The animal's name is required. NOTE: We recommend that you do not add extra information to the name field (like ADOPTED or URGENT). The Other Names field can be used for nicknames or name changes.

Enter other names the animal is known by. This field is included in the search, so you can find an animal by searching for this name as well as the primary name. This field is useful when an adopter changes an animal's name, for instance, or when an animal has a nickname. This is a text field.

Choose a status from the drop-down list. You can learn more about animal statuses in the Managing animal status section in this guide.

Enter a summary of the animal's description.  The summary is a short description of the animal and appears at the top of the animal’s web page and in the Pet Adoption Toolkit. This is a text field.

Select the animal's species from the drop-down list.

Enter any color or pattern characteristics that could be used to describe or identify this animal. This is a text field.

Select the animal's primary and secondary breeds after selecting the species. The primary breed is required for all species except dogs.
See the section, Mixed or unknown breed in this guide.

Choose the animal's current health condition from the drop-down list.

Tick the No, Yes, or Unknown radio buttons to indicate whether or not the cat is declawed.

Tick the No, Yes, or Unknown radio buttons to indicate whether or not the animal is altered.

Select the animal’s general color from the drop-down list.  This value is sent to the adoption listing sites. Note that you must first select a species to see the species-specific list of colors.

Enter the animal's specific color. This is a text field.

Select the animal’s coat pattern from the drop-down list. Note that you must first select a species to see a species-specific list of patterns.

Select the animal's ear type, if appropriate, from the drop-down list (used primarily for dogs).

Select the animal’s coat length by ticking one of the radio buttons for Short, Medium, Long, or Unknown.

Select the animal's eye color from the drop-down list.

The General Age field is used by the adoption listing websites. Tick one of the radio buttons for Baby, Young, Adult, Senior, or Unknown to indicate the animal's general age range.

Select the animal's tail type from the drop-down list (used primarily for dogs).

Use the radio buttons to indicate the animal's general size potential, either Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, or Unknown.

Enter a description of the animal into the editor. For information about using the WYSIWYG editor, see the chapter Using the editor.

Enter the reason the animal isn't housetrained (if applicable). This is a text field.

Tick the appropriate radio button for Low, Moderate, High, or Unknown to indicate this animal's level of energy. Note: there is also an Energy level field on the form.

Tick one of the radio buttons for Yes, No, or Unknown to indicate if the animal behaves well around cats.

Tick one of the radio buttons for All, Men Only, Women Only, or Unknown to indicate whether this animal is good with adults and what kind of adults.

Tick one of the radio buttons for Yes, No, or Unknown to indicate if the animal behaves well around dogs.

Tick one of the radio buttons for Yes, No, or Unknown to indicate if the animal behaves well around children.

This is the date that the animal entered your organization. This date is used by reports to calculate the amount of time an animal was in your organization.  It’s also used by the Recent Animals special list.  See Identifying special needs animals in this guide for more information. Use the calendar icons to select the date or type it into the text field.

Enter the date the animal will be available for adoption.  Use the calendar icons to select the date or type it into the text field.
See the section, Using the Animal Available Date for more information about the Available Date field.

Enter your organization's public tracking number or identifier for this animal. Use your Animal Rescue ID Settings to have Rescue IDs automatically generated for your animals.

Select a rescue from the drop-down list of your Contacts if this animal has been transferred to another rescue. You can add a new Rescue by clicking the Add button.

Enter your organization's private tracking number or identifier for this animal. Note there is also a Rescue ID field.

Was the animal stray/found?  Found animals are uploaded to various lost and found websites. Note that this is a required field.

Tick one of the radio buttons for Yes, No, or Unknown to indicate if the animal is up-to-date on its vaccinations.

If the animal was found, on what date was the animal found? Use the calendar icons to select a date or type a date in the text field.

Select the animal's foster from the drop-down list of your fosters. You can add a new foster or manage your contacts by clicking the Add button.  If you enable Public View for the caretaker/foster's Contacts record, the public will be able to contact the caretaker directly for more information about the animal. See the chapter Managing animal caretakers and fosters for more information.

Enter the zip code or postal code for the area in which the animal was found.

Choose the animal's physical location. This is the location of the animal right now, not the location where the animal was found. You can add a new location by clicking the Add button.  See About Locations for more information.

If the animal is a member of a colony (like a feral cat colony), select the colony from the drop-down list.  You can add a new colony by clicking the Add button.

If you want the public to be able to see the animal’s location, select the checkbox for Location Public. This setting must also be enabled in the list of enabled/disabled fields under Animals > Settings > Enabled & Disabled Fields Settings. Note that this is a required field.

Tick one of the radio buttons for Yes or No to indicate if the animal has an adoption pending. Note that this is a required field. See the section Using the adoption pending field for more information.

Enter the animal's microchip number. This is a text field. Note that this is a required field.

Select an online application that is pending or approved to adopt this animal.  See the section Using the adoption pending field for more information.

Tick Yes to allow sponsorships of the animal, and No if you do not want to allow sponsorships.  A Sponsor This Pet link will appear on the animal’s detail web page when you tick yes.  See About animal sponsorships for more information.

Enter the minimum sponsorship amount you will accept for this animal in dollars and cents.

Enter the details concerning the animal’s sponsorship.  This information is shown on the animal’s sponsorship page if you have the Use a sponsorship page for each animal selected on the Animals > Settings > Sponsorship Settings page. Details could include where the money is needed, for instance for vet care or for boarding.

Enter the animal’s adoption fee.

Enter the date the animal was adopted. This date is used by reports to determine how long the animal was in your organization (using the Received Date field). This also helps to sort the Successes page so that most recent adoptions appear at the top of the page. Use the calendar buttons or type the date in the field.

Select the contact who adopted this animal from the drop-down list. Only contacts with the Adopter flag selected will appear in this drop-down list. You can add a new Owner by clicking the Add button.

Enter or select the date that the animal is scheduled to be euthanized or has been euthanized. Use the calendar icons or type in a date in the field.

Enter information about the animal's origin, perhaps where the animal came from or how he/she was transferred to your organization.

Enter anything you want in this field -- the public can't see it. Use this field to record private notes about the animal.

Enter information about the animal's special needs, if they have any. If you enter anything in the Special Needs box, the animal will appear on the Special List for Special Needs animals.  You can learn more about Special Lists in the chapter Identifying special needs animals.

Select the export accounts where you want this animal to appear.  If you do not want the animal to be exported to either of the accounts, click the Unselect link under the checkboxes.

Tick Yes if you want to share this animal with your partners.  Tick No if you do not. See the About Partnerships and Using the Network feature sections of the guide for more information.