When a pet is hurt, gets into a fight, bites someone, gets loose, misses a medication (or gets it twice), or needs a vet, write it up the same day under Incidents in the sidebar. Goodstay keeps the report, tracks which owners you've told, and checks before a pet goes home that its owner has heard from you first.
Filing an Incident Report
- Click Incidents in the sidebar (under Facility), then File Incident. You can also start from a pet's profile: the Incidents card has a File new link that opens the form with that pet already picked.
- Fill in the form. Its sections follow the paper incident report from the Opening Kit, in the same order:
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| When & where | Date and Time (your facility's local time), and Where it happened (e.g. Yard 2, Run 7, the lobby) |
| Who | Pets involved: type a pet's or owner's name and pick from the list. Add every pet, including pets from other households. Then Staff present and the Kind of incident: Injury, Fight, Bite, Got loose, Medication error, Illness / vet, or Other |
| What happened | The account, in order, only what was seen or heard. Also Injuries, if any and up to 4 Photos |
| Care given | First aid, and by whom, and Vet called or visited (which clinic, when, what they said) |
| Owners told | One row per household. Pick how you told them (In person, Phone, Text, Email) and when, or leave it on Not yet |
| What we'll do differently | The change you're making so it doesn't happen again |
- Click File Report.
Only the date, time, kind, account and at least one pet are required. A report filed today with a few blanks is worth more than a complete one written next week.
Stick to what people saw. "Max and Bella were playing tug. Bella yelped and backed off." is a report. "Max is aggressive" is a judgment, and it may not even be true.
Filed Reports Can't Be Edited
Once filed, the report says what it said when you filed it. That's what makes it useful to your insurer. Later news goes in an amendment (see below), and a report filed by mistake is withdrawn rather than deleted.
The Report Page
The filed report reads like the paper form: the date and time, pets involved (with owners), staff present, where, what happened, injuries, first aid, vet, what changes, who was told, any photos, and amendments underneath. Fields left blank show Not recorded.
On the right, the Next Steps rail lists what's left to do:
- Tell [owner]: one amber task for each household that hasn't been told yet, with their phone number and, when their pet is here now, when it goes home (e.g. "Max goes home today at 5:30 PM."). Click Mark Told, pick How, Told by, and the Date and Time (leave the time blank for now), then Save. The task turns into a green Told [owner] line.
- Add Amendment: click Write an amendment to add a note at the end, e.g. a re-check, or what the vet said the next morning. Amendments are dated and signed, and the original report stays exactly as filed.
- Download PDF: Open the PDF for a branded copy of the whole report, amendments included, to send to your insurer. JPEG and PNG photos print in it; photos in other formats (like iPhone HEIC) are listed by name.
- Withdraw Report: owners and managers only (see below).
Withdrawing a Report Filed by Mistake
If a report was filed on the wrong pet or twice, an owner or manager can click Withdraw this report..., give the reason, and click Withdraw. The report stays on file with a banner showing who withdrew it, when, and why. It drops off the pet's profile, the sidebar count and the check-out check. The PDF still prints, stamped WITHDRAWN.
Telling Owners Before Pick-Up
Call the owner before pick-up, not at the counter. Owners forgive a scratch far more readily than a surprise.
Goodstay helps with that. When you check out a pet whose owner hasn't been told about an incident it was in, check-out pauses with Before [pet] goes home and the incident it's about. This happens on every check-out button: the dashboard, the daycare roster and board, the grooming schedule, the reservation page, the checkout page and batch checkout. You can:
- Pick how you told them under Told them just now? and click Mark Told & Check Out, or
- Type a Reason to check out without telling them (e.g. a dog walker is picking up and you're calling tonight) and click Check Out Anyway.
Either way the check-out finishes and your answer goes on the report. Cancel leaves the pet checked in.
It's a reminder, not a lock: you can always check a pet out. If you go ahead without telling the owner, the reason is recorded and the report keeps showing Tell [owner] until someone records the call.
Only the pet's own household counts. If Bella's owner still needs a call, Max can still go home once Max's owner has been told.
Where Incidents Show Up
- The sidebar: the Incidents entry shows a count of households still to be told.
- The Incidents list: every report, newest first, each marked Owners told, 1 owner not told (or more), or Withdrawn. Filter with All, Owner not told and Withdrawn.
- The pet's profile: a red Incident chip in the banner (with the date of the most recent one), and an Incidents card listing each report the pet was in and whether its owner has been told.
- The activity log: filing, telling owners, checking out without telling them, amendments and withdrawals are all recorded.
A pet with an incident report on file can't be permanently deleted. Archive it instead (see Archiving a Pet).