Keeping your pet's paw print in Parkland, Florida
Parkland has an estimated 14,500 dog- or cat-owning households. If yours is one of them, a print taken now, or before cremation, is the keepsake you can't go back for.
- Home kit or vet-taken: your choice
- Tips for heat, humidity and cold
- Ideas for jewelry, engraving and art
Parkland, Florida
Paw print keepsakes in Parkland: where to start
Heat, humidity and hurricanes batter garden tributes in northwest Broward, where lots are open to the wind off the Everglades. Granite and dense stone hold up; wood, resin and painted metal fade or corrode. Set any marker on a firm, well-drained base, a little above the lawn, and consider where it will go if you ever need to move it before a storm or a sale.
Parkland's large lots give many families room for a garden memorial: an engraved stone under a gumbo limbo, a bench by the lake or a butterfly bed. Homeowner association rules may limit what can be placed in front yards, so check first. Indoor options, from urns and keepsake jewelry to framed paw prints, work well too and move easily later.
In a smaller place like Parkland, the local vet usually arranges aftercare and sends pets to a crematory in a larger centre such as Hialeah. That makes the vet the natural moment for a print, because once your pet leaves town it's much harder to ask. Tell the clinic you'd like a clay or ink print before collection, and check it's clear before you leave.
About 39,186 people live in Parkland, which makes it the 79th-largest of the 235 Florida communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Hialeah, about 32 miles (52 km) away, which is where some providers serving Parkland are based.
For a second opinion on price, Coral Springs (4 miles, a larger centre), Coconut Creek (5 miles) and Margate (6 miles) are close enough that their providers cover Parkland routinely. Two written quotes tell you more than any price list.
Our estimate
14,500
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Parkland
How we calculated this
39,186 ÷ 2.5 = 15,674 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 14,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
1,200
dog and cat deaths per year in Parkland, our estimate
How we calculated this
14,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,200 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.
We built the this numbers from Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, and both are worth a look if you want the detail.
What local funeral habits mean for a print
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.
The Florida 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 Parkland, not as a count of pets.
Clay, ink and the local climate
If you're planning a home goodbye in May, June, July, August, September and October, 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 Parkland 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.
What owners in Parkland typically pay for a print
Some providers include the print in the package. A Virginia crematory, for example, includes a paw print and a fur clipping with every private cremation package, which run $189–$300[6]. Others charge separately: a Northeast crematory network lists $49 for ink paw prints, $76 for a clay or silver-clay print and $111 framed[7]. When you compare quotes in Parkland, check which approach each provider takes.
The full price table by product is on our Florida 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.
Burial, scattering and prints in Florida
Paw prints sit outside most regulation, but the aftercare around them doesn't. Your local council or city, and the wider rules for Florida, may limit burying a pet at home and scattering ashes in public places. Check the notes below before you plan a garden memorial with your pet's print pressed into it.
The official Florida local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Parkland.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Florida level first; our Florida rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Parkland or your HOA adds anything.
What to do first, and what can wait
- For a horse, book the farrier to trim and clean the hoof first. Pick out the sole and dry it well.
- 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, an inkless kit avoids ink on fur they'll groom later, and clay shows the long shape of a rabbit's foot.
- Dry and store every print indoors, and photograph it so a maker can work from the image.
Remembering your pet through their print
Some Parkland families plant a native tree or sabal palm with a scoop of ashes buried in a plant-based urn at its base, creating a living memorial. Others commission a painted portrait from a photo, or a horseshoe or collar mounted in a shadow box. Commissioned work often needs a month or more, so confirm the timeline before you order.
or compare your instinct with the poll results, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones. If you live between Parkland and Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and St. Petersburg, 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.
Who would you rather take the print?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What worries you most about taking a print yourself?
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
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 Parkland 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.
Does the Parkland climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In August, with highs near 91°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. Winters here are mild enough that burial or scattering is possible in any month.
Roughly how many pets die in Parkland each year?
Our estimate is around 1,200. It comes from Parkland's population (about 39,186), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 14,500 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 Parkland actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Hialeah, about 32 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Parkland and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Who else can take a paw print if my vet in Parkland doesn't?
Several people can. The crematory that serves Parkland normally makes one when your pet arrives. A mobile or home-visit vet may carry a kit. A groomer who knows your pet can tidy the paw fur and help you take one on a good day. And you can do it yourself with air-dry clay and a pet-safe ink pad from a craft store. What matters is that it happens before cremation or burial.
How much does a paw print keepsake cost in Parkland?
The print itself is usually inexpensive. US crematories list paw-print add-ons from about $10 to $76, with a median of about $32[9], and some include one in the cremation package. Finishing costs more: engraved paw prints on urns typically add $20 to $35, and paw or nose print pendants start at about $100. Ask providers in Parkland what's already included.
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] Heavenly Paws Cremations in Chantilly, Virginia, sells private cremation packages at $189 (temporary container), $225 (wooden urn) and $300 (wooden photo urn), each including a paw print and fur clipping. Heavenly Paws Cremations – Packages, 2026.
- [7] Final Gift charges $49 for ink paw prints, $76 for a clay or silver-clay paw print, $111 framed, and $133 framed with a fur clipping; a fur clipping alone costs $23. Final Gift Pet Memorial Center – Memorial Products, 2026.
- [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.
- [9] 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.
Ask who takes paw prints in Parkland
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.