Pet Configuration

The Pet Configuration page gives you control over how pets are categorized, identified, and displayed across PawPlacer. It's organized into three tabs: Custom Pet Statuses, Automation, and Pet Age Display Mode.

Accessing Pet Configuration

1. Navigate to Settings from the sidebar
2. Click Pet Configuration

This page requires Admin permissions.

Custom Pet Statuses

The Custom Pet Statuses tab lets you define your own pet statuses beyond the built-in defaults. Custom statuses help your team track where each animal is in your care pipeline using language that matches your organization's workflow.

How Statuses Work

Statuses are organized into groups. Each group contains one or more individual statuses. For example, you might have a group called "Medical Hold" containing statuses like "Quarantine," "Post-Surgery," and "Awaiting Test Results."

Adding a Status Group

1. Click Add Group
2. Enter a name for the group
3. Choose an icon
4. Save the group

Adding a Status

1. Click Add Status
2. Enter the status name
3. Select an icon and color; the color appears as a visual indicator throughout PawPlacer wherever the status is shown
4. Assign it to a group (optional)
5. Save the status

Editing and Reordering

You can drag and drop statuses and groups to reorder them. Click any status or group to edit its name, icon, or color. Use the delete button to remove statuses or groups you no longer need.

Important Note

Changing or adding custom statuses does not retroactively update pets that are already assigned a status. Existing pets keep their current status; you'll need to update them individually or in bulk if you want them to use a new status.

Automated ID Numbers

The Automation tab lets you configure automatic ID generation for new pets. When enabled, PawPlacer assigns an ID to each pet as it's added, following the format you define.

Enabling Automated IDs

Toggle Enable Automated IDs to on. Once enabled, the configuration options appear below the toggle.

ID Schema Format

Choose from 10 preset ID patterns:

Additional Options

• Custom Prefix: Add an optional prefix to every ID. For example, a prefix of "PP" with the YY-NNNN pattern produces "PP26-0001."
• Number Padding: Choose how many digits the sequence number uses (1 through 6). A padding of 4 means numbers are zero-padded to four digits: 0001, 0002, and so on.
• Reset Yearly: When enabled, the sequence number resets to 1 at the start of each year. Only available with patterns that include a year component.

Live Preview

As you adjust the settings, a live preview at the bottom shows exactly what the next generated ID will look like. This updates in real time so you can see the effect of each change before saving.

Pet Age Display Mode

The Pet Age Display Mode tab controls how pet ages are shown throughout PawPlacer. Choose the format that best fits how your organization talks about animals.

Display Options

• Default: PawPlacer uses a mix of formats depending on context; this is the standard behavior.
• Date of Birth: Ages are shown as the pet's birthday (e.g., "Born Jan 15, 2024").
• Age: Ages are shown as a calculated value (e.g., "2 years, 3 months").
• Category: Ages are shown as a life stage label (e.g., "Young," "Adult," "Senior").

Select the option you prefer. The selected option is highlighted with a blue border, and the change takes effect immediately across all pages that display pet ages.

Permissions

Only team members with Admin access can modify pet configuration settings.