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Five Things to Do with a Pet Paw Print

Five Things to Do with a Pet Paw Print

Creative Memorial Keepsakes Can Help with Managing Grief

The bonds we make with those we love don’t go away when they die. This is just as true of our pets as any other loved one. Their spirit may be gone, but we feel just as strongly connected to them as when they were by our side.


This is one reason that memorial keepsake items can be helpful for managing grief. Healing from a loss takes time, and there will never be a substitute for your unique furry family member. But physical reminders of your pet can help to ease some of the pain of grief by keeping a link to their memory alive.


Best Friends Pet Passings & Cremations offers a variety of pet memorial options for this purpose, from customized urns to memorial jewelry. We also offer ink and sand pawprints with some of our cremation packages.

How Pawprints Can Be Made

An animal’s paw print is just as unique as a person’s fingerprint. It’s their literal mark on the world, and looking at it can be a reminder of the precious memories you’ve shared and the impact they had on your life. 


Your vet’s office may volunteer to make a print for you when your pet is euthanized or passes at the clinic. If not, Best Friends can make one for you before we perform the cremation. We offer your choice of an ink print, which is laminated for protection and ready to be framed if you wish, or a sand print, which comes in a decorative box frame.


We can also create a digital paw or nose print that can be engraved on the jewelry, wooden plaques, and bamboo urns that we offer.


If you’d like, you can incorporate the print into a design or craft of your own making as well.


Creative Ways to Use a Paw Print

1– Framed in a Shadow Box

Your pet’s paw print could be framed on its own or as part of a collage of memorial keepsakes. Their collar or tag, a swatch of fur, a favorite toy, and a photograph are all wonderful accompaniments for a print. You can choose colors for the frame that will match your home decor and hang it on the wall or place it on a shelf or mantel alongside your companion’s ashes.

2 – Tattooed on Your Body

Pet paw print tattoos can be a beautiful and permanent reminder of the bond you share. You could place an outline of the paw over your heart. Did your kitty always perch on your knee? Was your parakeet always climbing your shoulder? You can have their prints tattooed there in their honor. You can make the design as simple or complex as you prefer.

3 – Made Into Jewelry

There are many services and companies who will etch a copy of your pet’s paw print into metal so you can wear it as a ring, necklace, bracelet, or other item of memorial jewelry. Cast resin pendants made from a mold of your pet’s paw are another option. Some designs allow you to add your pet’s name, an etching of your own thumb print, or other customizations. We can engrave your pet’s paw or nose print into memorial jewelry that we sell.

4 – Sewn or Printed Onto a Fabric

You could have your pet’s paw print reproduced onto a pillow or blanket to snuggle up with, or even stitched into a plushie. The design can be actual size or enlarged as big as you wish. It can be printed onto fabric, embroidered, or stitched on as a patch. There are near limitless possibilities.

5 – Made Into a Memorial Marker

If your pet’s ashes are buried in the garden, you might wish to leave a memorial stone or other marker bearing their paw print as part of the epitaph. You can also use a personalized memorial marker as a permanent tribute after scattering their ashes. There are also companies that can turn the print into a pocket stone that you can carry with you wherever you go.

Finding Comfort in Memorialization

Many people find the process of making something creative helps with processing the emotions of grief after a loss. Even if you’re not crafty, the process of picking out a place to display the print and choosing a nice frame, or ordering something custom-made, can serve a similar purpose in giving an outlet for your grief.


At Best Friends Pet Passings & Cremations, we offer your choice of an ink or sand pawprint with all Tribute and Private cremations. The imprint is taken while your pet is being prepared for cremation so that you will always have a part of them to keep with you.


We can also help with other types of pet memorials, from customized urns to cremation jewelry for their ashes. For more information, or to arrange a pet’s cremation and memorial services, we are here for you at (803) 888-7095.

How Much Does It Cost to Cremate a Dog?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
Losing a cherished companion is already emotionally devastating. Surprise expenses only add to your worries. That’s why Best Friends believes in the importance of transparency during this difficult time. We can’t make the pain of loss go away, but we can do everything in our power to make it easier to bear – and part of that means upfront pricing and simple-to-understand cremation packages.

How to Make a Pet Memorial Garden

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
When someone you love passes away, having a permanent place to return to can help ease the feelings of grief and loss. This is as true of our pets as our human family members. A gravesite can be decorated as a beautiful physical memorial of their precious memory.

