Paw print keepsakes in Lakewood: timing, methods and costs
By our estimate, about 23,000 households in Lakewood 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.
- Nose prints and fur clippings too
- Keep a scan so the original stays home
- Options that serve Lakewood
Lakewood, Washington
Who takes paw prints in Lakewood
Because so many Lakewood families move every few years, memorials here often need to be portable. A compact urn that packs safely with household goods, a locket, a slim frame holding the collar and ID tag, or a nose print framed for the wall all travel well. Garden stones, by contrast, stay behind when the moving truck leaves, so weigh that before ordering one engraved.
Families with a service member deployed often want to wait for that person's return before deciding on a memorial or a scattering. There's no pressure; ashes can sit safely in their container for as long as a deployment lasts. Ask the provider to return them in a sturdy, well-sealed box that can go into a closet or storage unit until the whole family is together again.
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 62,755 residents, Lakewood is the 22nd-largest of the 67 Washington communities we cover. Tacoma, roughly 7 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Lakewood run from there.
Nearby, we also have local pages for University Place (4 miles), Tacoma (7 miles, a larger centre) and Puyallup (11 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
23,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Lakewood has (estimate)
How we calculated this
62,755 ÷ 2.5 = 25,102 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 23,000. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
1,900
Lakewood families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
23,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 1,900 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 American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
How Washington thinks about cremation, and why prints matter
Because Washington cremates about 79.1%[5] of the people who die there, many families have no grave to visit, for people or for pets. Something has to take the place of a headstone, and a print does that job surprisingly well. It's physical, it's unmistakably your animal, and it can hang by the front door or sit on a desk. If you plan to scatter the ashes, the print may be the only memorial you keep.
The Washington percentage above is from Direct Cremate (citing CANA) (2024) and refers to human funerals. Treat it as context for Lakewood, not as a count of pets.
When the weather works against clay and ink
Because the weather in Lakewood is rarely extreme, many families choose to say goodbye outdoors: on a blanket in the garden, on a porch or under a favorite tree. If that's your plan, bring a board to work on. Grass and blankets are too soft for a clean print, so tape your card or set your clay on a cutting board or a large book, and have a damp cloth ready for the paws afterwards.
Damp winters in Lakewood are easy on people but can be hard on stored keepsakes. Clay prints kept in a garage or a cardboard box can pick up mildew, and ink on paper can develop brown foxing spots. Keep prints in a living space, not a basement or shed, and store any you're not displaying in an acid-free box with a sachet of silica gel, especially through November.
What paw print keepsakes cost in Lakewood
By our estimate, around 765,000 US families a year[6] are open to a personalized pet keepsake, so providers in Lakewood are used to the question. The cheapest route is a home print, which costs only clay and a card. The next step up is a crematory add-on: by our estimate the median is about $32[7], and a clay paw impression can cost as little as $10[8]. Framing, engraving and silver are where totals climb.
The Washington 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.
What Washington 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 Washington 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.
To find your county or city office in Washington, start with the official Washington local government directory.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Washington level first; our Washington rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Lakewood or your HOA adds anything.
How to make sure a print is taken in time
- Choose one calm afternoon to print every pet in the house, starting with the most relaxed animal.
- Label everything before you start: write each name on the reverse of its card, or scratch an initial into the base of each clay disc.
- Use a separate ink pad or wipe for each animal then wipe each paw clean the moment you're done, so nobody licks ink off a housemate.
- Keep each turn short, no more than a minute or two each, and reward every press with a treat.
- Make a combined piece if you like: several paws on one large card or clay slab makes a family portrait.
- Store the set together and date each one on the reverse, so that years from now none of them has gone astray.
Keeping the print and the memory close
If you do want something outdoors, the South Sound's damp climate grows moss and algae quickly on rough stone and concrete, whereas smooth, polished granite or cast bronze shrug it off. A large potted memorial plant, such as a rhododendron or a dwarf Japanese maple, is a clever alternative for a military household: it can ride along to the next duty station and keep growing there.
the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones, or see what other families chose in the poll results, Every option Lakewood families choose between is on the services page, run the numbers with the free planning tools. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Tacoma, Bellevue, Kent and Seattle, and every city in Washington.
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.
Whose print are you thinking about?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Who would you rather take the print?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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
How does Lakewood's weather affect pet aftercare?
August is the hottest month in Lakewood, with average highs around 78°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Winters are mild, with average lows staying above freezing, so outdoor burial or scattering is usually possible year round.
Is Lakewood big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 23,000 Lakewood households keep a dog or cat and around 1,900 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 62,755), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Lakewood?
Usually yes. University Place is about 4 miles away, Tacoma is about 7 miles away and Puyallup is about 11 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Will I have to travel to Tacoma to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Tacoma (roughly 7 miles from Lakewood) 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.
Who else can take a paw print if my vet in Lakewood doesn't?
Several people can. The crematory that serves Lakewood normally makes one when your pet arrives. A mobile or home-visit vet may carry a kit. A groomer who knows your pet can tidy the paw fur and help you take one on a good day. And you can do it yourself with air-dry clay and a pet-safe ink pad from a craft store. What matters is that it happens before cremation or burial.
How long does a clay paw print take to dry?
Air-dry clay usually takes two to three days at room temperature, longer in a damp spell such as November in Lakewood. Dry it on a wire rack indoors, turning it daily, until it's pale and light all through. Bakeable clay can be fired in a home oven as the kit directs. Seal either kind with a matte acrylic sealer once dry.
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] Washington had a 79.1% cremation rate in 2024, among the highest in the US. Direct Cremate (citing CANA), 2024.
- [6] 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.
- [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] 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.
- [9] The median price multiple of private (ashes returned) over communal cremation across 8 markets is about 2.0x, ranging from 1.25x (Tokyo) to 5.2x (Auckland). Our estimate: median(private_price / communal_price) same weight band: US CareCredit 51-70 lb midpoints (250/75) = 3.33x; Auckland 15-25 kg (445/85) = 5.24x; Norway 1-20 kg (3790/1190) = 3.18x; Singapore 10-20 kg (480/260) = 1.85x; Ontario 25-250 lb (549/279) = 1.97x; Tokyo 20-30 kg (38500/30800) = 1.25x; France 20 kg midpoints (200/95) = 2.11x; Germany range midpoints (270/145) = 1.86x. How we calculate.
Find help with a paw print keepsake
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.