Keeping your pet close in Colorado Springs: pendants, rings and glass
Colorado Springs has an estimated 180,000 dog- or cat-owning households. When one of those pets dies, a pendant, ring or glass bead lets the whole family carry a pinch of ashes. This is the plain guide to doing it well.
- Honest lead times, from days to months
- Fur, paw print and nose print options
- Options that match your budget
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Local maker or mail-in: the Colorado Springs picture
Pikes Peak rises over every part of Colorado Springs, and many families want a memorial that connects with that landscape. A garden stone of local granite, a tree planted in spring, or an urn by a window facing the mountains are all common choices. Some families keep a little ash in a pendant or keepsake, so the memory can travel with them.
Colorado has one of the higher cremation rates for people in the country, and many Colorado Springs families are comfortable keeping ashes at home or scattering them. Some want to scatter part of a pet's ashes somewhere they hiked or spent time together, such as in the foothills. Check the rules for the land first, since parks and national forest have their own regulations.
If you're in Colorado Springs and want glass, a weekend drive to a studio can be worth it. Seeing sample colors in daylight and asking how much ash goes in, sometimes as little as 1/8–1/2 tsp[1] (per one urn retailer's guide), makes the choice far easier than scrolling photos. For many families, that trip becomes part of the remembering rather than a chore.
Colorado Springs's population is around 494,743, the 2nd-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Denver, roughly 63 miles off, is the closest larger centre, and a share of the providers who cover Colorado Springs run from there.
The closest communities we cover are Fountain (13 miles), Castle Rock (38 miles) and Pueblo (41 miles). Providers serving those towns often travel to Colorado Springs too, so it can be worth asking them for a quote.
Our estimate
180,000
How many dog- or cat-owning households Colorado Springs has (estimate)
How we calculated this
494,743 ÷ 2.5 = 197,897 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 180,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
15,000
Estimated dog and cat losses in Colorado Springs each year
How we calculated this
180,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 15,000 a year. Treat it as a minimum.
53%[2]
53% of US households own a dog, which is about 71 million households.
12.69 years[3]
US dogs have an average life expectancy at birth of 12.69 years.
39%[4]
39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households.
11.18 years[5]
US cats seen at Banfield hospitals have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.18 years.
None of the figures on this this page are ours alone: they rest on American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry and Montoya et al. 2023, Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
What local customs mean for a memorial piece
Cremation accounts for around 77.4%[6] of deaths in Colorado, so the local trade is busy: crematories, funeral suppliers and jewelers all see ashes regularly. For you, that means more choice and some competition on price. It's reasonable to get two quotes for filling and sealing and to ask to see a finished memorial piece the jeweler has made.
That Colorado rate is a human one, published by NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). We quote it for Colorado Springs only as a pointer to how families here already think about cremation.
Heat, humidity and cold: caring for your piece in Colorado Springs
Scarves, thick sweaters and coat zips snag chains, and in Colorado Springs's 5 freezing months you'll be layering more than usual. A short chain that sits under a collar or a pendant with a sturdy bail is easier to live with than a delicate long chain. Check the clasp now and then; winter is when most memorial pendants get tugged off, not summer.
Thick gloves and cold fingers in January make tiny clasps fiddly. If you'll wear a pendant daily through Colorado Springs's winter, ask for a lobster clasp big enough to open with numb hands, or a slide-on pendant that never needs taking off its chain. It sounds minor until a filled piece drops into snow.
What you'll likely pay, from steel to diamond
If a paw print matters more to you than ashes, a custom sterling silver charm made from your pet's actual print costs $143 + chain[7], and paw and nose print pendants at one large retailer start from $99.95[8]. Those can be combined with an ash chamber or worn alongside one. The table shows the rest of the range for Colorado Springs buyers.
The Colorado price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
What Colorado allows with your pet's ashes
Pet ashes are handled very differently from human remains in most places, Colorado included. There's no register, no permit to divide them and no limit on how many pieces you make. Rules only return when ashes leave your home, whether onto public land, into water or into the mail. Here's what applies locally.
