Your Pet's Pawprint in Solid Bronze!
or brass! or copper! or aluminum!


Yes!
I am still making paws for 2024

 

Send me an impression of your dog or cat's paw,
and I'll make it into a one of a kind treasured keepsake

All about Pet-Paws:

A Pet-Paw is a custom solid metal "paw" cast directly from your pet's paw print impression. Pet-Paws can be cast in bronze, brass, copper, or aluminum. Because they are made of metal, they will not break, and they will last forever. A Pet-Paw made form your dog or cat's paw will keep their memory alive always. It is comforting to hold your Pet-Paw and feel the paw pads in your hand. It's like holding your pet's paw again.


Lots of bronze Pet-Paws

 

 

Metal types:


cat#1Brasscat#1CoppercatBronzecatsAluminum

Pet-Paws are cast in your choice of the following metals:

Brass is a bright yellow metal. Golden Retrievers like their paws in brass! Ginger cats like brass too!

Copper is a bright red metal. Great for an Irish Setter or an old Redbone Coon Hound.

Bronze varies quite a bit. The color spans from a yellowish-brown to pinkish-brown. A new bronze casting is always bright and shiny, especially around the edges. Bronze will patina naturally over time to the familiar 'antique' brownish color. Some of our bronzes exhibit a natural swirled petina just after we pour them. Some paws may even show some green coloration. The surface may already be a dark antiquey brown when the sand is cracked away form the paw. Sometimes there are even some orange / reddish hues. If you want a timeless look, then choose to cast your paws in bronze. Most dogs and cats prefer their Pet-Paw to be in bronze.

Aluminum is a bright and silvery metal, and is much lighter than the other three metals - 1/3 of the weight. White cats and Weimaraner dogs prefer to have their Pet-Paws cast in aluminum.

Pet-Paws can also be cast in silver using .999% pure silver bullion. Silver colored Schnauzers really take a liking to having their paws cast in silver! They will settle for nothing less. Take a look at our photo gallery to see more Pet-Paws categorized by the various metal types.


15.4 ounce silver Pet-Paw set

Same silver Pet-Paw set

 

All metal used to make Pet-Paws has been recycled. A lot of the metal comes from old plumbing parts, car parts, lamps, etc. All packing material used to ship Pet-Paws is recycled. Most of this material comes from customer impression boxes that are sent to me.


I use recycled bronze to cast my bronze Pet-Paws.
See the beautiful pink hue?

Here's the brass at the recycle center.
Beautiful shiny bright yellow.

 

 

Paw pads up? Or paw pads down?

Pet-Paws come in 2 styles: imprint, or relief. The imprint style is like a paw track in the sand. The pads and claws are sunken down into the metal. The relief style is like if you were holding your dog or cat's paw in your hand. The pads and claws are sticking up out of the metal. The relief is the default style. When you order a single Pet-Paw, it will be made in relief style. The imprint paw is only made for the Pet-Paw set. It is not sold as a single paw. Pet-Paws are solid metal and fairly heavy. The average weight of a large relief Pet-Paw is 1 lb. Imprint Pet-Paws are heavier averaging 1.5 lbs.


Imprint (left) and relief (right) paw styles



Same two paws fit together as a Pet-Paw set

 

 

Inscriptions:

An inscription is hand written on the back of each Pet-Paw. I can write pretty small, so I can fit a lot on the back of a Pet-Paw. Most customers just have the name for the inscription, but some have more such as, "Forever in our hearts." Dates are also common. Inscriptions can be made on the side (edge) of the Pet-Paw by request. The surface around the edge of a Pet-Paw is highly polished to a mirror finish.


Inscription on the back of Cowboy's Pet-Paw

 


Inscription on the back of Boceefus' Pet-Paw


Cowboy

 


Boceefus

 

 

Pet-Paw sizes:


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Small, large, and giant Pet-Paws

 

Pet-Paws are considered small, large, or giant in size.

A small Pet-Paw is 2-1/4 inches and under. Cats and small dogs have small Pet-Paws.

A large Pet-Paw is over 2-1/4 inches up to 4-1/2 inches in length. Most medium to large size dog breeds have large Pet-Paws.

A giant Pet-Paw is over 4-1/2 inches in length. Very large dog breeds such as Great Danes and Mastiffs have giant Pet-Paws.


A Giant Pet-Paw in my hand from a Great Dane

 

 

Pet-Paw shapes:

The default shape of a Pet-Paw is the contour of the paw itself. Basically, they are "paw" shaped. I follow the shape of the paw about an 1/8th inch out from the edge of the pads and claws. Other popular shapes I make are squares (tiles), hearts, and ovals/circles.


