A paw print to keep, in Kissimmee
Roughly 2,600 dogs and cats die in Kissimmee 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.
- Take the print before cremation
- Clay, ink or cast, explained simply
- Published prices, no guesswork
Kissimmee, Florida
Arranging a paw print around Kissimmee
Kissimmee's lakefront park along Lake Toho, with its long walkway and views across the water, is one of the places families here go to remember. Scattering in public waters or parks may need permission, so check first. A lakeside memorial can also be private: a small stone engraved with a name, set in the garden bed where your pet liked to lie in the shade.
For families with relatives in Puerto Rico or other countries, dividing the ashes lets everyone take part. Small keepsake vessels, a bracelet with a sealed chamber, or a pendant can hold a tiny amount each. Airlines generally allow cremated remains in carry-on luggage if the container can pass through X-ray, so choose wood, plastic or thin metal rather than thick stone for travel.
There may be no ceramic studio or engraver in Kissimmee, but that matters less than it used to. Most jewelry, engraving and print-art makers work from a photo or scan of the print, sent by email, and post the finished piece back. Photograph your print flat in daylight, keep the original safe at home and shop around online without sending anything irreplaceable.
About 85,591 people live in Kissimmee, which makes it the 35th-largest of the 235 Florida communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Orlando, about 17 miles (28 km) away, which is where some providers serving Kissimmee are based.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Campbell (4 miles), Hunters Creek (4 miles) and Buenaventura Lakes (4 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
31,500
Kissimmee: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
85,591 ÷ 2.5 = 34,236 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 31,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
2,600
Estimated dog and cat losses in Kissimmee each year
How we calculated this
31,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,600 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.
Sources for the statistics above: Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Local customs and the keepsake you keep
Cremation is the norm for people in Florida (about 72.5%[5] of deaths), and pet crematories there tend to offer a long menu of extras: paw prints, nose prints, fur clippings, name plates, photo urns. It's easy to feel you ought to say yes to everything. You don't have to. Pick the one or two things you'll actually look at in five years' time. For many families, that's a clear print and a small lock of fur.
Source for the Florida number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Kissimmee, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Weather in Kissimmee and your pet's print
If you're planning a home goodbye in May, June, July, August and September, consider booking the vet for early morning. Your pet will be more comfortable before the heat builds, the house is cooler for taking a print, and collection can happen before the afternoon peak. Take the print first, while the morning is still quiet. If you'd hoped to say goodbye outside, a shaded corner of the yard at dawn is kinder than the afternoon sun.
Ink behaves differently in the Kissimmee heat. Pet-safe ink pads dry out quickly in warm rooms, which gives a patchy print, and a warm, damp paw can slide and smudge. Take ink prints in the coolest room of the house, with the air conditioning on, and dry the paw with a towel first. Press straight down, lift straight up and take three or four prints so you can keep the clearest.
What paw print keepsakes cost in Kissimmee
By our estimate, around 765,000 US families a year[6] are open to a personalized pet keepsake, so providers in Kissimmee 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.
Prices for Kissimmee track the wider Florida market, so use the Florida price table as your baseline and the services page to see what is included.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Local rules worth knowing in Florida
There are no rules about taking a paw print; it's yours to do at home, at the clinic or at the crematory. Where Florida does have rules is what happens next: whether your pet can be buried at home and where ashes can be scattered. Those choices can affect your print too, for example if you want it set into a garden stone or a grave marker.
The official Florida local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Kissimmee.
For Florida's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Florida guide. Local rules in Kissimmee can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
In order: the print, the aftercare, the keepsake
- Choose one calm afternoon to print every pet in the house, starting with the most relaxed animal.
- Label everything before you start: write each name on the reverse of its card, or scratch an initial into the base of each clay disc.
- Use a separate ink pad or wipe for each animal and clean every paw straight away, so no one licks ink off anyone else.
- Keep each turn short, no more than a minute or two each, and reward every press with a treat.
- Make a combined piece if you like: all the paws on one big card or slab of clay becomes a whole-family portrait.
- Store the set together with the date written on the back, so no print goes missing over the years.
Turning a print into something lasting
In a town surrounded by ranch land and orange groves of the past, some families like memorials with a natural feel: a carved wooden box, a planted citrus or oak over a biodegradable urn, or a clay paw print hung near the door. Whatever you choose, get the maker to confirm size, finish and delivery before you pay, and ask how the ashes should be sent.
or see how other readers answered in our polls, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, use the free tools before you ring anyone, Compare every option on our services page. If you live between Kissimmee and St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Orlando and Port St. Lucie, either page applies. Every other community in Florida, 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.
What worries you most about taking a print yourself?
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Whose print are you thinking about?
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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
Roughly how many pets die in Kissimmee each year?
Our estimate is around 2,600. It comes from Kissimmee's population (about 85,591), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 31,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Where are the providers that serve Kissimmee actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Orlando, about 17 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Kissimmee and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
How do Florida attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Florida human cremation rate at about 72.5%[5]. We show it on the Kissimmee page because pet aftercare choices tend to track it: where cremation is normal for people, communal and private pet cremation are both easy to find.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Kissimmee?
There is no frozen-ground season here; average lows stay above freezing all year. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 92°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
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.
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.
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 Florida's cremation rate at 72.5% 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 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.
Tell us about your pet's print
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.