Every animal shelter or rescue group that works with more than a handful of animals a year needs an effective animal information management system. Such a system provides a means of tracking all the data associated with the animals in your care, including medical information and adoption details. You have the option of using an out-of-the-box software package to manage your animal information or of creating your own solution to better meet your needs.
Explore Software Packages
Several companies offer software programs to help animal welfare organizations manage animal information. These programs have features specifically designed for the needs of animal shelters and rescue groups, which differ from the needs of veterinarians, agricultural companies and other animal-related businesses.
Chameleon CMS is a high-end program with networking capability. It allows tracking not only of animal data but also of related information such as financial data, licensing activity and dispatch or field activities. With it you can also track data on employees, volunteers and donors. The animal data capabilities are extensive, including photos, behavior profiles, medical records, and even foster care. The company does not provide pricing information on its website, but the program is listed at $9,800 on Petfinder.com and is aimed at larger animal shelters and animal control facilities.
Smaller organizations have many other options to choose from. Petfinder.com provides a comparison of about 30 shelter software programs. Some are free, others have an up-front cost and still others charge a monthly fee for a web-based interface. Some offer a demo or allow you to start with a trial version. Be sure you have a comprehensive list of what you need your system to do, then evaluate the available programs against your list and select the one that offers the best fit for the lowest price.
Create Your Own
If none of the available programs meet your needs or your budget does not allow you to purchase a program, you can create your own animal information management system. Unless you are a very small organization and do not intend to grow much over the years, resist the urge to use a single spreadsheet for tracking your data. Your needs will best be served by a database with relational capability such as Microsoft Access. Don't worry if you don't know much about databases, just be sure to work with a volunteer or contractor who does.
First create your list of needs for an information system, then begin creating it. As you are working on the database, you can modify your specifications if you become aware of additional features that you need. Consider all aspects of your operations that relate to animals, including intake, adoptions and returns, medical care and fostering. Decide if you will include data about people such as donors who sponsor specific animals or employees and volunteers who care for the animals. Review the programs listed on Petfinder.com for ideas about features you might otherwise forget to include.
Establish A Process
Once you have set up your information system, be sure to set up a process for maintaining it and a means of training employees and volunteers in its use. The best database in the world will not be of any use to your organization if people do not use it properly. Establish clear expectations regarding who will do the updates and when this must be done. Communicate the importance of maintaining accurate up-to-date data by explaining how the information is used.
Determine who is responsible for training new employees or volunteers in the use of the system and ensure that everyone enters data correctly. Depending on the complexity of your system and the size of your organization, you may need to create formal training materials that detail the process of updating data and pulling reports from the information system. Consider a periodic audit of the data to verify that it is accurate. This is particularly important if you rely on this data to qualify for grants or to meet legal or financial obligations.
Tags: employees volunteers, animal information, information system, animal data, animal information management