Good animal records let you answer ordinary questions quickly. An adopter asks when their new dog last had a rabies shot. A vet wants to know what a cat was prescribed before it came to you. A grant application asks how many animals you placed last year. If your team can answer from one place, your record keeping is doing its job.
This guide covers what to record for each animal, where each kind of information belongs, and what to look for in software that holds it.
What should an animal record include?
Start with the details that identify the animal and explain how it came into your care:
- Name, species, breed or best guess, sex, color, and age or estimated birth date
- Intake date and source, such as stray, owner surrender, or transfer
- Microchip number, if the animal has one
- Photos, including one from the day of intake
- Current status and who has the animal right now
Medical history usually makes up the largest part of the record. Plan to capture exams, vaccinations, procedures, lab work, prescriptions, preventatives, ongoing conditions, and weight. For vaccinations, record the date given, the product, and the lot number and expiration if you have them. You'll want those details if an adopter or vet ever questions a dose.
Finally, keep a history of where the animal has been. That includes each foster placement with its start and end dates, any transports, the adoption, and any return.
Where does each detail belong?
Many record problems are really filing problems. A vaccine gets written in a general note, so it never shows up as overdue. A reminder to book a dental sits in a comment, so nobody owns it. It helps to agree on four places for information:
- Medical records hold formal health history.
- Notes hold observations and discussion, such as how a dog behaved on a walk.
- Tasks hold work that has an owner and a due date.
- Documents hold files, such as signed forms and clinic paperwork.
PawPlacer uses the same split. Each pet has a Medical tab with sections for exams, vaccines, procedures, diagnostics, prescriptions, conditions, weight, preventatives, and treatments, plus separate areas for notes, tasks, and documents. You can attach a rabies certificate directly to the vaccination it proves, so the paper and the record stay together.
Record the date something happened
Software will happily stamp a record with the day someone typed it. That date is useful, but it isn't the date of the vaccine. Make sure your team enters when the care actually happened, especially when catching up on a stack of clinic paperwork.
The same goes for upcoming care. A booster that's due should exist as a dated item that someone can see coming, rather than as a line in a note. In PawPlacer, you can tick Schedule follow-up reminder on a vaccine and set the next date. It then appears on the pet's Medical tab, on the calendar, and in dashboard care widgets. To see everything overdue across the organization, use the Medical – All Overdue Items report.
Correct records without erasing history
Records change as you learn more, and animals change hands. When that happens, the earlier information should stay visible. If a foster placement ends, end it with a date and a reason instead of deleting it. If an adoption doesn't work out, record it as a return so the original adoption stays on file.
This matters most when something goes wrong later. If a returned dog has a new behavior concern, you'll want to know where that dog has lived and for how long.
PawPlacer's History tab combines status changes, medical completions, tasks, documents, and placements into one activity stream for each pet. Team notes always appear under the name of the person who wrote them, and nobody can edit a teammate's note.
Sharing records with adopters and vets
Medical history often needs to leave your organization, so check how easily you can produce a clean copy. In PawPlacer, the Health Kennel Card lets you choose sections such as vaccination history, medications, and weight log, then print the result or save it as a PDF.
Access needs just as much attention. Applicant answers, surrender stories, and internal notes shouldn't be visible to everyone who helps out. Check who can view each type of record, and make sure public pet pages only show what you meant to publish. On PawPlacer's public profiles, medical records, notes, and documents stay private.
Bringing in older records
You don't need to backfill every animal from the last ten years on your first day. Most organizations start with animals currently in care, then decide how much older data they need for reporting and returns.
Clean up what you can before importing. Merge duplicates, agree on one spelling for each status, and note which columns hold dates. PawPlacer's Data Uploader accepts CSV, XLS, and XLSX files and shows you the column mapping and any invalid rows before anything is saved. The PawPlacer team also handles migrations at no charge if you'd rather hand it off.
What to look for in animal record keeping software
When you compare options, use a real animal's paperwork and ask:
- Can you record every category of medical care above, with dates and attached files?
- Do due dates and overdue items surface on their own, or does someone have to go looking?
- When an animal moves to a new foster or comes back after adoption, does the earlier history stay attached?
- Can you control who sees medical records, applications, and notes?
- Can you export your records as a usable file?
That last question is easy to skip. PawPlacer's exports cover pets, people, medical records, donations, and more as CSV files. Ask any vendor to show you the same thing before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How long should we keep animal records?
It depends on your state, your local rules, and any funders or partners you report to. Ask your veterinarian and legal counsel, and avoid deleting records until you know.
Can we still use paper at intake?
Yes. Many teams fill out a paper form when an animal arrives, then enter it the same day and attach a photo or scan. The important part is that the software record gets updated before the next person needs it.
