Cruelty cases

Opening Cruelty cases

Click Cruelty cases in the left nav (under Programs). Cases are visible to admins and coordinators only -- volunteers and vets cannot access this section.

Creating a case

1. 1
   Click New case.
2. 2
   Enter the case number (from law enforcement or your internal system), date, and jurisdiction.
3. 3
   Add the investigating officer's name and contact, the court date (if known), and the disposition deadline.
4. 4
   Add animals involved -- link existing animal records or create new ones.
5. 5
   Set the case status: Active, Pending disposition, or Closed. Separately, the Legal hold checkbox is on by default -- leave it checked while the case is open.
6. 6
   Click Save.

Evidence, timeline, and custody log

There's no separate place to add entries by hand -- a case builds its record automatically from the animals and dates you've already linked to it, across three tabs:

• Evidence -- aggregates the photos and documents already uploaded to each linked animal's own record. Upload evidence to the animal, and it shows up here automatically.
• Timeline -- built automatically from the seizure date, court date, disposition deadline, and events on the linked animals.
• Custody log -- a system-generated audit trail: case created/updated, legal hold set or cleared, animals linked or unlinked, and status changes. It's not a place for free-form staff notes.

Court date, officer info, and disposition deadline live as fields on the case itself -- set them when you create the case or edit it later.

Legal hold

Animals on a legal hold are marked with a red "Legal hold" badge on their record and cannot be adopted, transferred, or transported. Legal hold does not block emergency euthanasia. To lift the hold, open the case and uncheck the Legal hold field (or close the case) -- there's no separate override flow.

Closing a case

1. 1
   When the legal proceeding concludes, open the case and update the status to Closed.
2. 2
   Animals on legal hold are automatically released. Update their status to reflect their new situation (available, foster, transferred).
3. 3
   Add a closing note summarizing the outcome.

Can I restrict access to a specific case to just certain team members?

Not at the individual case level -- all admins and coordinators can see all cases. If you need per-case access control, contact support.

Can I export a case record for law enforcement?

There's no one-click export today -- if you need to hand over documentation, walk through the Evidence, Timeline, and Custody log tabs directly with the requesting party, or contact support for help pulling records together.

What if an animal on legal hold needs emergency euthanasia?

Legal hold doesn't block euthanasia -- it only blocks adoption, transfer, and transport. No override is needed for that specific action. If the hold itself needs to be lifted for another reason, uncheck the Legal hold field on the case (or close the case) -- any team member can do this.