Free template for shelters and rescues
Kennel card template
A kennel card is the quick read on the door: who the animal is, what staff have observed, and who last updated it. Fill in the fields, print the card, and keep the full record in your system.
- Free
- No account
- Stays in your browser
- Printable
Fill it in here
Everything you type stays in this browser. Nothing is uploaded or sent to WhiskerMatch. The preview below is what prints.
Preview of the printed page
Kennel card
ID
- Species
- Sex
- Age
- Intake
- Source
- Hold ends
- Microchip
- Status
- Color and markings
- Handling notes (observed)
- Feeding
- Review needed / who
Updated by on
Made with free tools at whiskermatch.com. A personal record, not medical or legal advice.
What a kennel card is for
The card gives anyone walking past, staff and volunteers alike, the few facts they need right now. It does not replace the animal's record, which holds everything else.
What to put on it
- The name or ID and species, so the card can be matched to the record.
- Intake date and source, and the end of any hold, if one applies where you work.
- Handling and feeding notes written as observations, not conclusions.
- A line that says whether someone is reviewing a medical or behavior question, and who.
- Initials and a date for the last update.
What to leave off
- Diagnoses and guesses about health or behavior.
- Names, phone numbers, or addresses of owners, finders, or adopters, since the card may be visible to the public.
- Anything that belongs only in the record.
Keep the card and the record in step
- Agree who may change a card and how, such as initials and date on every change.
- When the card and the record disagree, treat the record as correct and fix the card the same day.
- If you use color-coded flags, write down what each color means and where that list is posted.
- Retire the card when the animal leaves, and file or shred it by your own policy.
Common questions
- Is this a medical record?
- No. It carries staff observations and the status of the animal. Medical information belongs in the record, written by the people qualified to assess it.
- Can I use this for animals in foster care?
- Yes. A foster can print a card for the door of the room or crate. See the foster handoff checklist for what else to pass along.
- Do you store the card?
- No. It is created in your browser. If you press Save in this browser, a copy stays on this device only.
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.