A paw print to keep, in Apex
About 2,450 households in Apex 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
Apex, North Carolina
How owners in Apex get a paw print
Many Apex households have moved here in the last decade or two and may move again, so portable memorials make sense. A good-sized urn for the bookshelf, a small keepsake for a relative, or jewelry holding a little ash can all travel. A garden stone or tree is lovely if you plan to stay, but think about whether you would want to leave it behind.
HOA rules in Apex subdivisions sometimes limit what can go in a front yard, but they rarely touch the back garden or the inside of your home. A flat engraved stone in a flower bed, a memorial bench on a patio, or a framed paw print in the hallway are all options that usually avoid covenant trouble. Ask your HOA if you are unsure.
There may be no ceramic studio or engraver in Apex, but that matters less than it used to. Most jewelry, engraving and print-art makers work from a photo or scan of the print, sent by email, and post the finished piece back. Photograph your print flat in daylight, keep the original safe at home and shop around online without sending anything irreplaceable.
About 80,419 people live in Apex, which makes it the 14th-largest of the 64 North Carolina communities we cover. Raleigh, roughly 14 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Apex run from there.
Nearby, we also have local pages for Cary (5 miles, a larger centre), Holly Springs (5 miles) and Morrisville (8 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
29,500
How many dog- or cat-owning households Apex has (estimate)
How we calculated this
80,419 ÷ 2.5 = 32,168 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 29,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
2,450
dog and cat deaths per year in Apex, our estimate
How we calculated this
29,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,450 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.
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.
Burial, cremation and paw prints in North Carolina
In North Carolina, about 57.3%[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.
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) is where the North Carolina figure comes from. It counts people; we use it because attitudes to cremating a pet in Apex tend to follow attitudes to cremation generally.
Seasons in Apex and a print that lasts
Strong sun in Apex, 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 91°F.
If your pet dies at home during June, July and August, keeping them cool comes first and the print second. Move them to the coolest room, lay them on a towel over a hard floor and take the print within the first few hours, before the body stiffens. If collection is coming soon, ask the team to wait while you finish, or ask the crematory to take the print at intake.
Paw print costs around Apex, line by line
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 Apex 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 Apex track the wider North Carolina market, so use the North Carolina 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.
Rules in North Carolina that touch on keepsakes
Burial rules in many places, including North Carolina, exist partly because the drugs used in euthanasia stay in the body and can harm wildlife or other pets that dig. A print carries none of those concerns, which is why no one regulates it. If you're choosing between a home burial and cremation, the notes below cover what's allowed here; take the print before either.
The official North Carolina local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Apex.
The North Carolina page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Apex's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
A short checklist for a clean print
- If your pet is still with you, don't wait. Take a print on a calm, good day, after a meal or a walk, when your pet is relaxed. A print from a living pet is usually the clearest.
- Choose your method. Clay for something to hold, ink or inkless paper for engraving and jewelry later. Our kit chooser helps you decide.
- 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, push down evenly in one motion, and raise it again without sliding. Make a few attempts and choose the sharpest one.
- Dry clay slowly indoors for two or three days, turning it, then seal it with a matte acrylic sealer.
- Photograph or scan the print flat in daylight. Most makers only need the image, so the original never leaves home.
Turning a print into something lasting
Jordan Lake lies a short drive west of Apex, and the American Tobacco Trail runs through the area, so outdoor places with personal meaning are close. If you scatter ashes somewhere public, choose a quiet moment, keep it discreet, and check the managing agency's guidance. Keeping a small portion back for a keepsake at home gives you something to hold on later anniversaries.
For a plain comparison of the choices, open services, or compare your instinct with the poll results, use the free tools before you ring anyone, there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details. If you live between Apex and Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Fayetteville, either page applies. Every other community in North Carolina, and all of the United States, is listed too.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
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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
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Apex?
Usually yes. Cary is about 5 miles away, Holly Springs is about 5 miles away and Morrisville is about 8 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
How do North Carolina attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the North Carolina human cremation rate at about 57.3%[5]. We show it on the Apex 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.
How does Apex's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Apex, with average highs around 91°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Will I have to travel to Raleigh to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Raleigh (roughly 14 miles from Apex) 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 is my clay paw print still soft days later?
Humidity slows air-dry clay a lot. In a damp spell, a print that feels firm on top can stay soft underneath for days. Keep it indoors on a wire rack, turn it every day and wait until it's pale and light all through before sealing. Don't put air-dry clay in the oven unless the kit says it's bakeable, or it can crack.
How many households in Apex have a dog or cat?
By our estimate, about 29,500 households in Apex have a dog or a cat, and around 2,450 dogs and cats are lost there each year. We calculate this from the city's population, average household size and national pet ownership and lifespan figures. The method is shown on this page.
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 North Carolina's cremation rate at 57.3% 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.
- [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.
Get paw print options in Apex
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