Paw and nose prints in Hopkins: a calm guide
Hopkins has an estimated 7,200 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.
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Hopkins, Minnesota
Paw print keepsakes in Hopkins: where to start
Some Hopkins families divide ashes so an adult child in Denver and a grandparent across town can each keep a portion. Others plant a spring tree over part of the ashes at a relative's house with a yard. Ask the provider early for additional small vessels, and for a paw print if you want one, since it's taken before cremation.
With so many apartments and small houses in Hopkins, memorials here tend to be scaled to fit: a slim urn tucked between cookbooks, a pendant worn daily, or a nose print pressed into clay by the door. The crematory's plain container is safe to keep for months, so there's no need to decide while the loss still feels raw, and many people find they choose differently after a few calm weeks.
Supplies are easy to find even in a small town. Air-dry modeling clay, a washable non-toxic ink pad, card stock and baby wipes are enough for a first print. A purpose-made kit is kinder for fluffy paws and cats, but it may take days to arrive, so buy one while your pet is still well rather than waiting until you need it urgently.
Hopkins is home to about 19,523 people, the 63rd-largest of the 67 Minnesota communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Minneapolis, about 7 miles (12 km) away, which is where some providers serving Hopkins are based.
If you want to compare providers, look at St. Louis Park (3 miles, a larger centre), Minnetonka (3 miles, a larger centre) and Edina (4 miles, a larger centre). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
7,200
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Hopkins
How we calculated this
19,523 ÷ 2.5 = 7,809 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 7,200. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
600
Estimated dog and cat losses in Hopkins each year
How we calculated this
7,200 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 600 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.
Where these figures come from: American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
What local funeral habits mean for a print
Cremation has become steadily more common in Minnesota, now chosen for about 68.5%[5] of those who die there, and newer pet aftercare providers have arrived with it. Some offer a 3D scan of the paw or a digital print file alongside the clay. If a provider mentions this, ask whether you'll receive the file itself, in a standard format, so you can take it to any maker later rather than only through them.
We take the Minnesota rate from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It is a human statistic; there is no equivalent pet figure for Hopkins, and we would rather show a real number than invent one.
Seasons in Hopkins and a print that lasts
Winter in Hopkins offers a keepsake many owners overlook: your pet's tracks in fresh snow. On a still morning in January, a line of paw prints across the yard can be photographed from directly above and later engraved or printed, much like an ink print. It's no replacement for a proper impression, but for an older dog who loves the snow, it's a lovely record of an ordinary day.
Indoor heating in January, February, March, November and December makes the air in Hopkins homes very dry, which is its own problem for clay. A print left near a radiator, wood stove or forced-air vent can shrink unevenly and split along the thin toe edges. Dry it in a cooler room, away from heat sources, and lay a slightly damp cloth loosely over it for the first day to slow things down.
Budgeting for a print and what it becomes
If the print is heading for jewelry, budget for the metal rather than the print. By our estimate, a typical sterling silver pet pendant costs about $190[6], and entry-level solid gold pieces at the same retailer cost about 15 times the silver equivalent[7]. Ask any maker in Hopkins whether the quote includes the chain, a proof image before production and engraving on the back, because those three extras are where quotes differ most.
Prices for Hopkins track the wider Minnesota market, so use the Minnesota 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.
What Minnesota allows after your pet dies
There are no rules about taking a paw print; it's yours to do at home, at the clinic or at the crematory. Where Minnesota 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.
Not sure which office covers Hopkins? The Minnesota local government directory is the official list.
The Minnesota page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Hopkins's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
How to make sure a print is taken in time
- 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: rolling the clay, choosing the card color or writing the name.
- Let them press a hand or fingerprint beside the paw if they want 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, and tuck the original away out of harm's way.
- Come back to it later. Some children want the print framed straight away; others return to it months on.
Shelf, wall or garden: where the print ends up
If you own a yard in Hopkins, an outdoor marker has to cope with frost heave and salt spray from plowed streets. Solid granite or cast bronze, seated on a bed of tamped stone, lasts for decades; bargain concrete and resin rarely survive five winters. Renters usually do better with indoor memorials, which simply get packed with everything else when the lease ends and you move.
try the free planning tools, look through our guides and the blog, or compare your instinct with the poll results, Our services overview lays out every option side by side. More local pages: Rochester, Brooklyn Park, Duluth and Minneapolis, the Minnesota overview and every city in the United States.
Reader polls
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When did (or will) you take your pet's print?
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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
How many pet owners live in Hopkins?
By our estimate, about 7,200 households in Hopkins have at least one dog or cat, and around 600 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 19,523, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
How do Minnesota attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Minnesota human cremation rate at about 68.5%[5]. We show it on the Hopkins 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.
Will I have to travel to Minneapolis to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Minneapolis (roughly 7 miles from Hopkins) 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.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Hopkins?
The closest communities we cover are St. Louis Park (about 3 miles), Minnetonka (about 3 miles) and Edina (about 4 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Hopkins too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Can I make a plaster paw cast in cold weather?
Yes, but do it indoors. Plaster sets more slowly in a cold room, and if the water in it freezes before it has cured, the cast turns chalky and crumbles. Mix it with lukewarm water, let it set somewhere warm and never leave a curing cast in a car, garage or porch overnight during a Hopkins winter.
Can I get my dog's nose print?
Yes. Dab a small amount of pet-safe ink onto the nose with a soft sponge, or use an inkless wipe, then press a folded card gently against the nose from the front. It usually takes a few tries. The ridges on a dog's nose make a striking engraving on a pendant or an urn, and many providers take a nose print alongside the paw.
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 Minnesota's cremation rate at 68.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] The typical sterling silver pet cremation pendant costs about $190, based on the middle of three sellers' price points. Our estimate: median of [Urns.com median $129, Memorials.com midpoint of $87.95–$297.95 = $193, Final Gift sterling paw pendant $240]. How we calculate.
- [7] Entry-level solid 14k gold pet-ash pendants cost about 15 times entry-level sterling silver ones at the same retailer. Our estimate: $1,297.95 / $87.95 (Memorials.com starting prices). How we calculate.
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