A paw print to keep, in Boulder City
About 460 households in Boulder City lose a dog or cat each year, by our estimate. A clear paw print, taken at home or by your vet, is often the keepsake people are most glad to have.
- Home kit or vet-taken: your choice
- Tips for heat, humidity and cold
- Ideas for jewelry, engraving and art
Boulder City, Nevada
Getting a paw print in Boulder City: the local picture
Mojave sun punishes anything left outdoors. Painted resin loses its color after two or three summers, thin plastic turns brittle and dark bronze can get too hot to lay a hand on in August. For the yard, engraved granite or local stone holds up, ideally placed where a wall or palo verde throws afternoon shade. Glass, ceramic and jewelry keepsakes belong inside, out of the glare.
Lake Mead pulls many Boulder City residents outdoors, so it is natural to imagine a memorial along its shoreline. The lake sits inside a national recreation area, so contact the park service about scattering before making plans. An easier path: most of the ashes remain on a shelf indoors, and a small portion goes to private land you own, perhaps somewhere that looks toward the water.
One advantage of a town like Boulder City 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.
Boulder City is home to about 14,884 people, the 10th-largest of the 11 Nevada communities we cover. Henderson, roughly 14 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Boulder City run from there.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Henderson (14 miles, a larger centre), Las Vegas (26 miles, a larger centre) and Summerlin (32 miles, a larger centre), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
5,500
Boulder City: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
14,884 ÷ 2.5 = 5,954 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 5,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
460
Estimated dog and cat losses in Boulder City each year
How we calculated this
5,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 460 a year. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
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.
Ashes, graves and the print that comes first
Cremation is the everyday choice in Nevada: about 80.7%[5] of people who die there are cremated. Pet aftercare tends to follow the same habits, which means most pets here end up as a small box of ashes. Ashes don't show a paw, a nose or the shape of a toe. That's a big part of why prints matter so much in high-cremation places, and why local crematories are so used to being asked for one.
Direct Cremate (citing CANA) (2024) is where the Nevada figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Boulder City tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
When the weather works against clay and ink
Strong sun in Boulder City, especially around July, fades ink faster than most people expect. A framed paw print in a bright hallway can lose its crispness within a few summers. Hang it on a wall that doesn't catch direct light, choose UV-filtering glass and keep a scan of the original. And never leave a clay print or a resin cast inside a parked car, a garage or an attic in summer, where temperatures climb far above 105°F.
Hot months in Boulder City 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.
Paw print costs around Boulder City, line by line
A paw print is one of the least expensive keepsakes there is. Many US crematories sell it as a small add-on: one Arizona provider lists a clay paw impression at $10, a nose print at $10 and a laser-engraved paw print at $15[6], and across the US price lists we've checked, paw-print add-ons have a median of about $32[7]. Prices in Boulder City vary by provider, so ask whether a print is already included before you pay extra.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Nevada: Nevada 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 Nevada allows after your pet dies
Nothing in Nevada restricts a paw print, a nose print or a lock of fur. What local rules do shape is where ashes may go, and some favorite places, such as parks, beaches and trails, need the landowner's permission. If that permission is hard to get, a print can carry the memory of the place instead: frame it beside a photo taken there, or have the trail's name engraved under the paw.
Not sure which office covers Boulder City? The Nevada local government directory is the official list.
For Nevada's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Nevada guide. Local rules in Boulder City can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
In order: the print, the aftercare, the keepsake
- Take a breath. If your pet has just died at home, there is usually time for a print in the first few hours. Lay them on a towel in a cool room.
- Gather what you need: a damp cloth, and either clay you've softened between your palms or a sheet of card fixed to a board alongside a pet-safe ink pad.
- If the leg has stiffened, bring the clay to the paw. Ease it onto the pads with light pressure; don't try to push the foot down.
- Take a nose print too should you want one; barely touch the nose with the ink pad or an inkless wipe.
- Call your vet or crematory afterwards, and let them know a print has already been made so they can skip that step.
- Let the print dry indoors, away from heaters and sunny windows, before you frame or post it anywhere.
Turning a print into something lasting
Compact Boulder City homes tend to mean compact memorials: a small urn among framed snapshots, jewelry holding a tiny share of ashes, or a flat engraved stone tucked among gravel and agave. Nothing has to be settled during the first week. Whatever simple box or bag the crematory hands back is perfectly adequate storage until you work out what suits your house and your family.
go deeper with the guides or catch up on recent articles, or compare your instinct with the poll results, use the free tools before you ring anyone, The services page is the place to compare what is included. If you live between Boulder City and Summerlin, Las Vegas, Henderson and Reno, either page applies. Every other community in Nevada, 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?
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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
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Boulder City?
There is no frozen-ground season here; average lows stay above freezing all year. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 105°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
How do Nevada attitudes to cremation compare?
Direct Cremate (citing CANA) (2024) puts the Nevada human cremation rate at about 80.7%[5]. We show it on the Boulder City 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 Henderson to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Henderson (roughly 14 miles from Boulder City) 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.
Roughly how many pets die in Boulder City each year?
Our estimate is around 460. It comes from Boulder City's population (about 14,884), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 5,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
What if my family can't agree who keeps the print?
Take several. Clay can be re-rolled and ink prints are quick, so there's no reason to stop at one. If the original is already made, photograph or scan it and have copies made: framed ink prints, small engraved tags or matching pendants. Our ashes sharing planner can help if you're dividing ashes between keepsakes too.
Can I get a print if my pet is being cremated near Henderson?
Yes. Many crematories take a print at intake and return it with the ashes. But if the crematory is some distance from Boulder City, it's easier to take the print locally, either yourself at home or through your vet before collection. That way you can check it's clear and redo it if needed.
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] Nevada had a 80.7% cremation rate in 2024, among the highest in the US. Direct Cremate (citing CANA), 2024.
- [6] Memorial add-ons at A Greener Place: $15 laser-engraved paw print, $10 clay paw impression, $10 nose print, $5 fur clipping. A Greener Place Pet Aquamation – Pricing, 2026.
- [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] Around 765,000 U.S. families a year are likely open to a personalized pet keepsake. Our estimate: 1.5M pet cremations x 51% interest in personalized memorials. How we calculate.
Tell us about your pet's print
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.