Getting your pet's paw print in Orlando
Roughly 10,000 dogs and cats die in Orlando 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.
- Home kit or vet-taken: your choice
- Tips for heat, humidity and cold
- Ideas for jewelry, engraving and art
Orlando, Florida
Getting a paw print in Orlando: the local picture
Florida's sun, humidity and summer storms are hard on outdoor memorials. Stone, sealed concrete and powder-coated metal last longest; painted wood and some resins fade or crack. A memorial tree or shrub suited to Central Florida, planted with a biodegradable urn, can be a lovely choice, as long as you plant it somewhere that won't flood. Low-lying yards near lakes and retention ponds can hold water for days after a summer storm, so higher ground is kinder to a memorial.
Orlando is a city of lakes, from Lake Eola downtown to the chains of lakes around Winter Park and Windermere, and many families link their pets with lakeside parks, springs and trails. Some scatter part of the ashes at a meaningful spot and keep the rest at home. Check rules for parks and state lands first, and choose a cool early morning.
Some crematories and keepsake makers serving Orlando are based a drive away, around Orlando or along main roads out of town. That's normal, and it doesn't stop you getting a print. Clay prints travel perfectly well once they're dry, and most engravers, jewelers and artists work from a clear photo or scan, so the original never needs to leave your home.
Orlando is home to about 333,888 people, the 4th-largest of the 235 Florida communities we cover.
Families in Orlando often end up using a provider from Edgewood (4 miles), Conway (5 miles) and Pine Castle (5 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
125,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Orlando
How we calculated this
333,888 ÷ 2.5 = 133,555 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 125,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
10,000
Orlando families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
125,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 10,000 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: 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
With about 72.5%[5] of people in Florida cremated, most local families already know the rhythm of a cremation: collection, a few days' wait, then the ashes come home. A print fits neatly into the start of that process, before collection. Once your pet is cremated, the chance is gone, so the first phone call is the right moment to mention it.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Florida figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Orlando tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Clay, ink and the local climate
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.
Hot months in Orlando are the best time for an outdoor project in the shade, but not for drying a print outdoors. Direct sun on an air-dry clay disc can warp it and crack the thin edges of the toes. Bring it inside, set it on a wire rack so air reaches both sides and give it two or three days before sealing it with a matte acrylic sealer.
Where the money goes: the print, then the finishing
Engraving is the add-on that surprises people. By our estimate, name-and-dates engraving adds about 36%[6] to the price of a mid-priced wooden urn, and a paw print costs extra again. Before you pay for either in Orlando, check your pet insurance: some wellness add-ons reimburse end-of-life costs, and one plan's add-on could pay up to $650 toward cremation, burial and keepsakes[7]. Read the policy wording, then ask for an itemized quote.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Florida: Florida 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 the law in Florida does and doesn't cover
Rules in Florida 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 Florida local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Orlando.
Start with the Florida rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Orlando's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
What to do first, and what can wait
- 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, leave the pressing to an adult or the vet, then let your child see the result.
- 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.
Ways families in Orlando keep a print close
Many Orlando families keep a pet's ashes at home in a small urn, or share them in keepsake containers among relatives across Florida and beyond. Jewelry holding a pinch of ashes, a framed paw print or an engraved garden stone are also common. If you rent or might move, something portable is easier to keep with you. Ask for a paw print before cremation if you'd like one.
run the numbers with the free planning tools, or compare your instinct with the poll results, Every option Orlando families choose between is on the services page, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details. More local pages: Cape Coral, Port St. Lucie, St. Petersburg and Tampa, the Florida overview and every city in the United States.
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?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Whose print are you thinking about?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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 Orlando big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 125,000 Orlando households keep a dog or cat and around 10,000 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 333,888), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Why does the Orlando page quote a human cremation rate?
Because it is the best local signal we have. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) reports about 72.5%[5] of Florida residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Orlando?
The closest communities we cover are Edgewood (about 4 miles), Conway (about 5 miles) and Pine Castle (about 5 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Orlando too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
How does Orlando's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Orlando, with average highs around 92°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Winters are mild, with average lows staying above freezing, so outdoor burial or scattering is usually possible year round.
Why take a paw print in Orlando if I already have plenty of photos?
Photos show what your pet looked like; a print records something you touched every day, at actual size. We estimate Orlando has around 125,000 dog- or cat-owning homes and loses about 10,000 of those pets a year. Most of those owners have hundreds of photos. The difference is that photos can be found later, while a print only exists if someone makes it before the body is cremated or buried, which is why it's worth doing first.
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] 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] Name-and-dates engraving adds about 36% to the price of a mid-priced wooden pet urn. Our estimate: midpoint engraving $32.50 ($25–$40) / midpoint wood urn $90 ($30–$150). How we calculate.
- [7] Embrace's Wellness Rewards add-on could reimburse up to $650 toward cremation, burial and keepsakes. Pet Insurance Review - Does Pet Insurance Cover Euthanasia? (Dec 2023), 2023.
- [8] Published ashes-return times across the network's markets range from same-day (paid express) to about 4 weeks; a conservative typical window is 3-14 days. Our estimate: min/max across sources: Lambeth 3 days; US 5-10 days; RSPCA QLD within 14 days; AniCura Sweden 2-4 weeks. How we calculate.
Ask who takes paw prints in Orlando
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.