Animals & intake
Intake
Log a new animal in seconds. Fosterling gives you a few different ways to let AI do the typing -- from a quick photo and voice note to pasted notes -- so you spend less time typing and more time helping animals.
Open the intake form
From anywhere in the app, go to Animals in the left nav, then click AI intake next to Animal Records. The intake form opens as a slide-over panel.
Bringing in more than one animal at once -- say, from your old adoption page or a Petfinder listing? Use the Import button next to AI intake instead. See Animal records for how bulk import works.
A few ways to let AI do the typing
You can fill the form manually or let AI fill most of it for you. There are two AI-assisted paths inside the intake form, plus a separate tool for turning a screenshot or link into text.
Option A -- Quick Intake (fastest)
- 1In the AI intake slide-over, find the Quick Intake card at the top.
- 2Drop in a photo of the animal and record a quick voice note describing what you see -- species, approximate age, temperament, anything notable.
- 3Click Generate intake record. Fosterling transcribes the voice note, reads the photo, and creates the record with species, breed, sex, age, color, and temperament notes pre-filled.
- 4Review the pre-filled fields and correct anything that looks off. AI extraction is good but not perfect — always verify microchip numbers manually.
Option B -- paste notes and extract
Already have notes -- a surrender email, a walkthrough description, a voice transcript? Paste them into the Intake Notes textarea further down the form and click Extract details. Fosterling reads the text and fills in species, breed, sex, age, color, weight, microchip number, and temperament notes.
Option C -- manual entry
Fill each field directly. Required fields are marked with an asterisk. Hover any field label to see a tooltip.
Turning a screenshot or link into notes
There's also a separate Auto-fill from form or post dialog, opened with the Parse with AI button, for when what you have isn't clean text yet -- a screenshot of a paper form, a social post, or a voice note. It turns whatever you paste in into plain text for you to review, which you can then drop into the Intake Notes textarea and extract as above. It doesn't fill structured fields directly.
Intake fields reference
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| species* | select | Dog, cat, rabbit, bird, or other |
| breed | text | Free text. AI fills this from photos or vet records. Mixed breeds are fine. |
| sex* | select | Male, female, or unknown |
| age_months | number | Age in months. For neonates, use decimals (e.g. 0.5 for 2 weeks). |
| color | text | Primary coat color or pattern |
| weight_kg | number | Weight in kilograms. Convert from lbs: divide by 2.205. |
| microchip | text | 15-digit ISO microchip number. AI extracts from vet records -- always verify. |
| temperament | text | Free-text behavioral notes. Populated from AI walkthrough extraction. |
| intake_date* | date | Date the animal arrived in your care. Defaults to today. |
| photo | image | Primary photo shown in the adopter gallery. JPG or PNG, max 10 MB. |
Special intake flags
At the bottom of the form, two checkboxes affect how the animal flows through your pipeline:
- sanctuaryMarks the animal as a permanent sanctuary resident. The animal won't appear in the adopter-facing gallery or be matched to foster homes.
- foster onlyMarks the animal as foster-only (not available for permanent adoption). Shows in the gallery with a "foster only" badge.
Duplicate detection
After you fill in the animal's details, Fosterling automatically checks for potential duplicates -- animals already in your system that match on species, breed, color, and microchip. If a likely duplicate appears:
- Review the suggested match to confirm it's the same animal.
- If it is a duplicate, click View existing record instead of saving a new one.
- If it's a different animal, click Continue anyway.
Lost pet cross-reference
When you complete intake, Fosterling also cross-references the new animal against your open lost-pet reports. If a match is found you'll see a banner at the top of the animal's record. See Lost & found for how to handle matches.
Save and move forward
Click Save intake. The animal is created with a status of In intake and a record page opens immediately. From there you can:
- Add medical records and vet appointments
- Assign to a foster home
- Add the animal to the adopter gallery
- Log behavioral notes
- The AI filled in the wrong breed. Can I correct it?
- Yes -- just edit the breed field directly. AI extraction is a starting point, not the final word. After saving, any field except species and microchip can be edited from the animal's record.
- I don't have a photo yet. Can I still save intake?
- Yes. Photos are optional at intake. You can upload one later from the animal's record page under the Documents tab.
- The weight is in pounds on the shelter paperwork. How do I convert?
- Divide by 2.205. For example, 22 lbs is roughly 10 kg. Quick Intake and Extract details will convert automatically if the source material lists a weight in lbs.
- What happens if I check 'foster only' but later the animal becomes adoptable?
- You can uncheck it at any time from the animal's record (Edit details). The status updates immediately.
- I accidentally created a duplicate. How do I merge or delete the extra record?
- Contact your rescue admin -- admins can delete animal records from the animal's record page (Settings menu, top right). Data from one record can't currently be merged automatically; note anything important before deleting.