Keeping your pet's paw print in Maplewood, Minnesota
Roughly 1,250 dogs and cats die in Maplewood 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.
- Nose prints and fur clippings too
- Keep a scan so the original stays home
- Options that serve Maplewood
Maplewood, Minnesota
Home, clinic or crematory: paw prints in Maplewood
Every Minnesota winter pushes soil up and down as it freezes and thaws, and a marker set straight into Maplewood lawn will lean within a season or two. Polished granite or cast bronze, bedded on compacted gravel a few inches deep, stays level far longer than resin or poured concrete. Positioning it near a foundation or fence also keeps it clear of snowblower paths and the salty slush thrown from the street.
Maplewood's housing mix, from split-levels on cul-de-sacs to condos near the freeway corridors, means some people have a garden bed and others have only a bookshelf. Memorials here scale either way. A compact urn with an engraved plate, a shadow box holding a collar and a photograph, or a slim pendant all suit a small apartment, while a bench-side stone works in a yard. There is no rush; ashes are stable indefinitely in the temporary container.
One advantage of a town like Maplewood is that people know each other. Your vet team has probably met your pet many times and will understand why a print matters. Small practices often keep a clay kit on the shelf for exactly this. If they don't, ask whether you can bring your own and take the print together in a quiet room.
Maplewood is home to about 40,717 people, the 25th-largest of the 67 Minnesota communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Maplewood are based about 6 miles away in Saint Paul, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Families in Maplewood often end up using a provider from White Bear Lake (3 miles), Oakdale (4 miles) and Saint Paul (5 miles, a larger centre). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
15,000
Maplewood: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
40,717 ÷ 2.5 = 16,287 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 15,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
1,250
dog and cat deaths per year in Maplewood, our estimate
How we calculated this
15,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,250 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.
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.
Local customs and the keepsake you keep
Roughly 68.5%[5] of deaths in Minnesota end in cremation, which often means one family holds both preferences. A grandparent may want the dog buried under the apple tree while a younger owner would rather have ashes on the mantel. If that debate is happening in your house, start with the print. Everyone agrees on it, it has to come first anyway, and it buys you a calmer hour to decide the rest.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the Minnesota figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Maplewood tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Seasons in Maplewood and a print that lasts
Winter in Maplewood 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.
Winter in Maplewood brings average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March, November and December. Cold makes modeling clay stiff, so warm it in your hands for a few minutes and roll it smooth before pressing. If your pet has been kept in a cold garage, a clinic cooler or a crematory's cold room, the paw pads will be firm, so press the clay onto the paw rather than the paw into the clay.
Paw print prices: kits, add-ons and 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 Maplewood, 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.
The Minnesota price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Local rules worth knowing in Minnesota
Some towns and councils in Minnesota run a collection service for pets who die at home, usually without returning any ashes. If that's the route you take, a print will be the only keepsake you have, so take it before you call. The notes below cover the other options: home burial, pet cemeteries and scattering ashes.
The official Minnesota local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Maplewood.
Start with the Minnesota rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Maplewood's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
A short checklist for a clean print
- Decide who will take the print: you at home, your vet, or the crematory at intake. The earlier in the process, the more control you have.
- Tell the crematory in writing you'd like a print, and request a picture of it ahead of the cremation.
- Ask how your pet is identified from collection to return, so the print and the ashes definitely belong together.
- Ask about fur clippings too; many providers can add a lock of fur to the print.
- Plan the finishing later. Jewelry or artwork can wait as long as it needs to; make that choice once you feel ready.
- If you'd like help, send us a few details; we'll write back by email laying out the options.
Turning a print into something lasting
Spring is when many Maplewood families finally plant something: a lilac, a serviceberry, a clump of native prairie flowers set into a biodegradable urn once the frost leaves the ground in April. Others want a smaller, portable token, such as a glass bead with a trace of ashes fused inside, or a framed ink impression of a paw. Any print or fur clipping needs to be requested before cremation takes place.
or see what other families chose in the poll results, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, See what each option includes on our services page, try the free planning tools. More local pages: Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Rochester, the Minnesota 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.
What worries you most about taking a print yourself?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Maplewood?
Usually yes. White Bear Lake is about 3 miles away, Oakdale is about 4 miles away and Saint Paul is about 5 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
How does Maplewood's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Maplewood, with average highs around 81°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Is cremation common in Minnesota?
For people, yes: about 68.5%[5] of Minnesota 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 Maplewood follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Is Maplewood big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 15,000 Maplewood households keep a dog or cat and around 1,250 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 40,717), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
How do I get a clear print from very furry paws?
Trim the tufts between the pads with blunt-tipped scissors, leaving the fur around the edge, which gives the print its outline. For cats, long-haired dogs and rabbits, an inkless kit or soft clay often works better than ink. Rabbits have no pads at all, so clay shows the long shape of the hind foot beautifully.
How do I get a nose print from my cat?
Cats have small noses and dislike being fussed, so pick a sleepy moment. Use an inkless wipe or the lightest dab of pet-safe ink on a soft sponge, then touch a small folded card to the nose from the front and lift away. Expect a faint, partial print; that's normal. Take several attempts over a few days rather than persisting in one session, and wipe the nose clean afterwards so your cat doesn't lick the residue.
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] 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 Maplewood
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.