Dog Ashes Tattoo in Chorley
Key Takeaways
- A photo on the shelf or a collar in a drawer keeps the memory, while a dog ashes tattoo keeps your dog with you every day.
- Chorley is one of the closer places to reach the studio from, around 55 miles and comfortably an hour down the M61 and M6, with no overnight to think about.
- Nothing goes into a back room. You watch a small amount of your dog’s ashes being made ready and watch it go into the tattoo.
- Cremation ashes are not clean, sterile or evenly sized, so a studio mixing them in untouched is gambling with how your tattoo heals.
- A dog ashes tattoo can only be done once, so the question was never who is nearest.
A dog ashes tattoo sets a small amount of your dog’s cremation ashes into the tattoo itself, so that what you carry is a part of your dog rather than a picture of them. Bubblegum Ink ®, in Sandbach, Cheshire, has done exactly this for people across Chorley and the whole of the UK for around 30 years. It is permanent and it can only be done once, which is why who carries it out matters more than anything else.
For anyone in Chorley who has lost a dog, that permanence is the appeal. A photo on the shelf or a collar in a drawer keeps the memory; a dog ashes tattoo keeps your dog with you, every day, for the rest of your life.
A Short Run Down From Chorley
Chorley is one of the closer places to reach the studio from. By road it is around 55 miles down the M61 and M6 to Sandbach, comfortably an hour and a clean motorway run the whole way. There is no overnight to think about and no real planning needed: you come down, the work is done, and you are home the same day. If you would rather take the train, the route runs through Preston to Crewe, which is only a few miles from the studio.
Bubblegum Ink ® is a private, appointment only studio, and even from an hour away people choose it over somewhere round the corner for a simple reason. A dog ashes tattoo can only be done once, so the question is never who is nearest, only who will do it properly. That is what has brought people from across Lancashire to a studio built around this single craft for around 20 + years.
Your Dog’s Ashes Never Leave Your Sight
The reassurance people most want is also the easiest to give. Your dog’s ashes stay in front of you the whole time. Nothing is taken into a back room and nothing is done out of view. You watch a small amount being made ready and you watch it go into the tattoo. The whole point of a dog ashes tattoo is presence, and that begins the moment you sit down.
If handling the ashes yourself feels like too much, you do not have to. Bring the container as it is and the delicate part is done for you, gently and with respect, while you watch or look away as you need.
Why a General Studio Is Not the Same
What separates a specialist from an ordinary tattooist is everything that happens to the ashes before they reach your skin. Cremation ashes are not clean, not sterile and not an even size, and a studio that mixes them in untouched is gambling with how your tattoo heals. A specialist removes that gamble first.
At Bubblegum Ink your dog’s ashes are matched to the right particle size, cleaned, sterilised to clinical standards and cleared of heavy metals and other contaminants before they meet your skin. The reasoning is on the are ashes tattoos safe page, and the way the ink is made is explained on the adding ashes into tattoo ink page.
A Name Known Well Beyond Lancashire
The studio’s reputation reaches a great deal further than the North West. Its work has been featured by the BBC and by national and international press, and the memorial tattoo for Treo, one of the most decorated military dogs of his generation, became one of the most widely shared pieces of its kind anywhere. That story is on the tattooing ashes into clients page. Paul Cutler, who runs the studio, is a multiple award winning artist, though most people still arrive on the word of someone who was looked after here.
Designing Your Dog Ashes Tattoo
No two are alike. It might be a portrait, a paw print, a name worked into something larger, or a small private mark only you will recognise. Whatever you have in mind for your dog ashes tattoo, it is treated with the same care as any memorial piece. If you are still settling on an idea, the paw print ashes tattoo and memorial tattoo design ideas pages are a good place to start, and the main dog ashes tattoo page shows the full range.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get to the studio from Chorley?
About an hour by car, around 55 miles down the M61 and M6, a clean motorway run the whole way. It is comfortably a day trip with no overnight needed. There is also a train via Preston to Crewe, which sits only a few miles from the studio.
What makes a specialist different from my local tattooist?
The preparation of the ashes. At Bubblegum Ink they are matched to the right particle size, sterilised to clinical standards and cleared of heavy metals and other contaminants before being used. A general studio adding raw ashes to ink is doing something quite different, and that is where the real risk lies.
Can I see my dog’s ashes the whole time?
Yes, and that is the point. The ashes stay in view from start to finish. You watch a small amount being prepared and watch it go into the tattoo, and if you would rather not handle them yourself, that part is done for you.
How much of my dog’s ashes do you use?
Very little. Around a teaspoons worth. Bring the whole container if it make you feel better and only a small portion is taken, leaving you the rest. There is nothing to measure or set aside beforehand.
Is this a good first tattoo to get?
It is a meaningful one, and plenty of people who come for a memorial piece have never been tattooed before. The day is calm and unhurried, with time to talk through the design and settle before anything begins.
Do I bring my dog’s ashes on the day?
Yes. They travel with you to the appointment in whatever container they already sit in, and they travel home with you afterwards. Nothing is posted and nothing stays at the studio.
How much gets used?
Around a teaspoon’s worth. Bring the whole container if that is simplest and only a small portion is taken from it on the day.
Whether it hurts
No more than any tattoo of that size in that place. Once prepared, the ashes behave like ordinary ink and change nothing about how it feels. There is more on the do ashes tattoos hurt page.
My dog died a long time ago
That changes nothing. Ashes kept in a normal container do not deteriorate in any way that affects the preparation, so a dog you lost years back can be marked just as well as a recent loss.
Two dogs, one tattoo?
Yes. Each dog’s ashes are prepared on their own and worked into separate parts of the design, so both are genuinely there. Two matching pieces work equally well if you would rather keep them apart.
Looking after it once I am home
The same as any tattoo, and it is talked through and written down before you leave. The ashes tattoo aftercare page covers the detail.
What about a cat, or a horse?
The same process, whatever the animal. See the cat ashes tattoo and horse ashes tattoo pages.
Get in Touch From Chorley
A first enquiry asks nothing of you and commits you to nothing. Whether you want to talk through the drive, the day itself, or simply whether this feels like the right thing, you are welcome to get in touch.
Call 01270 385001, email info@bubblegumink.com, or use the contact page. Bubblegum Ink ® is a private, appointment only studio in Sandbach, Cheshire, with around 30 years behind it. For anyone in Chorley who wants their dog ashes tattoo done by the person who worked out how to do it properly, it is barely an hour down the road for something that lasts a lifetime.
Paul Cutler founded Bubblegum Ink ® in Sandbach, Cheshire. Around 30 years tattooing, roughly 20 of them on cremation ashes work. More about Paul.