A paw print to keep, in Montclair
By our estimate, about 14,500 households in Montclair 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
Montclair, New Jersey
Paw print keepsakes in Montclair: where to start
Freeze-thaw cycles on Montclair's sloped yards can shift a garden marker out of line within a few winters. Setting stone or bronze on a compacted gravel pad keeps it steady, and a spot away from the path of snow shovels protects the engraving. If you think you might move, choose a memorial you can lift and take with you, such as a stone in a large pot.
Montclair's older homes, with deep yards and established gardens, give families room for an outdoor memorial: a flat granite stone beneath a flowering tree, a small bench, or a native perennial bed around a biodegradable urn. If you live in one of the apartment buildings near the train, an indoor urn or a framed print does the same work. Nothing needs to be chosen in the first days.
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.
With roughly 39,000 residents, Montclair is the 23rd-largest of the 58 New Jersey communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Montclair are based about 6 miles away in Newark, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
The closest communities we cover are Clifton (4 miles, a larger centre), East Orange (4 miles) and Passaic (5 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Montclair too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
Our estimate
14,500
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Montclair
How we calculated this
39,000 ÷ 2.5 = 15,600 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 14,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
1,200
Estimated dog and cat losses in Montclair each year
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.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry; we only apply it to this.
Cremation habits in New Jersey and the print window
Around 56.5%[5] of people in New Jersey are cremated, a middle-of-the-road rate that means local traditions vary from family to family. Some households want a grave to visit, others want ashes at home. A paw print works with both. It can sit on a shelf, be set into a garden stone above a grave or be engraved onto an urn.
The New Jersey figure comes from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
When the weather works against clay and ink
Plaster and cold don't mix well. Plaster sets more slowly in a cold room, and if the water in it freezes before it cures, the cast turns chalky and crumbles. In January, February and December, mix plaster with lukewarm water, let it set somewhere warm indoors and never leave a curing cast in a car, porch or shed overnight. The same goes for air-dry clay.
With 3 months of freezing average lows, Montclair winters are hard on posted parcels too. If you're sending a clay print away to be cast in metal or scanned for jewelry, wrap it well, avoid shipping over a weekend and send a photo or scan first where the maker accepts one. Then the original never has to leave your warm house at all.
Paw print prices: kits, add-ons and finishing
If you'd like the print framed with a lock of fur, one Northeast crematory network charges $133 for that combination and $23 for a fur clipping on its own[6]. Some water cremation providers bundle a print in too: an Arizona aquamation service includes an ink paw print in individual packages from $75 to $349[7]. In Montclair, it's worth asking every provider what comes with the package before adding extras.
The full price table by product is on our New Jersey 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.
What New Jersey allows after your pet dies
You don't need anyone's permission to take your pet's paw print, and prints, casts and ashes jewelry can be kept, posted or carried anywhere. The rules that matter in New Jersey are about burial and scattering. If you plan a home burial, take the print before you begin; if you plan to scatter, keep some ashes back for a print pendant first.
Not sure which office covers Montclair? The New Jersey local government directory is the official list.
For New Jersey's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the New Jersey guide. Local rules in Montclair can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
What to do first, and what can wait
- If your pet is still with you, don't wait. Pick a quiet, settled moment, perhaps once they've eaten or come back from a walk, and make the print then. Prints taken while a pet is alive tend to come out sharpest.
- Choose your method. Clay if you want something to hold; ink or an inkless sheet if jewelry or engraving might come later. The kit chooser can settle it.
- Trim the tufts between the pads using round-ended scissors, so the paw rather than the hair leaves the impression.
- Hold the leg, not the paw, and press straight down with steady pressure, then lift straight up. Take several prints and keep the clearest.
- Dry clay slowly indoors over two to three days, flipping it now and then, and finish with a coat of matte acrylic sealer.
- Photograph or scan the print flat in daylight. Makers can work from that image, so the original stays at home.
From paw print to pendant, frame or garden stone
The town's artistic streak shows up in memorials too. Some families commission a painted portrait, a hand-thrown ceramic urn or a bound photo book. Custom work can take weeks or months, so ask for timelines up front. Ask for paw prints or a lock of fur on the first phone call, since both have to be done while the body is intact. A framer can later mount a print alongside a favorite photograph.
Every option Montclair families choose between is on the services page, try the free planning tools, or compare your instinct with the poll results, read our guides and latest articles. If you live between Montclair and Jersey City, Elizabeth, Clifton and Trenton, either page applies. Every other community in New Jersey, 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.
When did (or will) you take your pet's print?
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Where would your pet's print live?
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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
Will I have to travel to Newark to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Newark (roughly 6 miles from Montclair) 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.
Why does the Montclair page quote a human cremation rate?
Because it is the best local signal we have. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) reports about 56.5%[5] of New Jersey residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Montclair?
The closest communities we cover are Clifton (about 4 miles), East Orange (about 4 miles) and Passaic (about 5 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Montclair too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Is Montclair big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 14,500 Montclair households keep a dog or cat and around 1,200 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 39,000), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Why do so many owners miss the chance to take a print?
Because a print has a window. By our estimate, around 1,200 dogs and cats die in Montclair each year, many of them suddenly or at an emergency clinic, when a clay kit is the last thing on anyone's mind. Taking a print while your pet is well, or asking for one when you book aftercare, is the simplest way not to miss it.
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 New Jersey's cremation rate at 56.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] 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.
- [7] A Greener Place in Mesa, Arizona, charges $75–$349 for individual pet aquamation by weight, including an urn, nameplate and ink paw print. A Greener Place Pet Aquamation – Pricing, 2026.
- [8] 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 Montclair
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.