Getting your pet's paw print in Evanston
By our estimate, about 4,300 households in Evanston 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.
- Home kit or vet-taken: your choice
- Tips for heat, humidity and cold
- Ideas for jewelry, engraving and art
Evanston, Wyoming
Arranging a paw print around Evanston
Family ties often stretch across the state line from Evanston into Utah, so splitting ashes is a common wish. A primary urn can stay in one home while small keepsake vessels, a clay print or a pendant go to relatives elsewhere. Ask the provider, before cremation, how many portions they can prepare and whether small containers come sealed for travel.
Snow cover that can last half the year, strong sun at almost 7,000 feet and repeated freeze-thaw cycles are tough on garden memorials. Polished granite, cast bronze and high-fired ceramic cope with that; softwood plaques and hollow resin statues rarely last. If a tree is to grow over a biodegradable urn, a hardy native species and a late-spring planting give the best chance of growth.
Dogs in and around a town like Evanston often work for a living: herding, hunting, guarding stock or riding in a truck all day. Their pads are thicker and more callused than a house dog's, with nicks and old scars that are part of their story. Those details show beautifully in clay. Use a firmer clay, roll it a little thicker and hold steady pressure for a few seconds so the ridges come through.
With roughly 11,705 residents, Evanston is the 7th-largest of the 10 Wyoming communities we cover. Salt Lake City, roughly 60 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Evanston run from there.
The closest communities we cover are Park City (51 miles), North Ogden (52 miles) and South Ogden (52 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Evanston too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
Our estimate
4,300
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Evanston
How we calculated this
11,705 ÷ 2.5 = 4,682 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 4,300. Multi-pet homes count once.
Our estimate
360
Evanston families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
4,300 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 360 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.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science; we only apply it to this.
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 Evanston, not as a count of pets.
Heat, humidity, cold and drying times
Winter in Evanston offers a keepsake many owners overlook: your pet's tracks in fresh snow. On a still morning in January, 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.
Snow and ice in January, February, March, April, May, October, November and December can hold up home-visit vets and collection vans around Evanston, 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.
What owners in Evanston typically pay for a print
Some providers include the print in the package. A Virginia crematory, for example, includes a paw print and a fur clipping with every private cremation package, which run $189–$300[6]. Others charge separately: a Northeast crematory network lists $49 for ink paw prints, $76 for a clay or silver-clay print and $111 framed[7]. When you compare quotes in Evanston, check which approach each provider takes.
The full price table by product is on our Wyoming page, and the services page explains what each option includes.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Burial, scattering and prints in Wyoming
Some towns and councils in Wyoming run a collection service for pets who die at home, usually without returning any ashes. If that's the route you take, a print will be the only keepsake you have, so take it before you call. The notes below cover the other options: home burial, pet cemeteries and scattering ashes.
To find your county or city office in Wyoming, start with the official Wyoming local government directory.
The Wyoming page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Evanston's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
Getting a paw print in Evanston, step by step
- Take a breath. If your pet has just died at home, there is usually time for a print in the first few hours. Lay them on a towel in a cool room.
- Gather what you need: a damp cloth, and either clay you've softened between your palms or a sheet of card fixed to a board alongside a pet-safe ink pad.
- If the leg has stiffened, bring the clay to the paw. Ease it onto the pads with light pressure; don't try to push the foot down.
- Take a nose print too if you'd like one, with a light touch of ink or an inkless wipe.
- Call your vet or crematory afterwards, and let them know a print has already been made so they can skip that step.
- Let the print dry indoors, away from heaters and sunny windows, before you frame or post it anywhere.
Turning a print into something lasting
Evanston's railroad past left a sense of history that shows up in how some families remember their animals: a framed photograph beside an old collar, a name engraved on a flat stone at the property's edge, or a shadow box holding tags and a clay print. With Wyoming's human cremation rate near 79%, keeping ashes close at home feels natural to many.
try the free planning tools, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, read our guides and latest articles, or see how other readers answered in our polls. If you live between Evanston and Casper, Sheridan, Laramie and Gillette, either page applies. Every other community in Wyoming, 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.
When did (or will) you take your pet's print?
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What worries you most about taking a print yourself?
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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
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Evanston?
January, February, March, April, May, October, November and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 83°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Where are the providers that serve Evanston actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Salt Lake City, about 60 miles away. That is normal for a town this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Evanston and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
How many pet owners live in Evanston?
By our estimate, about 4,300 households in Evanston have at least one dog or cat, and around 360 are lost each year. We calculate this from the city's population of about 11,705, the average household size and national ownership and lifespan figures, so treat it as a floor rather than an exact count.
How do Wyoming attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Wyoming human cremation rate at about 78.5%[5]. We show it on the Evanston 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.
Why do so many owners miss the chance to take a print?
Because a print has a window. By our estimate, around 360 dogs and cats die in Evanston each year, many of them suddenly or at an emergency clinic, when a clay kit is the last thing on anyone's mind. Taking a print while your pet is well, or asking for one when you book aftercare, is the simplest way not to miss it.
Who else can take a paw print if my vet in Evanston doesn't?
Several people can. The crematory that serves Evanston 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.
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] Heavenly Paws Cremations in Chantilly, Virginia, sells private cremation packages at $189 (temporary container), $225 (wooden urn) and $300 (wooden photo urn), each including a paw print and fur clipping. Heavenly Paws Cremations – Packages, 2026.
- [7] 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.
- [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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