present for a witnessed cremation, that is when the drive matters.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Loveland?
January, February, March, April, November and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 89°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How many pet owners live in Loveland?
By our estimate, about 30,000 households in Loveland have at least one dog or cat, and around 2,500 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 81,387, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
How many households in Loveland have a dog or cat?
By our estimate, about 30,000 households in Loveland have a dog or a cat, and around 2,500 dogs and cats are lost there each year. We calculate this from the city's population, average household size and national pet ownership and lifespan figures. The method is shown on this page.
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.
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] 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.
- [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] The median price multiple of private (ashes returned) over communal cremation across 8 markets is about 2.0x, ranging from 1.25x (Tokyo) to 5.2x (Auckland). Our estimate: median(private_price / communal_price) same weight band: US CareCredit 51-70 lb midpoints (250/75) = 3.33x; Auckland 15-25 kg (445/85) = 5.24x; Norway 1-20 kg (3790/1190) = 3.18x; Singapore 10-20 kg (480/260) = 1.85x; Ontario 25-250 lb (549/279) = 1.97x; Tokyo 20-30 kg (38500/30800) = 1.25x; France 20 kg midpoints (200/95) = 2.11x; Germany range midpoints (270/145) = 1.86x. 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.
Ask who takes paw prints in Loveland
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.