Lost & found

Opening the hub

Click Lost & found in the left nav (listed under the Reports section). The hub opens to the Found view by default -- use the view dropdown at the top to switch between the five views: Found, Lost, Matches, Reunions, and Flagged.

Found view -- reviewing incoming reports

The Found view shows found-animal reports submitted by the public through your public portal or directly to Fosterling. Each report is a draft -- it hasn't been published yet and hasn't been added to your animal records.

To review a found report:

1. 1
   Click a report card to open it. You'll see the finder's description, photo (if provided), location, and contact info.
2. 2
   Edit any fields if the description is unclear or needs correction.
3. 3
   Choose one of three actions:

   • Approve -- publishes the report on your lost & found board and cross-references it against open lost cases.
   • Convert to animal record -- if the found animal came to you physically, create a full intake record from this report.
   • Discard -- removes the draft (spam, duplicate, or out-of-area).

Lost view -- open lost-pet cases

The Lost view lists all open lost-pet reports your team has logged or that have come in from the public. Each entry shows the pet's description, owner info, date lost, and last known location.

To report a lost pet:

1. 1
   Click Report lost pet in the top-right of the Lost view.
2. 2
   Fill in the pet description, owner name and contact, date lost, and last-known location.
3. 3
   Click Save. The case is added to the Lost view. Cross-referencing against found reports isn't automatic -- run it from the case with the Cross-reference button (see below).

To update or close a case:

1. 1
   Click a lost-pet card to open it.
2. 2
   To update the status (e.g., "Reunited"), click Update status and choose the new status. Reunited is a status you set yourself -- confirming a match (below) doesn't set it for you.
3. 3
   Closed cases are archived and no longer appear in the active Lost view, but are searchable in the archive.

Matches view -- scoring and AI re-rank

Cross-referencing lost and found reports is a two-step process, and the two steps do different things:

1. 1
   Open a lost-pet case and click Cross-reference (the lightning-bolt icon). This is a plain rule-based scoring pass -- species, breed, color, location, and dates -- with no AI involved. It produces a raw numeric score for every open found report.
2. 2
   Switch to the Matches view and click AI re-rank (the brain icon) to have the model assess the matches that haven't been AI-scored yet. It runs in small batches (around 8 at a time), not all pending matches at once -- run it again if you have a large backlog. Once a match has been re-ranked, it shows a separate AI-confidence badge alongside its raw score.
3. 3
   Review each match in the Matches view. Click Confirm reunion to mark the lost case as matched, or Dismiss to rule it out.

Confirming a match only updates the lost case's status to "matched" -- it doesn't touch the found report. Once the reunion is actually complete, go back to the lost case and set its status to Reunited yourself from the status dropdown.

Reunions view

The Reunions view lists lost cases you've confirmed a match for or marked Reunited, so you can see the full history of successful reunifications without digging through the archive.

External source sync

Fosterling can sync lost-and-found reports from partner networks (such as RescueGroups). When sync is active, nearby public reports appear in your cross-reference results.

To check sync status, click Sync sources in the top area of the Lost view. The panel shows last sync time and record count per source. If a source shows 0 records, go to Settings > Lost & found sources -- you'll see a read-only "connected" status badge for RescueGroups, since that integration is configured by Fosterling at the account level rather than with an API key you enter yourself.

Flagged view -- moderation queue

The Flagged view holds found-animal reports that were automatically flagged for review -- specifically, reports that three or more public users have reported as spam. Review and either approve or discard them the same way you would in the Found view.

Generating a flyer

To generate a printable lost-pet flyer, open a lost case and click Generate flyer. This opens an editable flyer template editor -- pick from several layout templates, adjust the text, and export the finished flyer as a PNG or PDF to download and print or share yourself. There's no shareable link generated for you.

How do I see nearby public lost-and-found reports (not just my own)?

Public reports from partner networks appear in the Matches view once you run Cross-reference on a lost case. They're labeled with the source network.

Can the public submit lost reports through my rescue's page?

Yes, if you enable the lost-pet report form in Settings > Forms. Submitted reports land in your Lost view for review before they're published.

Can I attach a photo to a lost-pet report?

Yes -- when you open a lost report (or create one), there's a photo upload field. It appears in the match review and on any flyer you generate for the case.

What happens to the found report when I confirm a match?

Confirming a match only changes the lost case's status to "matched" -- it doesn't update the found report. Once the animal is actually back with its owner, open the lost case and set its status to Reunited yourself.

The sync shows 0 records from RescueGroups. What's wrong?

RescueGroups is configured by Fosterling at the account level, not with a key you enter yourself -- go to Settings > Lost & found sources to check the connection status badge. If it shows disconnected, contact support.