Colorado keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Colorado Springs.
For Colorado's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Colorado guide. Local rules in Colorado Springs can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
A calm plan for getting the piece made
- Use a vet where it happened. A clinic on the spot can book cremation at a crematory close by and talk you through the ways the ashes can get back to you.
- Ask how the ashes will travel home. Tracked delivery, collection by a friend or carrying them yourself are the usual choices; each country's post sets its own conditions.
- Keep the cremation certificate with the container. Border and airport staff may want to see it, and certain jewelry makers will ask for it too.
- Leave the container closed until you're home. Setting aside a portion for jewelry is better done quietly at your own kitchen table.
- Pick a maker close to home, which lets you hand a portion over in Colorado Springs rather than putting the ashes in the post again.
- Read up before you fly with ashes. Questions about carry-on bags and security screening are answered in our guide to traveling with ashes.
Sharing the memory with family
Strong sun at altitude, summer hail and constant freeze-thaw cycles can weather outdoor memorials quickly in Colorado Springs. Granite, slate and metal last far longer than painted wood or plastic, which crack and fade within a few seasons. If you plant a memorial tree or shrub, choose a species suited to dry, high-altitude conditions, and plant in late spring after the last frost so it has time to establish.
or compare your instinct with the poll results, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones, See what each option includes on our services page, run the numbers with the free planning tools. Close to Colorado Springs we also cover Aurora, Denver, Arvada and Lakewood; the full list for Colorado and for the United States is a click away.
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.
Who fills the piece with ashes?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you wore something with your pet's ashes, what would it be?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Free tools to help you plan
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Jewelry ash capacity guide
How much ash fits in pendants, rings and glass, and how many pieces one pet can fill.
Ashes sharing planner
Split ashes fairly between family members, keepsake urns and jewelry.
Questions people ask
Will I have to travel to Denver to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Denver (roughly 63 miles from Colorado Springs) collect from here as a matter of routine, and the paperwork is done by email or phone. If you want to be present for a witnessed cremation, that is when the drive matters.
Does the Colorado Springs climate change what I should do first?
Only the timing. In July, with highs near 87°F, cool the body and book collection the same day. In January, February, March, November and December, when lows sit below freezing, a home burial may have to wait for a thaw, so cremation with ashes returned keeps your options open.
Is cremation common in Colorado?
For people, yes: about 77.4%[6] of Colorado 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 Colorado Springs follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Colorado Springs?
Usually yes. Fountain is about 13 miles away, Castle Rock is about 38 miles away and Pueblo is about 41 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Can a jeweler engrave a pendant that's already filled?
Often, as long as the engraving goes on a solid surface away from the sealed thread. Laser engraving produces little heat and doesn't touch the chamber. Hand and rotary engraving put pressure on the piece, so tell the engraver it holds ashes and ask them to check the seal afterwards. Where you can, engrave first and fill second.
Do I need the cremation certificate to order ash jewelry?
Usually not for a pendant you fill yourself or have filled locally. Some mail-in makers and most memorial-diamond labs ask for it, or for a signed form, to confirm what they're receiving and whose ashes they are. Keep it with the urn; it's also useful if you ever carry ashes on a flight or across a border.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] Ashes-in-glass pet memorials use only about 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon of ashes. Funeral.com – Ashes in Glass for Pets, 2026.
- [2] 53% of US households own a dog, which is about 71 million households. American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, 2025.
- [3] 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.
- [4] 39% of US households own a cat, which is about 53 million households. American Pet Products Association (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry, 2025.
- [5] 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.
- [6] The NFDA projected Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [7] 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.
- [8] Paw print and nose print pendants at Memorials.com start at $99.95. Memorials.com – Pet print jewelry, 2026.
- [9] Memorial diamond production takes about 8.5 months on average across three providers' stated timelines, ranging from 4 to 12 months. Our estimate: mean of midpoints: Eterneva 7–10 (8.5), LONITÉ 12, Saint Diamonds 4–6 (5) = (8.5+12+5)/3. How we calculate.
Tell us what you'd like to wear
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.