Getting your pet's paw print in New Berlin
About 1,200 households in New Berlin 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.
- Nose prints and fur clippings too
- Keep a scan so the original stays home
- Options that serve New Berlin
New Berlin, Wisconsin
Who takes paw prints in New Berlin
New Berlin homes often have room for a memorial both inside and out. Some families choose a ceramic urn on the fireplace mantel; others prefer a framed display of a collar, tags and a favorite photo, or a halter hung in the garage where the horse trailer used to park. Pick something you will welcome on an ordinary Tuesday, not only on anniversaries.
When grown children and relatives live away from New Berlin, a set of small keepsakes can keep everyone connected. Rings or charms sealing in a little ash, some fur set into clear resin, and miniature urns in matching finishes all travel well. Tell the crematory how many shares you want and ask about prints early, because both must be handled before cremation.
One advantage of a town like New Berlin is that people know each other. Your vet team has probably met your pet many times and will understand why a print matters. Small practices often keep a clay kit on the shelf for exactly this. If they don't, ask whether you can bring your own and take the print together in a quiet room.
About 39,953 people live in New Berlin, which makes it the 19th-largest of the 50 Wisconsin communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Milwaukee, about 12 miles (20 km) away, which is where some providers serving New Berlin are based.
Nearby, we also have local pages for West Allis (6 miles), Waukesha (6 miles) and Greenfield (6 miles), which can help if your vet or the provider you prefer is based there.
Our estimate
14,500
New Berlin: dog- or cat-owning households, our estimate
How we calculated this
39,953 ÷ 2.5 = 15,981 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 14,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
1,200
Estimated dog and cat losses in New Berlin 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. The real figure is unlikely to be lower.
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.
To check the figures yourself, see American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Burial, cremation and paw prints in Wisconsin
Because Wisconsin cremates about 70.7%[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 Wisconsin 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.
Heat, humidity, cold and drying times
Winter in New Berlin brings average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March 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.
Snow and ice in January, February, March and December can hold up home-visit vets and collection vans around New Berlin, 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.
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 New Berlin, it's worth asking every provider what comes with the package before adding extras.
Prices for New Berlin track the wider Wisconsin market, so use the Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin that touch on keepsakes
If you might move away from Wisconsin one day, it helps to know that a print, a cast or a photograph needs no paperwork at a border, while ashes sometimes do, and a grave can't come with you at all. None of that should decide your plans, but it's worth weighing alongside what Wisconsin allows, set out below.
Wisconsin keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers New Berlin.
Start with the Wisconsin rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat New Berlin's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
How to make sure a print is taken in time
- For a horse, have the farrier out beforehand to trim the hoof and tidy it up. Clean the sole thoroughly and let it dry.
- Press the hoof into a thick slab of clay laid on a board, or paint the sole with non-toxic paint and press it onto heavy card. Have someone hold the foot steady.
- Keep the last shoe and a length of tail or mane hair, which many horse owners have braided or set into resin.
- For a bird or a very small pet, use very soft clay or inkless paper and the lightest pressure. Tiny toes show best in clay.
- For a fluffy cat or rabbit, an inkless kit avoids ink on fur they'll groom later, and clay shows the long shape of a rabbit's foot.
- Dry and store every print indoors, then take a photo so any maker can use the picture, not the original.
Shelf, wall or garden: where the print ends up
Big wooded lots are common in parts of New Berlin, and they suit memorials that grow. A native oak, maple or flowering dogwood planted over a biodegradable vessel of ashes can become a landmark in the yard. If you prefer stone, granite and bronze survive frost and snow far better than painted materials. Either way, plant or place it after the thaw, when the soil can be worked.
the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones, use the free tools before you ring anyone, or see what other families chose in the poll results, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services. If you live between New Berlin and Green Bay, Appleton, Racine and Kenosha, either page applies. Every other community in Wisconsin, 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.
Whose print are you thinking about?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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
Where are the providers that serve New Berlin actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Milwaukee, about 12 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for New Berlin and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Roughly how many pets die in New Berlin each year?
Our estimate is around 1,200. It comes from New Berlin's population (about 39,953), the average household size, the share of homes with a dog or cat (about 14,500 households here) and the average lifespan. It is arithmetic, not a count, so read it as a rough floor.
Is cremation common in Wisconsin?
For people, yes: about 70.7%[5] of Wisconsin deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in New Berlin follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Which nearby towns can I compare with New Berlin?
The closest communities we cover are West Allis (about 6 miles), Waukesha (about 6 miles) and Greenfield (about 6 miles). Providers based in those places often serve New Berlin too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
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.
How do I get a clear print from very furry paws?
Trim the tufts between the pads with blunt-tipped scissors, leaving the fur around the edge, which gives the print its outline. For cats, long-haired dogs and rabbits, an inkless kit or soft clay often works better than ink. Rabbits have no pads at all, so clay shows the long shape of the hind foot beautifully.
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] 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] 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.
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