Paw contour shape

 


Bronze heart shaped Pet-Paw set

 


Circle shape around a dog nose

 


Bronze Pet-Paw tile

 

 

Pendants, key chains, and hanging ornaments:

A hole can be drilled for making pendants, key chains, or hanging ornaments. Great for cat paws, small dog paws, noses, and lighter aluminum paws.

 

A Pet-Paw can also be made into a cabinet knob.

 

 



The Creation of a Pet-Paw:

Creating a Pet-Paw is magic. Each Pet-Paw is a work of art made from the 4 elements: Earth, fire, water, and air.
A Pet-Paw transcends through several states of matter during its creation.

Impression: First the paw is a solid in the form of an impression made of Earth (Play-doh, clay, or plaster).

Wax pattern: Warm molten wax is poured into the impression, and the Pet-Paw becomes the liquid "reverse" of the impression. As the wax cools the Pet-Paw becomes a solid once again. The solid wax is the pattern for the metal Pet-Paw. It has been carved to contour around the shape of the paw, and it will be the final shape of the metal paw.

Hollow cavity: The wax pattern is placed into a green-sand mold to create the hollow cavity into which the molten metal will be poured. The green-sand is packed around the wax pattern in a two piece mold. After the sand is packed, the wax pattern is removed from the sand mold. The two halves of the mold are put back together and now there is just a hollow cavity of air in the sand mold where the wax pattern used to be. This hollow cavity is in the exact shape of the wax pattern. It is essentially a paw shaped space of air surrounded by the moist sand (earth and water.)

Molten metal: Fire is used to heat the bronze to its molten state at about 2000° F. The molten metal is poured like water into the sand mold and the hollow space that is the Pet-Paw is now liquid once again in the form of hot metal, if only for a few seconds. Gases escape through the sand as the metal rapidly cools, and the Pet-Paw becomes a solid for the third and final time. This time, instead of clay or wax, it is solid bronze.

Every Pet-Paw is as unique as the dog or cat that it was created from. No two Pet-Paws are alike, even if they are cast from the same paw impression using the same wax pattern. And no Pet-Paw is "perfect." There are many variables involved which include temperature, metal composition, time, and the artist's hand. All these variables contribute to the size, shape, color, and texture of the Pet-Paw. During the casting process small quirks and inconsistencies arise which add to the uniqueness and elegance of the Pet-Paw, such as small pits, lines, holes, or rough patches in the paw. Pet-Paws that are cast from impressions that are too deep have very thick metal, and will usually have a concave area on the back of the paw (the back of the Pet-Paw is "dished in.") This is due to the contraction of the metal as it cools. If the metal is thick, it will contract more. Pet-Paws truly reflect the Buddhist idea, with their "flawed beauty" that nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

 

A Poem About Pet-Paws
Written by AI

In ancient times, craftsmen did create
Bronze dog and cat paws, a sight so great.
With skill and patience, they formed each paw,
A testament to the love for creatures raw.

The dogs and cats, with their loyal hearts,
Are honored in bronze, their strength impart.
Their paws, so delicate, now forever preserved,
A symbol of their bond, and the love they served.

In museums and galleries, they are displayed,
The beauty of their form, cannot be swayed.
Their intricate details, a wonder to behold,
And the stories they tell, worth more than gold.

For these bronze dog and cat paws,
Speak volumes of the animal's cause.
Their loyalty and love, now forever shown,
In bronze paws, their legacy is known.

So if you see these paws, with a gleam in your eye,
Remember the bond, that never will die.
For the dogs and cats, who gave so much,
Are now immortalized, in bronze with a touch.

Do you have a plaster cast or an impression from any of the following animals:
cougar, bobcat, lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, cheetah, wolf, or bear?
If you do, I would love to borrow it and cast it in bronze!
In return, I will give you a free bronze casting from the impression you send to me!

 

Links of Interest:


A sister site to Pet-Paws, because they were both created by the same person.
Yes, Tracy is an artist and a gardener all in one!

 


An offspring of Pet-Paws.
Yes, this is baby Tracy!

 


The story of Star, Sun, and Moon.

 


Tracy's story.

 

Pet-Paws donates to The Wild Animal Sanctuary!

Click on the Tiger!

 

 

Copyright © 2009-2024. All rights reserved.
Pet-Paws | 301 S 10th St., Garfield, WA 99130 | 509-553-3842 | tracy@starsunmoon.com


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