Paw and nose prints in Hays: a calm guide
By our estimate, about 7,800 households in Hays share their home with a dog or cat. Every one of those paws can be pressed into clay or ink, ideally long before goodbye. Here's how.
- Take the print before cremation
- Clay, ink or cast, explained simply
- Published prices, no guesswork
Hays, Kansas
Who takes paw prints in Hays
In Hays, memorials often find a home on a sturdy shelf, a window ledge facing the yard, or a flat spot in a garden bed. Families in older houses near downtown sometimes use a built-in cabinet, while students often want something small enough to pack in a car. The simple box the ashes come home in is perfectly adequate while you think, even for months.
Wind is the biggest enemy of outdoor memorials in northwest Kansas, followed closely by hail and the high, dry sun. Low, heavy markers of granite or local post-rock limestone stay put; light garden statues blow over. For something living, a drought-hardy tree such as a bur oak or a hackberry, planted in spring and watered through the first summer, suits the dry climate.
Around Hays, a home-visit vet may be covering a wide area and can only give you a rough arrival window. Waiting is hard, but it can also be the time to take the print, while your pet is settled and you're not watching the door. Lay out a towel, the clay and a few treats in the room where they're resting. By the time the car pulls in, the keepsake can already be drying on the table.
With roughly 21,258 residents, Hays is the 20th-largest of the 23 Kansas communities we cover.
Our pages for Dodge City (86 miles), Salina (92 miles, a larger centre) and Hutchinson (95 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Hays as well.
Our estimate
7,800
Hays: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
21,258 ÷ 2.5 = 8,503 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 7,800. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
650
Hays families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
7,800 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 650 a year. A floor, not a ceiling.
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.
None of the figures on this this page are ours alone: they rest on 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 Kansas
In Kansas, about 64.6%[5] of people are cremated, and that share has been rising for years. Pet crematories have multiplied along with it, and most now offer paw prints, nose prints and fur clippings. Families who grew up with burial don't always know to ask, so it's worth saying plainly that you want one.
Source for the Kansas number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Hays, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Getting a clean print in Hays in any season
Planning an outdoor memorial in Hays? A garden stone set with your pet's print is lovely, but concrete won't cure properly in frost and can crack in extreme summer heat. Take the print now in clay or ink, keep it safe inside and make the stone in spring or autumn, when the weather is mild and the ground is workable.
If you've bought a print kit to keep for later, store it indoors, not in the garage. In Hays, a garage can top 93°F in July and drop below freezing in January, and both extremes spoil supplies: heat dries out ink pads and clay, frost splits plaster bags and stiffens molding putty. Check the kit every few months, and replace the clay if it has hardened in the packet.
What paw print keepsakes cost in Hays
Compared with the cremation itself, a print is a small line on the bill. Private dog cremation averages about $260[6] in the US, while paw-print add-ons at crematories range from about $10 to $76[7]. The bigger spend comes later, if you choose jewelry: a paw-print bangle bracelet from one crematory network costs $385[8]. Use the table to plan what fits your budget in Hays.
Prices for Hays track the wider Kansas market, so use the Kansas 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.
Landlords, parks and permits in Kansas
Rules in Kansas 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.
Not sure which office covers Hays? The Kansas local government directory is the official list.
The Kansas page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Hays's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
Your paw print plan for Hays
- Mention the print when you book the euthanasia appointment or cremation, not on the day. Ask for it to be written on the aftercare form.
- Ask what kind they take: some clinics do clay only, some ink, some both. If there's any chance you'll want jewelry made, request an ink or inkless version too.
- Ask for two copies if more than one person in the family would like one.
- Ask to see or photograph the print before your pet leaves the clinic, so it can be retaken if it's smudged.
- Check how it comes back: in your hands the same day, or alongside the ashes later, and what name goes on it.
- Keep the paperwork so that, once everything is returned, the invoice, ashes and print can be tied together.
Remembering your pet through their print
Some Hays households want a memorial with a local connection, such as a small slab of the region's cream-colored limestone carved with a name and dates, or a photo taken along Big Creek. Others want pendants or mini urns so relatives on scattered farms can each keep a share. Get the full cost and delivery date in writing, particularly for carved stone, which takes time.
Compare every option on our services page, or see how other readers answered in our polls, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, run the numbers with the free planning tools. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Kansas City, Wichita, Overland Park and Olathe, and every city in Kansas.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
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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
Does the Hays climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 93°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, November and December, when lows sit below freezing, a home burial may have to wait for a thaw, so cremation with ashes returned keeps your options open.
Is Hays big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 7,800 Hays households keep a dog or cat and around 650 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 21,258), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Hays?
Usually yes. Dodge City is about 86 miles away, Salina is about 92 miles away and Hutchinson is about 95 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Is cremation common in Kansas?
For people, yes: about 64.6%[5] of Kansas 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 Hays follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
My pet has been in cold storage. Can I still get a print?
Usually, yes. A pet kept in a clinic cooler or a cold room will have firm pads and stiff legs, so the trick is to warm the clay well and press it gently onto the paw instead of pressing the paw into the clay. Ink works too, with a light touch. If you can, ask for the print before your pet goes into cold storage.
Is it possible to print a guinea pig's or hamster's feet?
Yes, but it takes patience and a light touch. Tiny feet leave only faint marks in ink, so very soft modeling clay or an inkless kit usually works better. Warm the clay well, cradle your pet in a towel on your lap and press the clay gently up to the foot rather than lowering the foot. For a hamster, one clear hind foot is plenty. If your pet is frightened, stop; letting your vet take it after death is gentler.
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 Kansas's cremation rate at 64.6% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] CareCredit's 2025 cost study put the US national average for private dog cremation at $260 (range $206-$473). CareCredit (Synchrony) - How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize a Dog? (2025 ASQ360 procedural cost study), 2025.
- [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] A paw-print bangle bracelet costs $385 and a cremation cuff bracelet $125 at Final Gift. Final Gift Pet Memorial Center – Memorial Products, 2026.
- [9] 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.
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