Why Does Losing a Pet Hurt So Much?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
Heartache isn’t just a poetic turn of phrase. The emotions of grief can be felt in your body: the tightness in your chest, the throb in your head, the heaviness in your limbs. Losing a beloved animal companion can be a mental, emotional, and physical ordeal, just the same as losing any other family member. Pet owners often face pressure to hide or downplay their grief when a pet dies. After all, it was just a pet, right? The fact is that pets are so much more than that. They are constant companions, a source of unconditional love, and a comforting presence.

Is It Better to Bury or Cremate Your Pet?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
The decision of what to do with a beloved pet’s body is a deeply personal one. It’s also not always easy to make in the moment. When you’re faced with a loss that happens at home, or your vet asks about your preference at the clinic, your mind might go blank. Should you cremate your pet? Should you bury them? If you cremate them, do you want the ashes back? Will you scatter those ashes, bury them, keep them on the mantel or do something else with them? These decisions can leave you feeling blind-sided, and you might not know the best way to proceed.

Why Do Pets Hide When They’re Sick?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
It can be nerve-wracking when your fur-baby is seriously ill or feeling the effects of old age. Because they cannot speak to us directly, it’s hard to know for certain how our animal companions are feeling or what’s going through their minds. That uncertainty can lead you to asking yourself a lot of difficult questions.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Adopting a Senior Pet?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
When you’re looking to grow your family, a new puppy or kitten is often the first thing that comes to mind. But adopting a senior pet can be very rewarding. Whether you’re looking to add a second companion or are opening your heart to another pet after a loss, consider inviting a senior pet to live out their golden years in your home.

What is Anticipatory Grief?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
Part of being a pet parent is knowing you will say goodbye too soon. No lifetime ever feels long enough when it comes to a beloved animal companion. Seeing your fur baby grow old and slow down can be painful. Watching them advance through the stages of a terminal disease, knowing you will have to make a choice sooner or later about when to let them go, can be one of the most agonizing parts of pet parenting.

Famous Pet Cemeteries Around the World

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
Pets are family. And when they pass away, we memorialize them for the same reason we do our human family members. Whether their ashes are kept on the mantle, scattered in the garden, or buried in a pet cemetery, laying your pet’s remains to rest is a tribute to them and the lasting bond you share. A permanent memorial or resting place gives you something to visit after they’re gone, and it’s a visible expression of the love and care you feel for them.

A Pet is Never “Just” a Pet

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
“It’s just a pet.” There are few things crueler to say to someone grieving the loss of a furry family member. Yet people are often quick to dismiss the pain associated with pet death. Sometimes when we are coping with the loss, we can even internalize that dismissiveness and feel self-conscious or ashamed of our feelings. This only compounds the pain, adding more negative emotions to an already difficult time. Pets serve a vital role in our lives. They are precious to us. Pets are part of the family. In some ways, they can be even closer to us than many of the people in our lives. It’s only natural that their loss would affect us deeply.

What Is the Rainbow Bridge?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
If you’ve spent much time around pet parents online, you may already be familiar with the idea of the Rainbow Bridge. Perhaps you’ve seen someone say, “Muffin crossed the bridge today,” or seen someone express sympathy as, “Play hard at the bridge, Buddy.” Or you might have seen a motif of rainbows and bridges on cards and memorial items and wondered about it. What is the Rainbow Bridge, and what does it have to do with pet loss?

How Does At-Home Pet Euthanasia Work?

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
The tragedy of pet ownership is knowing that your furry friend’s lifespan will never be long enough. Though their lives are short, our pets pack a tremendous amount of love and wonderful memories into the time we share. And when they approach the end of their lives, we as pet parents can return that love with a beautiful final gift.

End-of-Life Planning for Pocket Pets

By Tukios Websites • September 7, 2023
Small exotics, also called “pocket pets,” may have small bodies, but the love and joy they bring to a pet parent’s life can be huge. Rodents like rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and other small pets like rabbits and ferrets, can be wonderful companions. From their diet and exercise needs to habitat and enrichment, you’ve likely spent many hours researching the best way to care for your exotic pet. But have you thought ahead to what will happen when it’s time to say goodbye?
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