Paw print keepsakes in Orem
About 2,900 households in Orem 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.
- Take the print before cremation
- Clay, ink or cast, explained simply
- Published prices, no guesswork
Orem, Utah
Getting a paw print in Orem: the local picture
Student renters, young families and residents who have lived in Orem for decades tend to want very different memorials. A compact photo urn or a keepsake pendant travels easily if you move after graduation. Long-term homeowners sometimes prefer a garden marker under a fruit tree, a nod to the city's orchard past, which can stay with the house even if the ashes are kept indoors.
With Mount Timpanogos in view from much of the city, some Orem families choose a mountain theme for a memorial: an engraved stone with the peak's outline, or a photograph from a favorite trail framed beside the urn. If you hope to scatter ashes in the canyon or on the mountain, check the rules of the agency that manages that land first, and keep clear of streams and busy trailheads.
Outdoor and barn cats are common around Orem, and they don't always die where you'd expect. If you find your cat in a shed, under a hedge or in a hay loft, bring them inside to a cool, quiet spot and lay them on a towel before you do anything else. A print is often still possible, even some hours later. Clean the pads gently with a damp cloth first, because dust and straw show up in clay and ink.
Orem's population is around 95,214, the 7th-largest of the 52 Utah communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Salt Lake City, about 34 miles (54 km) away, which is where some providers serving Orem are based.
Families in Orem often end up using a provider from Provo (5 miles), Pleasant Grove (6 miles) and American Fork (7 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
35,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Orem
How we calculated this
95,214 ÷ 2.5 = 38,086 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 35,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
2,900
Orem families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
35,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,900 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 Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
What local funeral habits mean for a print
With cremation at only about 46.1%[5] for people in Utah, many pets here are laid to rest in a yard or a field. If you'd like the print to mark the spot, keep the original indoors and put a copy outside. Rain, frost and sun wear away clay and ink within a season, while an engraved stone, a metal plate or a resin cast made from a scan will stand up to years of weather.
For the Utah figure we rely on NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Read it as a picture of local custom around death and remembrance in Orem rather than as pet data.
Getting a clean print in Orem in any season
Home burial in Orem runs to two different clocks. In January, February, November and December, frozen ground can make digging impossible, and some families keep their pet in a vet's cold storage until spring. In the heat of July, burial needs to happen quickly. Either way, the print belongs at the very start: before your pet goes into storage in winter, and within the first hours in summer.
If you've bought a print kit to keep for later, store it indoors, not in the garage. In Orem, a garage can top 95°F in July and drop below freezing in January, and both extremes spoil supplies: heat dries out ink pads and clay, frost splits plaster bags and stiffens molding putty. Check the kit every few months, and replace the clay if it has hardened in the packet.
What owners in Orem typically pay for a print
The print itself is cheap; what you turn it into is where the budget goes. At one urn retailer, an engraved paw print added to an urn typically costs $20–$35[6] and paw and nose print pendants start from $99.95[7]; a custom sterling silver charm made from your pet's actual print costs about $143 before the chain[8]. Custom silver print charms from one crematory network run $290 to $420[9].
We keep the detailed Utah price table on one page so it stays current: see Utah prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What the law in Utah does and doesn't cover
Burial rules in many places, including Utah, 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.
Not sure which office covers Orem? The Utah local government directory is the official list.
We keep Utah's burial and scattering rules in one place: the Utah rules summary. Before a home burial in Orem, also ask the city whether local ordinances add anything.
A short checklist for a clean print
- Mention the print when you book rather than waiting until the appointment itself, whether that's the euthanasia or the cremation. Ask the team to note it on the aftercare form.
- Ask what kind they take: a clay disc, an ink print or both. If you might want jewelry later, ask for an ink or inkless print as well.
- Ask for two copies if more than one person in the family would like one.
- Ask to see or photograph the print while your pet is still at the clinic; a smudged one can then be done again.
- Check how it comes back: with you that day, or with the ashes later, and how it's labeled.
- Keep the paperwork so you can match the print, the ashes and the invoice when they arrive.
Ways families in Orem keep a print close
Dry air, strong sun and long freezing spells are hard on some materials. Anything left outside in Orem faces summer UV and months below 32 degrees, so pick granite, bronze or glazed stoneware for a permanent piece. Indoors the range is wider: wooden boxes, glass art containing a little ash, framed paw prints, or a display case with a collar, tag and favorite toy.
try the free planning tools, Compare every option on our services page, or look at how readers voted in our polls, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover West Valley City, Lehi, Salt Lake City and West Jordan, and every city in Utah.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
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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 Orem?
Usually yes. Provo is about 5 miles away, Pleasant Grove is about 6 miles away and American Fork is about 7 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 Utah attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Utah human cremation rate at about 46.1%[5]. We show it on the Orem 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 Salt Lake City to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Salt Lake City (roughly 34 miles from Orem) 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.
Is Orem big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 35,000 Orem households keep a dog or cat and around 2,900 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 95,214), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Why take a paw print in Orem if I already have plenty of photos?
Photos show what your pet looked like; a print records something you touched every day, at actual size. We estimate Orem has around 35,000 dog- or cat-owning homes and loses about 2,900 of those pets a year. Most of those owners have hundreds of photos. The difference is that photos can be found later, while a print only exists if someone makes it before the body is cremated or buried, which is why it's worth doing first.
How do I get my pet's paw print in Orem?
You have three options. Take it yourself at home with clay or an ink kit, ideally while your pet is still well. Ask your vet or in-home euthanasia vet to take one at the appointment. Or ask the pet crematory to take one at intake, before cremation. Whichever you choose, ask for it in advance and check the print is clear before your pet leaves.
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 Utah's cremation rate at 46.1% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Adding an engraved paw print or symbol to a pet urn typically costs $20–$35. Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
- [7] Paw print and nose print pendants at Memorials.com start at $99.95. Memorials.com – Pet print jewelry, 2026.
- [8] A custom sterling silver actual-paw-print charm costs $143 before the chain (about $59–$79 for silver) and takes about 2 weeks to make. String of Jewels – Actual paw print necklace, 2026.
- [9] Final Gift's pet memorial jewelry runs from a $60 urn pendant to $290–$420 for custom sterling silver print charms, with glass ash beads at $245. Final Gift Pet Memorial Center – Memorial Products, 2026.
- [10] 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.
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