Shelter intake record template
Write down the same facts, in the same order, every time an animal comes in, and mark what is not known yet instead of guessing.
Use this as a paper form, a staff meeting prompt, or a checklist for the field in your current database. It covers facts and ownership. It does not tell anyone how to examine or treat an animal.
Who brought the animal and when
The first minutes of intake are when the most useful context is standing at the counter. Capture it while the person is still there.
- Date and time of arrival, and the name of the staff member recording the intake.
- How the animal arrived: found stray, brought by owner, transfer from another group, or returned adoption.
- Name and contact details of the person who brought the animal, if they are willing to give them.
- Where the animal was found or lived before, in the words the person used.
- Anything the person said about behavior, food, or health, written as their statement and not as a finding.
- Arrival date and time
- Recorded by
Identification
- Species, sex as observed, apparent age range, size, and coat color and pattern.
- Microchip scan result: chip found with the number, no chip found, or not scanned yet.
- Collar, tags, harness, or other items that arrived with the animal.
- Photos taken at intake: whole body, face, and any distinctive markings.
- Temporary ID number or kennel number assigned.
- Animal ID
- Microchip result
What staff observed
Observations are things a person saw or heard. Conclusions about health or temperament belong to the people qualified to make them.
- Visible condition on arrival, described plainly (for example: limping on left rear leg, matted coat).
- Behavior at intake as observed, with the setting (for example: hid at back of carrier, accepted food from a bowl).
- Anything that needs a veterinary or behavior review, and the name of the person it was handed to.
- Anything staff were told but could not confirm, marked as unconfirmed.
- Needs review by
- Unconfirmed information
Known, unknown, and not yet checked
- Mark each of these as known, unknown, or not yet checked: age, vaccination history, spay or neuter status, microchip registry, temperament with people, with dogs, with cats.
- Write the source next to anything marked known (owner statement, prior record, staff observation).
- Never fill an unknown with a likely guess. A blank that says unknown is more useful than a confident error.
- Marked unknown
- Source for known items
Holds and status
Rules about holding periods and ownership differ by location.
- Record the status the animal has right now using your organization's own status names.
- If a holding period applies where you work, write the date it ends and who confirmed the rule.
- Note any request from an owner, officer, or partner group that affects what can happen next.
- Current status
- Hold ends (if any)
Next steps and owner
- List the next three actions and give each one a named person and a day.
- Say where the animal is housed and who is checking on them today.
- Decide who updates the record if something changes tonight.
- Next action and owner
- Housing and check-in
Common questions
- Is this a legal intake form?
- No. It is a general working template. Your organization, your local rules, and your records system decide which fields are required where you work.
- Why mark things as unknown instead of leaving them blank?
- A blank can mean nobody asked or nobody knows. Writing unknown, or not yet checked, tells the next person which one it is.
- Can I copy this into my own spreadsheet or database?
- Yes. The sections map to ordinary fields. Print it, copy the headings, or use it as a checklist for what your current system should capture.
Early access, founder-led
Keep this with the animal record.
WhiskerMatch is one record per animal that intake, foster, adoption review, and public profiles share. It starts with one workflow, beside the tools you already use, and a person at your organization makes every decision.
$20/month per organization, no seat limits. This is a founder-led early access invitation with no deadline. Writing to ask a question costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Want to look first? Walk through the guided demo.