Getting your pet's paw print in Cheyenne
Cheyenne has an estimated 24,500 dog- or cat-owning households. If yours is one of them, a print taken now, or before cremation, is the keepsake you can't go back for.
- Prints of senior pets while they're well
- Local finishing or mail-order makers
- Honest costs from real price lists
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Paw print keepsakes in Cheyenne: where to start
With a mix of state workers, ranch families and military households, memorial choices in Cheyenne vary as much as the people. Families who expect to relocate often favor portable keepsakes such as a compact urn, a clay pawprint tile, or a pendant, while those on acreage may prefer something placed outdoors. Think about where you'll be living in five years before choosing.
Anything left outside in Cheyenne must stand up to relentless wind, hail, intense high-altitude sun and deep winter cold. Heavy granite, bronze and well-anchored stone weather those conditions; lightweight garden ornaments can blow over or fade within a season. Anyone hoping to plant a tree above a plant-based urn should hold off until the ground softens, which at this altitude is often not before May.
Farm and country homes around Cheyenne often have animals that city guides forget. A horse's hoof print is best taken after the farrier has trimmed and cleaned the foot, pressed into a thick clay slab or painted onto heavy card. Keep the last shoe as well. For chickens, ducks or a pet parrot, very soft clay shows the delicate toes far better than ink.
With roughly 66,507 residents, Cheyenne is the largest of the 10 Wyoming communities we cover.
Families in Cheyenne often end up using a provider from Fort Collins (41 miles, a larger centre), Laramie (43 miles) and Windsor (46 miles). That is normal: crematories serve a radius, not a single town, and the drive is priced into collection.
Our estimate
24,500
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Cheyenne
How we calculated this
66,507 ÷ 2.5 = 26,603 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 24,500. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
2,050
Estimated dog and cat losses in Cheyenne each year
How we calculated this
24,500 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 2,050 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.
Where these figures come from: American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Cremation habits in Wyoming and the print window
Cremation is the norm for people in Wyoming (about 78.5%[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.
The Wyoming percentage above is from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) and refers to human funerals. Treat it as context for Cheyenne, not as a count of pets.
Weather in Cheyenne and your pet's print
Winter in Cheyenne offers a keepsake many owners overlook: your pet's tracks in fresh snow. On a still morning in December, a line of paw prints across the yard can be photographed from directly above and later engraved or printed, much like an ink print. It's no replacement for a proper impression, but for an older dog who loves the snow, it's a lovely record of an ordinary day.
With 6 months of freezing average lows, Cheyenne winters are hard on posted parcels too. If you're sending a clay print away to be cast in metal or scanned for jewelry, wrap it well, avoid shipping over a weekend and send a photo or scan first where the maker accepts one. Then the original never has to leave your warm house at all.
What paw print keepsakes cost in Cheyenne
Engraving is the add-on that surprises people. By our estimate, name-and-dates engraving adds about 36%[6] to the price of a mid-priced wooden urn, and a paw print costs extra again. Before you pay for either in Cheyenne, check your pet insurance: some wellness add-ons reimburse end-of-life costs, and one plan's add-on could pay up to $650 toward cremation, burial and keepsakes[7]. Read the policy wording, then ask for an itemized quote.
Prices for Cheyenne track the wider Wyoming market, so use the Wyoming 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.
Landlords, parks and permits in Wyoming
Burial rules in many places, including Wyoming, 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.
Wyoming keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Cheyenne.
Home burial and scattering are governed at the Wyoming level first; our Wyoming rules summary has the detail. Then check whether Cheyenne or your HOA adds anything.
In order: the print, the aftercare, the keepsake
- If your pet dies unexpectedly at the clinic, ask for a few minutes alone with them before you go. Staff will almost always allow this, and many can fetch a print kit for you there and then.
- Say exactly what you want: clay, ink, a nose print or all three, and how many copies.
- If you can't face doing it yourself, a nurse or technician can make the print while you step out of the room; ask them to show you the result before you head home.
- Get the crematory's name and your pet's reference number from the front desk, written down.
- 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.
Turning a print into something lasting
Wyoming's human cremation rate is close to 79%, among the higher rates in the country, and many people here think nothing of keeping ashes on a shelf or taking them somewhere meaningful. Some families split a pet's ashes so that one portion stays in Cheyenne and another goes with a child leaving for college or service. Tell the provider beforehand if you want several containers.
there are guides for the big decisions and articles for the details, try the free planning tools, or look at how readers voted in our polls, See what each option includes on our services page. You can also browse every city in the United States. Nearby, we also cover Laramie, Sheridan, Casper and Gillette, and every city in Wyoming.
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?
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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
Is cremation common in Wyoming?
For people, yes: about 78.5%[5] of Wyoming 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 Cheyenne follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
How does Cheyenne's weather affect pet aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Cheyenne, with average highs around 84°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, April, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Is Cheyenne big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 24,500 Cheyenne households keep a dog or cat and around 2,050 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 66,507), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Cheyenne?
Usually yes. Fort Collins is about 41 miles away, Laramie is about 43 miles away and Windsor is about 46 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Why take a paw print in Cheyenne 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 Cheyenne has around 24,500 dog- or cat-owning homes and loses about 2,050 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 many households in Cheyenne have a dog or cat?
By our estimate, about 24,500 households in Cheyenne have a dog or a cat, and around 2,050 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 Wyoming's cremation rate at 78.5% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] Name-and-dates engraving adds about 36% to the price of a mid-priced wooden pet urn. Our estimate: midpoint engraving $32.50 ($25–$40) / midpoint wood urn $90 ($30–$150). How we calculate.
- [7] Embrace's Wellness Rewards add-on could reimburse up to $650 toward cremation, burial and keepsakes. Pet Insurance Review - Does Pet Insurance Cover Euthanasia? (Dec 2023), 2023.
- [8] 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.
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