The animal status is a field can be used to reflect the changes as an animal moves through your organization. For example, an animal may be listed as Hold (for medical or training), then changed to Available (for adoption), and then Adopted.
Where do I find it?
You can set your public animal statuses by going to Animals > Settings > Public Statuses.
On this page:
Public vs Private Statuses
Any status that has been marked as Public may be shared through the RescueGroups.org API and FTP exports to other websites and users. By default, the only statuses that are public are Available and Adopted. You can confirm which statuses have been set to Public by going to Animals > Settings and selecting Public Statuses.
What statuses are exported?
Organizations can make any animal status public. If you make a status public, then it allows animals with that status to be exported through our Pet Adoption Toolkit and API (listed under API exports by going to Animals > Exports). In the case of the services that use data from our API, it's then up to that service what animal statuses they want to bring into their system. Only specific statuses are exported to Petfinder.com and Adopt-a-Pet.com. Specifically, the Available status is exported, and Adopted status can be exported if the option in Animal Settings is enabled.
Making a status public
Remember, public statuses are those that allow sites to access that data via our API (see our What Statuses are Exported Section? above). You can make any animal status public, except for Deleted.
To select those statuses to make public:
- Go to Animals > Settings.
- Select Public Statuses from the list at the top or on the page.
- Simply tick off the checkbox next to the status which you want to make available to the public.
- Click Save.
Active Status List
Available
Domestication
Foster
Hold
Intake
Not Available
Pending
Sponsorship
Treatment
All other statuses are considered inactive.
Active vs Inactive Statuses
RescueGroups.org would recommend that you use an Active status to identify animals that are currently in the care of your organization (including your volunteers). Once an animal's care is no longer the sole responsibility of your organization, an Inactive status should be used.
In the RescueGroups.org Animal list (Animals > Animal List), you'll find that the Default view shows all animals with an active animal status.
Detailed information on Animal Statuses
This is a description of animal statuses and how they are commonly used by our organizations. Your organization can decide how best to use these statuses for your needs, but it is important for your team members to all be consistent and be aware of how these statuses are shared. You can make any status (other than Deleted) available publicly via the RescueGroups.org API. Statuses marked No in the Active? column below are considered Inactive.
Status | Active? | Description |
|---|---|---|
Adopted | No | The animal will appear on the Successes web page (if you have the Website Service) and will be listed on the adopted pets lists on the adoption listing websites (as appropriate for your organization’s settings). Adopted pets within the past six months export to Petfinder by default. However, you can disable this setting under Animals > Settings > Export Settings. Adopted pets are also available through the RescueGroups.org API for use by developers. |
Available | Yes | The animal is available for adoption and will appear on the Animal List and Animal Browse web pages or be exported according to your organization’s service configuration. On adoption listing websites, this status is listed as either Available or Adoptable, depending on their configuration. |
Deleted | No | Animal records that were made by accident, duplicated, or imported but are no longer needed can be deleted. Be aware that RescueGroups.org automatically purges deleted animal records that have been deleted for over 30 days. When you delete an animal record, you are indicating that the animal record is no longer needed and is ready to be removed from the RescueGroups.org system (including pictures and all other related information). Deleted information will appear on the Data Recovery page for 30 days and then it will be permanently purged from the database. |
Domestication | No | Rarely used status. Organizations most often use this status to indicate feral animals that they are helping to domesticate. Please be aware that this status will prevent these animals from being shared as Available on most adoption websites. |
Euthanized | No | Typically used to identify animals that were euthanized while in your organization's care. |
Foster | Yes | Some organizations use this to identify animals being fostered. We don't usually recommend the use of this status, as an animal with this status is not shared to many adoption websites. Instead we recommend listing the animal as Available and then using the foster contact and location fields to indicate it is being fostered. |
Free Roaming | No | Typically used to identify feral animals that are not in your organization's care, but for which you may regularly monitor - such as cat colonies |
Hold | Yes | A generic status typically used to identify animals that are actively in your organization's care, but for which the other active statuses do not apply. |
Intake | Yes | Typically used for animals that have just been received by your organization and are undergoing various intake procedures prior to being available for adoption. |
Not Available | No | Generic status typically used to identify animals that are not actively in your organization's care, but for which the other inactive statuses do not apply |
Passed Away | No | Typically used to identify animals that have died, either in your organization's care or not. |
Pending | Yes | This status is used to identify an animal that has a pending adoption. Most organizations use this to quickly remove an animal from adoption listing websites once an application is being processed, while the animal is still in the organization's care. |
Reclaimed | No | Typically used to identify animals that have been reclaimed by their owner after an animal was lost. |
Released | No | Typically used to identify animals that have been released into the community, for example feral or barn cat releases. |
Returned | No | Organizations have used this status in a variety of ways, including returning a TNR animal to their colony. This is an inactive status and so should not be used to identify animals that are actively in your care. |
Sponsorship | Yes | Indicates that an animal can be sponsored, but usually not available for adoption. You can learn more about sponsorships in the Sponsorships section of this User Guide. Note: These pets are not exported. |
Stolen | No | Typically used to identify an animal that was stolen while in the organization's care. |
Strayed | No | Typically used to identify an animal that was lost while in the organization's care. |
Transferred | No | This status indicates that an animal was transferred to the care of another organization. |
Treatment | Yes | This status can be used to indicate that an animal in your organization's care is actively undergoing medical or therapy treatments and is not currently available for adoption. |
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