Animal profile management - MVP

Key principles

• One profile per animal - each animal has its own profile, owned by the account that created it
• Users can have multiple animals on their account
• Species-tailored prompts guide creation, but freeform content ensures flexibility
• Structure without rigidity - prompts ensure completeness; content allows personality
• Critical information is surfaced - Top Tips and safety briefs are not buried

Species support

Profiles are tailored by species. Each species has its own set of prompts appropriate to its care patterns.

Species	Tailored prompts
Dog	Yes
Cat	Yes
Rabbit	Yes
Rodents	Yes (grouped category - hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, etc.)
Birds	Yes (grouped category)
Reptiles	Yes (grouped category)
Other	Generic prompts as a fallback

Profile identity

Every animal profile includes basic identity information:

• Name (and aliases/nicknames)
• Species (from supported list above)
• Breed or type
• Colour/markings
• Age or date of birth
• Profile picture (single image - gallery is out of scope for MVP)
• Temperament summary (brief, freeform description of personality)

Profile categories

Each profile is organised into four categories. For MVP, each category captures basic information only - the minimum that delivers real value. Categories will be expanded in future releases.

Health

Known health issues and current care requirements. This is not a full medical history - it is the health information a carer needs to know.

Basic scope for MVP:

• Known conditions or illnesses (description, management notes, warning signs)
• Current medications (name, frequency, administration notes)
• Allergies and intolerances (description, severity, impact on care)

Behaviour

How the animal behaves in different contexts, particularly anything a carer needs to be aware of for safety or wellbeing.

Basic scope for MVP:

• Key behavioural traits and temperament
• Reactivity information (to people, other animals, specific triggers)
• Bad habits and how to manage them
• Dislikes and fears (things that cause distress)
• Resource guarding or sharing behaviour

Each behaviour entry should support:

• Description of the behaviour
• Whether the animal is reactive or aggressive in this context
• Notes explaining the behaviour and context
• Top Tip flag for critical items

Routine

The animal's daily schedule and activity-specific protocols. Routine is not just a timeline - it includes procedures for specific activities (how to walk, how to feed, how to put to bed).

Basic scope for MVP:

• Daily timeline (time-based schedule of activities)
• Activity protocols (step-by-step procedures for key activities such as walks, feeding, bedtime)
• Being left alone (duration limits, where the animal should be, preparation steps)
• Wake and sleep patterns

Walk protocol example (dog-specific):

• Equipment required (harness, collar, lead, attachment points)
• On-lead/off-lead rules
• Reactivity on walks and how to manage it
• Route preferences or restrictions
• Treat usage on walks

Diet

What the animal eats, when, how much, and the rituals around feeding.

Basic scope for MVP:

• Food types and brands (wet food, dry food, raw, etc.)
• Portion sizes per meal
• Meal schedule (number of meals, timing)
• Feeding procedure (step-by-step if relevant)
• Treats and chews (types, frequency, rules)
• Dietary restrictions linked to health conditions

Information hierarchy

Not all information in a profile is equally urgent. The profile has a natural layered structure, and this hierarchy should be reflected in how information is presented.

Layer 1: Safety brief

The "five-minute read" - the absolute must-knows before being left alone with the animal. This is the fallback for anyone who does not read the full profile. A recipient must encounter this information first, regardless of how they access the profile.

Examples from a real profile:

• Never leave unattended for more than a few minutes; crate if longer
• Specific dislikes and fears (do not touch head/feet, scared of certain objects)
• Never let off lead; secure all doors, windows, and garden fencing
• Follow routine as closely as possible, especially wake/nap times

Layer 2: Daily operations

Routine, diet, walks, medication schedule - the practical information for running a normal day.

Layer 3: Understanding the animal

Behaviour patterns, preferences, personality - context that helps a carer understand why the animal does what it does.

Layer 4: Reference

Health history, contacts, background information - useful but not urgently needed.

Top Tips

Individual items within any category can be flagged as a Top Tip. This flag indicates critical information that a carer must not miss.

Top Tips are surfaced prominently in both the creator's view and the recipient's view. They form part of the safety brief where relevant.

Creation experience

Profile creation uses structured prompts with flexible content:

• Structured prompts ensure the creator covers the right things for their animal's species. They guide without constraining.
• Freeform content within the structure allows personal, narrative descriptions. The tone should feel natural, not like filling in a form.
• No huge unstructured text blocks - even freeform content has some structure (e.g., a behaviour entry always has a description, notes, and optional Top Tip flag).

The goal is that a first-time user can create a useful profile by responding to prompts, while an experienced user is not limited by them.

Animal states

Every animal profile has a system-level state that controls its lifecycle. States are the same across Personal and Professional accounts.

State	Editable	Visible to shares	Description
Active	Yes	Yes	The animal is in the account's care
Transferred	No (by original account)	No (original shares revoked)	The animal has been moved to another PetFolio account
Archived	No (read-only)	No	The animal is no longer in the account's care. The profile is retained as a point-in-time record
Deleted	N/A	N/A	Permanently removed

• Transfer and Archive can combine - transfer the animal to a new owner and keep an archived read-only copy
• If an archived animal is returned (e.g., a rehoming centre receives an animal back), it can be moved back to Active

Animal statuses

Statuses are an organisational layer on top of states. They describe where the animal sits in the account's workflow. Statuses only apply to Active animals.

Personal accounts

Personal accounts use two simple statuses:

Status	Purpose
Active	Current pets
Archived	Pets no longer in your care (read-only)

Professional accounts

Professional accounts have a richer set of statuses to support organisational workflows. Each status has a system value that drives logic and filtering, and a configurable display label that organisations can rename to fit their context.

System status	Default label	In default list	Purpose
Draft	Draft	No	Profile creation in progress, not yet complete
Active	Active	Yes	Animal is in the organisation's care
Inactive	Inactive	Yes	Temporarily not available
Pending	Pending	Yes	Awaiting something
On Hold	On Hold	Yes	Do not action - awaiting external resolution
Archived	Archived	No	No longer in the organisation's care (read-only)

Draft and Archived are excluded from the default animal list but accessible via filters.

Configurable label examples:

System status	Rehoming centre	Boarding kennel	Vet practice
Draft	Draft	Draft	Draft
Active	Available for adoption	Currently boarding	In treatment
Inactive	In assessment	Checked out	Discharged
Pending	Reserved	Arriving soon	Awaiting results
On Hold	Legal hold	Owner dispute	Awaiting owner consent
Archived	Rehomed	N/A	Released to owner

New animals default to Draft status. The creator sets the status to Active (or another appropriate status) when the profile is ready.

Multi-animal considerations

• A user's account can hold multiple animal profiles
• Each profile is independent but animals in the same household may reference each other (e.g., "separate from Mavis when feeding")
• The Combined daily routine feature area provides a cross-animal view of the day