Getting your pet's paw print in Green Bay
Roughly 3,250 dogs and cats die in Green Bay each year, by our estimate, and many owners only think of a paw print afterwards. Here's how to make sure yours is taken in time.
- Prints of senior pets while they're well
- Local finishing or mail-order makers
- Honest costs from real price lists
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Who takes paw prints in Green Bay
Clay paw or hoof impressions, pendants holding a trace of ash, and saplings planted over a plant-based urn are all ways Green Bay owners keep a connection. Families splitting remains between relatives across Wisconsin often order several small keepsakes at once, so no one has to decide who gets to keep the animal. Order them together so they match. Matching sets also make gifts easy.
Green Bay families often mark a loss in ways tied to home and routine. A collar hung on a hook by the back door, a portrait on the living room wall, or ashes kept in a carved chest near a favorite napping spot are familiar choices. No approach is more correct than another, so follow what feels natural. Some owners add a small shelf of framed photos over the years instead of a single item.
Home goodbyes are increasingly common in Green Bay. If you're booking an in-home vet, ask whether they bring a clay kit and whether they'll take two prints, one for each person in the family. Taking your own print the day before, when your pet is calm and comfortable on their own bed, is another option and often gives a cleaner result.
Green Bay is home to about 106,675 people, the 3rd-largest of the 50 Wisconsin communities we cover.
If you want to compare providers, look at Howard (5 miles), De Pere (7 miles) and Kaukauna (20 miles). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
Our estimate
39,500
How many dog- or cat-owning households Green Bay has (estimate)
How we calculated this
106,675 ÷ 2.5 = 42,670 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 39,500. Homes are counted once however many pets they keep.
Our estimate
3,250
Estimated dog and cat losses in Green Bay each year
How we calculated this
39,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 3,250 a year. A floor, not a ceiling.
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.
The published sources behind those figures are Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science and American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry.
Ashes, graves and the print that comes first
Cremation is the norm for people in Wisconsin (about 70.7%[5] of deaths), and pet crematories there tend to offer a long menu of extras: paw prints, nose prints, fur clippings, name plates, photo urns. It's easy to feel you ought to say yes to everything. You don't have to. Pick the one or two things you'll actually look at in five years' time. For many families, that's a clear print and a small lock of fur.
For the Wisconsin 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 Green Bay rather than as pet data.
Clay, ink and the local climate
Snow and ice in January, February, March, November and December can hold up home-visit vets and collection vans around Green Bay, sometimes by a day. If your pet dies during a storm or a cold snap, you may be caring for them longer than you expected. Keep them in the chilliest room of the house, away from heating, on a towel or blanket. Take the print early in that time, while the paws are still soft enough to press cleanly.
Winter in Green Bay brings average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March, November and December. Cold makes modeling clay stiff, so warm it in your hands for a few minutes and roll it smooth before pressing. If your pet has been kept in a cold garage, a clinic cooler or a crematory's cold room, the paw pads will be firm, so press the clay onto the paw rather than the paw into the clay.
Paw print costs around Green Bay, line by line
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 Wisconsin price table on one page so it stays current: see Wisconsin prices.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What Wisconsin allows after your pet dies
Rules in Wisconsin mostly cover the practical side of a pet's death: where a body can be buried, how deep, and where ashes may be scattered. None of it stops you taking a print. It's worth knowing, though, because a print set into a stone often goes where the burial or ashes go, and a landlord or homeowners' association can have its own say.
Not sure which office covers Green Bay? The Wisconsin local government directory is the official list.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Wisconsin level first; our Wisconsin rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Green Bay or your HOA adds anything.
What to do first, and what can wait
- If your pet dies unexpectedly at the clinic, ask for a few minutes before you leave the room. Most teams will give you time and can bring a print kit to you.
- Say exactly what you want: ink, clay, a nose print, or every one of them, plus the number of copies.
- If you can't face doing it yourself, ask a nurse or technician to take it while you wait outside, and to show it to you before you go.
- Get the crematory's name and your pet's reference number on paper from reception before you leave.
- If no print was taken, call the crematory first thing the next morning and ask for one at intake.
- Leave the urn and the other extras for later. Of everything on offer, only the print has to be settled now.
Shelf, wall or garden: where the print ends up
Anything left outside in Brown County has to survive ice, road salt spray and heavy snow. Granite and fieldstone outlast painted concrete by many years. If you bury an urn in the yard, wait for the thaw and choose a spot away from where the plow or the snowblower piles drifts each winter. Solar lights set into the ground will vanish under drifts, so a raised marker is easier to visit in winter.
the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, or look at how readers voted in our polls, browse in-depth guides or recent articles, Every option Green Bay families choose between is on the services page. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Madison, Eau Claire, Milwaukee and Kenosha, and every city in Wisconsin.
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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Who would you rather take the print?
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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
How do Wisconsin attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Wisconsin human cremation rate at about 70.7%[5]. We show it on the Green Bay 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.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Green Bay?
The closest communities we cover are Howard (about 5 miles), De Pere (about 7 miles) and Kaukauna (about 20 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Green Bay too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Roughly how many pets die in Green Bay each year?
Our estimate is around 3,250. It comes from Green Bay's population (about 106,675), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 39,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
How does Green Bay's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Green Bay, with average highs around 81°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Can my pet's paw print be turned into a tattoo?
Yes, and it's a popular choice. A tattoo artist will want a clear, high-contrast flat print, so an ink or inkless print works better than clay. Scan it at a high resolution and bring the file to your consultation. Many people have the print tattooed at actual size, sometimes with the pet's name or a nose print alongside.
Can I get a hoof print from my horse?
Yes. Most owners take one after the farrier has trimmed and cleaned the hoof: pick out the sole, dry it and press it into a thick slab of clay on a board, or paint it with non-toxic paint and press it onto heavy card. Someone should hold the foot steady. Many owners also keep the last shoe and a length of tail hair.
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 Wisconsin's cremation rate at 70.7% 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] 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.
Ask who takes paw prints in Green Bay
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