A big headache when operating a pet licensing program is the lack of accurate and accessible pet owner and license records for Animal Control Officers in the field. Time spent in the field needing to decipher handwritten notes or calling administrative staff to verify updates is time taken away from the critical work ACOs do in your community.
Consider how your records are currently used by Animal Control. There are three common ways in which ACOs use pet licensing data: record retrieval, license sales, and license validation. Is your data accessible and accurate enough to allow for these actions to be processed conveniently and in the field?
Record Retrieval
Possibly the biggest time drain for an ACO in the field is the data and information run around when records are not available online or updated in real time. When a dog has been rescued, if the ACO is immediately able to identify the dog’s place of residence by matching an ID tag against a database of records, they can get that dog home safely and directly and avoid a costly stay in the local shelter.
DocuPet believes databases should go a step further. Perhaps the dog was without an ID tag, with DocuPet’s system in place, ACOs can query the database based on any criteria. For example, they could search for “Pit Bulls” on “Jefferson Street” and see that a record pops up that matches the identity of the dog they just rescued down the street. Enabling ACOs to have this kind of flexibility in the field is a big step for reducing your shelter intakes.
License Sales
No Animal Control Officer wants to be known as the person who only comes around to levy fines and give pet owners a hard time. If ACOs have the ability to process a license sale while meeting a pet owner directly though, an opportunity is created for them to provide a more positive alternative to pet owners so that they don’t have to rush to levy fines right away. Community relationships with Animal Control can quickly become far more positive and focused on the support that a pet license provides to local animal care and control.
License Validation
Many areas require pet licenses to be accompanied by proofs of sterilization or rabies vaccinations. Accessing these documents while in the field is another critical need for ACOs. For example, if an ACO is able to identify a pet by its look and address, they can more confidently and safely approach that pet if they have the ability to validate an up to date rabies vaccination attached to that pet’s licensing record. Having these documents attached to every pet’s profiles prevents the ACO from needing to make a series of calls to the shelter or local veterinarians trying to track down the medical history of a dog they need to approach and allows the ACO to focus on the actual care they are trying to deliver.
It is important to remember that pet licensing data is a powerful resource and something Animal Control leans quite heavily on.
With DocuPet, data maintenance and accessibility is one of our top priorities for our partners and their local animal care and control. Consider being in touch with us directly if you would like to learn more about how we can modernize your pet licensing database to help save you valuable time and money.