Pet ash jewelry near Fort Collins: costs and choices
Around 5,250 dogs and cats die in Fort Collins each year, by our estimate, and many families keep a little of the ashes to wear. Here's what pendants, glass and diamonds cost and how to get one filled safely.
- Pendants, rings, glass and diamonds
- How to mail ashes to a maker safely
- Written prices before you commit
Fort Collins, Colorado
How Fort Collins owners get a memorial piece made
Many people in Fort Collins moved here for the university or for work and may not stay forever, so portable memorials are popular: a compact urn, a keepsake box with a collar and tag, or a pendant holding a little ash. These move easily. If you'd like to add a garden memorial later, you can keep a portion of ashes aside for it.
Freeze-thaw cycles on the Front Range can crack thin materials and shift garden stones, so choose natural granite, concrete or metal for outdoor memorials and set them on a firm, level base. Strong sun at this altitude fades resin and paint quickly. For indoor memorials, a small urn, a framed paw print or jewelry holding a little ash keeps your pet close all year.
Pet crematories serving Fort Collins often cover Denver and a wider area too, so a handful of businesses look after most local pets. That's useful: ask one of them which jewelers their customers have used for filling. They hear feedback, good and bad, that never reaches online reviews.
About 171,500 people live in Fort Collins, which makes it the 4th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. Some of the providers who serve Fort Collins are based about 58 miles away in Denver, the nearest larger centre, so collection times reflect that drive.
Fort Collins sits within easy reach of Windsor (12 miles), Loveland (13 miles) and Greeley (20 miles). A provider based in any of them will usually collect from Fort Collins; ask what the mileage adds to the bill.
Our estimate
63,000
Estimated dog- or cat-owning households in Fort Collins
How we calculated this
171,500 ÷ 2.5 = 68,600 households; × 53% (dog) + 39% (cat) = 63,000. A household with several pets counts once.
Our estimate
5,250
Fort Collins families who lose a dog or cat each year (estimate)
How we calculated this
63,000 dog/cat-owning homes ÷ average lifespan (dog: 12.69 yrs + cat: 11.18 yrs) ≈ 5,250 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.
The published sources behind those figures are 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 covers about 77.4%[5] of human deaths in Colorado, and pet owners lean the same way: in a published survey of 2,043 US dog and cat owners, 68%[6] had chosen cremation for at least one past pet. So ashes come home to many households, and a pendant is one small, portable use for a portion of them.
Source for the Colorado number: NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes a pet cremation rate for Fort Collins, so the human figure is the best local signal available.
Seasons, sweat and cold: jewelry care in Fort Collins
Scarves, thick sweaters and coat zips snag chains, and in Fort Collins'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.
Fort Collins sees average lows below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, and cold shrinks fingers. A ring that fits in summer can slip off inside a glove in January, when lows average about 18°F. If you're ordering an ash ring, measure your finger at room temperature at the end of the day, and consider a slightly snug fit or a ring guard for winter. A lost sealed ring is much harder to replace than a pendant.
What you'll likely pay, from steel to diamond
Buying for a whole family changes the math. Stainless steel pendants start from $19.95[7], so five of them can cost less than a single sterling necklace from the top of the $88–$298[8] range. For Fort Collins families dividing ashes between several relatives, a steel set with one silver piece for the person closest to the pet is a common compromise.
For a line-by-line price table, see the Colorado overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Mailing, dividing and scattering: the rules in Colorado
Wearing ashes is a private choice, and Colorado asks for no permit or form to keep a portion in a pendant or ring. The questions that do carry rules come afterwards: where the remaining ashes may be scattered or buried, and how a portion may travel if your maker is elsewhere. Below is the Colorado side; a postal carrier's own conditions sit alongside it.
To find your county or city office in Colorado, start with the official Colorado local government directory.
Start with the Colorado rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Fort Collins's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
Getting a memorial piece made, step by step
- Take fur now, from somewhere hidden. Snip a little from the chest or beneath the collar and store it in a named envelope; that clipping keeps resin pieces, and some diamonds, possible later.
- Make a print on a calm day. An engraver needs a crisp image; a pet-safe stamp pad, or a pressing in salt dough, provides one, and failing that, photograph the paw pad against something light-colored.
- Tell your vet what you'd like. Have them record on file that you want individual cremation, the ashes back, and a teaspoon in its own bag, so those questions are already answered when the hardest day comes.
- Browse without buying. Save two or three pieces you like and check chamber size and metal, but hold off on anything sealed or engraved with dates.
- Talk to the family quietly. Ask around about who might like a piece, so that when you request a portion it covers everyone.
- Keep it all in one folder. Fur, prints, the maker's details and the vet's notes together mean the order takes minutes when the time comes.
Beyond the pendant: keeping your pet close
Fort Collins has a strong outdoors culture, and many families like a memorial connected to the landscape: a planted bio urn with a native tree, a river stone from the Poudre engraved with a name, or a framed photo from a favorite foothills trail. Plant in spring after the last frost so young roots can settle before the dry summer and cold winter.
look through our guides and the blog, For a plain comparison of the choices, open services, the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, or see how other readers answered in our polls. If you live between Fort Collins and Arvada, Colorado Springs, Lakewood and Thornton, either page applies. Every other community in Colorado, 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.
What worries you most about wearing your pet's 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
Where are the providers that serve Fort Collins actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Denver, about 58 miles away. That is normal for a city this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Fort Collins and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Is Fort Collins big enough to have several pet aftercare providers?
Probably, on the numbers. By our estimate about 63,000 Fort Collins households keep a dog or cat and around 5,250 lose one each year, which is enough steady demand to support more than one provider. We derive that from population (about 171,500), household size and national ownership and lifespan figures.
How do Colorado attitudes to cremation compare?
NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) puts the Colorado human cremation rate at about 77.4%[5]. We show it on the Fort Collins 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.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Fort Collins?
Usually yes. Windsor is about 12 miles away, Loveland is about 13 miles away and Greeley is about 20 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
Why does my memorial ring feel loose in winter?
Cold shrinks fingers, and in Fort Collins's freezing months a ring that fit in summer can slip off, especially inside gloves. Measure your size at room temperature late in the day before ordering a sealed ring, and consider a ring guard or a slightly snug fit if you'll wear it outdoors. Losing a sealed ash ring is much harder to put right than losing a pendant.
Is pet memorial jewelry common in Fort Collins?
We don't have a local count, but by our estimate about 63,000 Fort Collins households have a dog or cat, and around 5,250 of those pets die each year. Even if only a small share of those families choose jewelry, that's a lot of pendants being worn quietly around town. You're far from the only one.
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 Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [6] In a survey of 2,043 U.S. dog and/or cat owners, 68% had made cremation decisions and 32% had made burial decisions for at least one past pet. Cooney KA, Kogan LR, Brooks SL, Ellis CA. Pet Owners' Expectations for Pet End-of-Life Support and After-Death Body Care. Topics in Companion Animal Medicine, 2021 (PMID 33383233), 2021.
- [7] Memorials.com sells stainless steel pet-ash necklaces from $19.95, most under $30. Memorials.com – Pet ashes necklaces, 2026.
- [8] Sterling silver pet-ash necklaces at Memorials.com cost $87.95–$297.95. Memorials.com – Pet ashes necklaces, 2026.
- [9] Entry-level solid 14k gold pet-ash pendants cost about 15 times entry-level sterling silver ones at the same retailer. Our estimate: $1,297.95 / $87.95 (Memorials.com starting prices). 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.