I Turned My Dog Marshmallow’s Noseprint Into a Pretty Pendant

It’s basically a wet Valentine. Heart-shaped, sort of pink, and startlingly cold first thing in the morning, my dog Marshmallow’s nose is the cutest thing ever. It’s not exactly the breed standard for the traditionally black-snouted Jack Russell Terrier, but Marshy has never pretended to be 100-percent Jack. I think her sniffer gets its shape from her American Eskimo Dog bits and its coloring from her Poodle parts.

This interesting combination of dog DNA gave my Marshmallow a unique nose, and now a unique product has given me the opportunity to preserve the beauty of this one-of-a-kind snout. With the help of the Precious Metal Prints Pet Nose Pendant Kit, I’ve immortalized her sweet little schnoz as a silver charm.

The Precious Metal Prints Pet Nose Pendant Kits, $79.99 to $109.99 USD. (Photo by Heather Marcoux)

Available online and in hundreds of retail stores across the United States, the Pet Nose Pendant Kit is basically a little box containing an instruction form and what looks like white and blue silly putty. This stuff is actually impression material used to capture the imprint of a dog’s nose — it’s what you mail back to the Precious Metal Prints folks in Knoxville, Tennessee. They then use the mold to create a pendant in the shape of your dog’s nose.

The Pet Nose Pendant Kit comes in two variations: hand-finished silver and hand-finished gold. The company can do all sizes of pet noses (right up to horses), but notes that when dealing with large dogs, the pendant will end up being about an inch wide and will only capture a portion of the dog’s nose. That’s one reason why I decided to test this product with the smaller of my two dogs. I knew Marshmallow’s cute little nose would be perfectly pendant-sized, but my large Lab mix GhostBuster’s big snout could be a bit of a challenge.

GhostBuster thinks everything in this house is for him, but Marshmallow and the cat have more pendant-sized noses. (Photo by Heather Marcoux)

So after choosing the silver kit for Marshmallow, I followed the super simple instructions, mixing the blue and white impression materials together into a ball before pressing the lump onto Marshy’s (freshly washed and dried) nose.

I had to be quick for a few reasons — the most important being Marshy’s comfort. I didn’t want her to get scared or feel like she couldn’t breathe, so I was lightning fast. Just a second or two on the nose was all it took to get a good print, and I don’t think she even realized I was doing something strange until it was all over. The putty itself also requires a speedy hand — this stuff hardens really quickly once it’s been mixed, so I made sure that Marshy was nearby before preparing the putty for the nose pressing.

Marshy wasn’t sure what just happened, but her nose print turned out pretty great. (Photo courtesy Heather Marcoux)

Once I had a hardened blue lump of blue stuff with an impression of my dog’s nose in it, I just filled out the instruction form with my information (including the optional initials I wanted stamped on the back of the pendant) and mailed it off to the Precious Metal Prints folks in Knoxville. I understand it’s a small business, and it individually crafts each print. In my mind, some jewelry artisan worked tirelessly to perfectly preserve Marshy’s nose between sips of small-batch cold brew coffee.

It takes two to four weeks for a finished pendant to be shipped back to customers, and it is well worth the wait. The finished pendant arrives with a little silver chain, and it really is a great piece of jewelry. The first time I wore Marshmallow’s nose out in public, I got two compliments from complete strangers!

Marshmallow’s perfect nose on the front, and her initials on the back. (Photos by Heather Marcoux)

Dogster scorecard for Precious Metal Prints Pet Nose Pendants

Quality: A +. The folks at Precious Metal Prints call these “heirloom quality,” and I have to agree. This is such a pretty keepsake and something I can see myself having forever.
Style: Like I said, I got compliments from random people the very first time I put this on. It’s unique and eye-catching without being tacky, and the silver tone makes it a neutral piece that goes well with most outfits.
Function: A metal impression of a dog’s nose probably isn’t the most practical item you’ll ever buy. It’s definitely more sentimental than functional.
Creativity: I understand Precious Metal Prints initially sold this kit as a fingerprint pendant before getting requests for pet noses. Kudos to them for meeting the demand.
Value: The silver Pet Nose Pendant costs $79.99, and the gold version will run you $109.99. That’s not bad for a custom and hand-finished piece, when you consider chain jewelry stores at the mall sell mass produced dog-themed items for similar prices.

Bottom line

I think the Pet Nose Pendant is a great gift idea for any dog lover, especially those who have a senior in the house. I can see this being a really lovely way to hold onto the memory of a wet nose after its last sniff.

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