Understanding Pet Statuses
Pet statuses are customizable workflow labels. They describe where a pet is in your process, while foster placement, adoption records, public visibility, and billing limits are controlled by separate status settings on each status.
Manage statuses from Settings > Pet Configuration.
Each status has three important behavior settings:
| Setting | What it controls | Typical examples |
|---|---|---|
| Care state | Whether pets with the status are editable, still in your care, and count toward your in-care pet limit | In care: Intake, Available, Medical, Fostered. Out of care: Adopted, Transferred, Returned to Owner |
| Public visibility | Whether pets with the status are eligible to appear on public listings | Available, Posted, Adoption Ready |
| Ends foster | Whether moving a pet into this status automatically completes any active foster assignment | Adopted, Transferred, Returned to Owner, Deceased |
The status name shown to your team is the readable label you configure. PawPlacer does not show internal status IDs to staff in normal workflows.
Default Statuses
New accounts start with these pet statuses:
| Group | Status | Care state | Public by default | Ends foster assignment | Non-deletable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intake | Intake | In care | No | No | No |
| Active | Available | In care | Yes | No | Yes |
| Active | Fostered | In care | Yes | No | Yes |
| Active | Hold | In care | No | No | No |
| Active | Medical Treatment | In care | No | No | No |
| Outcomes | Adopted | Out of care | No | Yes | Yes |
| Outcomes | Deceased | Out of care | No | Yes | No |
| Outcomes | Euthanized | Out of care | No | Yes | No |
| Outcomes | Transferred | Out of care | No | Yes | No |
| Administrative | Archived | Out of care | No | Yes | Yes |
| Administrative | Other | In care | No | No | No |
Non-deletable statuses are shown as system statuses because other workflows depend on them. You can rename them and change most display settings, but enabled system statuses cannot be disabled.
Status Groups
Pet statuses are organized into logical groups that represent different phases of care. Groups are only for organization, ordering, and reporting labels; they do not control behavior. Care state, public visibility, and foster-ending behavior are set on each individual status.
Intake
- Intake: Initial processing, newly arrived at the shelter
- Medical Hold: Animals requiring medical evaluation before regular care
- Surrendered: Pets given up by their previous owners
Active
- Available: Ready for adoption and can be seen by the public
- Fostered: Currently placed in a foster home
- Hold: Temporarily unavailable (for various reasons)
- Recovery Period: Recuperating after surgery or treatment
- Pending: Adoption is in process but not finalized
Other Statuses
- Stray: Found animals waiting for potential owner claims
- Quarantine: Separated for disease prevention or observation
- Medical Treatment: Undergoing ongoing medical care
- Lost: Pet registered as missing
- Escaped: Pet escaped from the shelter's care
- Returned to Owner: Reunited with original owner
Outcomes
- Adopted: Successfully placed in a permanent home
- Deceased: Pet has passed away
- Euthanized: Humanely euthanized
- Transferred: Moved to another organization
Administrative
- Archived: No longer active in the system but records are preserved
- Other: Miscellaneous status not covered by other categories
Changing a Pet's Status
- Go to the pet's profile page
- Find the current status badge in the profile header
- Click on the status badge
- The status change dialog opens with available status options
- Select the new status
- Add notes when your team needs context for the change
- Review any notices in the dialog
- Confirm the status change
If the pet has an active foster assignment, the dialog explains whether the selected status will keep the foster assignment active or complete it. You can choose Keep foster active or End foster for that one status change.
Automatic Status and Placement Updates
PawPlacer tracks pet status and placement separately, but foster and adoption workflows set the expected default statuses. These are the main automatic behaviors:
| Action | Pet status result | Foster assignment result | Placement result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add or confirm a foster assignment | Status stays unchanged | Assignment becomes active | Placement changes to foster |
| Link an adopter as interested | Status stays unchanged | No foster change | Placement stays unchanged |
| Change to an in-care status like Hold or Medical Treatment | Status changes to the selected status | Active foster assignment stays active | Placement stays unchanged |
| Change to a status with Ends foster | Status changes to the selected status | Active foster assignment is completed unless you choose Keep foster active for that change | Placement returns to shelter if the assignment is completed and no other active foster assignment exists |
| Return or unfoster a pet | Status changes to Available if the pet is currently Fostered | Assignment is completed | Placement returns to shelter |
| Complete an adoption | Status changes to Adopted | Active foster assignment is completed | Placement returns to shelter |
| Return an adoption | Status changes to Available | No new foster assignment is created | Placement is shelter |
For recurring exceptions, use a separate custom status. For example, if an animal is out of normal care but should usually remain with a foster temporarily, create an out-of-care status with Ends foster turned off.
Status Restrictions and Rules
Certain status changes may be restricted based on the pet's current situation:
- Active foster assignments remain attached when pets move between statuses, unless the destination status is configured to Ends foster or you choose End foster during the status change
- Assigning a foster moves eligible in-care pets into foster placement; you can move the pet between in-care workflow statuses while keeping the foster assignment active
- Adopted pets with adoption records cannot be changed until the adoption is canceled
- Archived pets can only be unarchived (cannot change directly to other statuses)
- Pets cannot be changed to Archived if they are currently Adopted or Fostered
Status Effect on Visibility
A pet's status affects where and how they appear in the system:
- Pets with a public, in-care status can be made visible to the public
- Archived pets don't appear in regular searches but can be found with filters
- Fostered, Medical Treatment, and other in-care statuses can remain internal unless you mark the status public
- Only pets with an in-care status marked public in Settings > Pet Configuration can appear in the public adoption gallery
Status Filters
When viewing your pets list, you can filter by status:
- Go to the main Pets page
- Use the Status dropdown filter
- Select one or more statuses to view
- The list will update to show only pets with the selected statuses
Your status filter preferences are saved for future sessions.
Status-Based Actions
Different statuses enable different actions:
- Available pets can be marked as pending adoption
- Fostered pets show foster parent information
- Pending pets can be converted to adopted
- Archived pets cannot be edited until unarchived
Managing Pet Counts
Your subscription determines how many editable in-care pets you can have at one time. Only pets with an in-care status count toward your limit. Pets with an out-of-care status (e.g. Adopted, Transferred, Returned to Owner) do not:
- Out-of-care pets do not count against your pet limit
- Out-of-care pet records stay in your account with their full history
- You can customize which statuses are in-care or out-of-care in your status settings
- You cannot add a new pet or move a pet back to an in-care status if you've reached your limit
- Out-of-care pet profiles are locked from normal editing; only the status can be changed until the pet is moved back into an in-care status
- The pet profile shows a banner when editing is locked because the pet is out of care
Foster Assignments and Outcomes
Foster placement is separate from pet status. A pet can be Posted, Available, Medical, or another custom in-care status while still having an active foster assignment.
Foster assignments end only when one of these events happens:
- The pet is moved to another foster
- The pet is changed to a status configured to Ends foster
- A foster transfer, adoption, or other placement-ending workflow explicitly completes the assignment
For foster-specific workflows, see Managing foster records. For adoption records, see Managing adoption records.
Status History
The system keeps track of status changes:
- Go to a pet's profile
- Review the Activity Timeline in the right rail for recent status changes
- Use status notes and related foster, adoption, or task records for deeper context
Status Badges
Status badges use the colors configured in Settings > Pet Configuration. The same status color appears on pet profiles, lists, filters, and status controls so your team can scan workflow state quickly.
Quick Tips
- Use bulk actions to change the status of multiple pets at once
- Set up automated notifications for specific status changes
- Reference the status dashboard to see how many pets are in each category
- Use status notes to record specific details about a status change