Recording an Animal’s Placement Needs
On each animal record, a Placement Needs card lets you define what kind of home the animal requires. Each need can be marked as:Fine
This is not a concern for this animal. The household’s situation matches or exceeds what the animal needs.
Conflict
There is a known incompatibility between the animal’s needs and what the household has described.
Question
The information available raises a question to bring up on the phone call or meet and greet. Not a disqualifier, but something to explore.
Not Assessed
This need has not been evaluated yet. An unknown is never treated as a pass.
Not Assessed is never a pass. If a need has not been evaluated, RescueConsole surfaces it as an open question rather than assuming it is fine. This means gaps in your assessment are visible rather than invisible—you can see what still needs to be answered before making a placement decision.
Placement Need Categories
The placement needs card covers the factors that matter most for a successful placement:Children
Children
Whether the animal is suitable for homes with children, and if so, the minimum age. You can mark fine for any age, set a minimum age threshold, mark as a conflict (not suitable for homes with children), or leave not assessed.
Other Dogs
Other Dogs
How the animal does with other dogs in the home—fine, needs to be the only dog, requires a meet before placement, or not yet assessed.
Other Cats
Other Cats
How the animal does with cats—fine, not suitable for homes with cats, or not yet assessed.
Fenced Yard
Fenced Yard
Whether a fenced yard is required, preferred, or not necessary for this animal.
Hours Alone
Hours Alone
The maximum number of hours this animal can reasonably be left alone each day.
How Applications Are Checked
When an application comes in for an animal, RescueConsole automatically compares the applicant’s household information against the animal’s recorded placement needs. You don’t need to do this manually—the comparison is waiting for you when you open the application. The result is a side-by-side view:- Each placement need is shown next to the corresponding detail from the application
- Items that match are marked clearly
- Items that conflict are named explicitly—for example, “Animal needs minimum age 8; household has a 4-year-old”
- Items that are questions are flagged for your follow-up
- Items that are not assessed remain visible as open
RescueConsole names conflicts—it does not score applications or rank adopters. There is no algorithm making placement decisions. The system shows you what it found; you decide what it means. Every coordinator brings judgment, relationship knowledge, and context that no automated score can replace.
Applicant Preference Order Is Preserved
If an applicant listed animals in a preferred order, that order is preserved in the matching view. You can see which animal is the applicant’s first choice and which are alternatives, so you have the full picture when deciding whether to move forward or suggest a different animal.Approving, Denying, and Asking More Questions
From the application view, your coordinator can:- Approve the application to move toward adoption
- Deny the application with a reason recorded on file
- Schedule a meet and greet to gather more information before making a decision
Scheduling a Meet and Greet
Scheduling a meet and greet from an application does more than put a time on the calendar.1
Open the application and click Schedule Meet and Greet
Select the date, time, and location for the meeting.
2
Name who the applicant is meeting
Choose the staff member, foster, or volunteer who will host the meet and greet. This person is named on the appointment.
3
Each named person receives a task
RescueConsole creates a task for everyone involved—the coordinator, the host, and anyone else named—so no one misses their role in the meeting.
4
The appointment appears on the calendar
The meet and greet appears on the organization calendar, visible to anyone with calendar access. It is linked to the application and the animal record.