What should shelter medical records software do?

Updated November 2026. Every outside fact links to its source.

The short answer

Shelter medical software needs a record for every animal from the moment it arrives ¹, its vaccines and treatments, stray-hold timing, outcomes, and the intake and outcome numbers you report to Shelter Animals Count ².

Vivetra Shelter is a newer system that does that on the same clinical record a vet practice uses, and it files with Shelter Animals Count directly. It doesn’t yet run intake vaccine protocols or bulk treatments, and it doesn’t syndicate listings to Petfinder.

What the standards expect

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians says each animal needs a unique identifier and individual record at or before admission, and that software designed for animal shelters should be used for record keeping ¹.
The ASV Guidelines (2nd ed., 2022) say adult animals must be vaccinated with core vaccines at or before intake ³.
Shelter Animals Count’s Basic Data Matrix tracks live intakes (stray/at large, relinquished by owner, transferred in, seized/impounded and others) and outcomes (adoption, returned to owner, transferred out, returned to field, died in care, lost in care, shelter euthanasia and others) ².

What Vivetra Shelter does

Intake. Surrender, stray, transfer, seizure, born in care, community cat and return, plus a queue for owner surrender requests.
Stray-hold clock. The hold end date is pre-filled from your local statute, and adoption is blocked until the hold ends. A holds board shows what’s pending.
Full medical record. SOAP visit notes, vaccinations (with rabies tag numbers), prescriptions, weights and diagnostics, on the same clinical record vet practices use, with shelter vet roles.
Behaviour. A daily observation log and periodic scored assessments, which can set a caution flag.
Census and kennel cards. Per-facility census and average length of stay, plus printable kennel cards with QR codes.
Outcomes. Adoption, return to owner, transfer, euthanasia (with reason), died in care, returned to field, and escaped/lost, with a live-release (Asilomar-style) report.
Shelter Animals Count filing. Opt-in, with staff review before anything is sent and a filing log.
Adoption and foster. Online applications, e-signed contracts and agreements, adoption fees paid online through your own Stripe account, and a foster journal shared with the foster.
Litters and cohorts, neonatal bottle-baby care, and legal/cruelty cases.
Public adoptable-animals and donation pages you can embed on your website.

Where Vivetra Shelter falls short today

No intake vaccine or deworm protocols, and no bulk or group treatments. Vaccines are recorded animal by animal.
No spay/neuter surgery queue. Altered status is a field on the record.
No inpatient treatment sheet in Shelter alone. Hospital-style treatment sheets (for a parvo ward, say) need the Hospital service added (+$50/mo).
No Petfinder or Adopt-a-Pet syndication.
No microchip registry integration. You record the chip and the lookup result.
No volunteer management.
We’re new, with no comparable track record.

Questions people ask

What software do animal shelters use for medical records?

Most use a shelter-specific system, and ASV guidance says software designed for animal shelters should be used for record keeping ¹. Vivetra Shelter combines shelter workflows with a full veterinary clinical record.

Does Vivetra report to Shelter Animals Count?

Yes. Filing is opt-in, and staff review each submission before it’s sent.

Does Vivetra track stray holds?

Yes. The hold end date comes from your statute, and adoption is blocked until it passes.

Can Vivetra vaccinate a whole intake group at once?

Not yet. Vaccines are recorded per animal, and there are no automatic intake protocols.

Does Vivetra post animals to Petfinder?

No, not yet. There’s no listing syndication.

How much does Vivetra Shelter cost?

$200/mo flat with unlimited staff. Adding Hospital for treatment sheets is $50/mo more.