Animal Control: Officers, Calls, Cases & Citations

This area is built for animal-control and humane officers working out in the field — and the best part is how it all connects. Let me walk you through a real day.

It starts with a call. You click New Call and record the type, the address, the time, and which officer is going out.

All of your field calls stay organized here, under the Calls tab.

Now, say that call turns into something serious. From the call itself, you click Create Case — and the case opens already filled in from the call, with the two linked together for you. No retyping the address, and no lost trail.

A case is where the investigation lives. Evidence photos, video, documents — and a Linked Records card showing every call, citation, and bite report attached to it.

Each case keeps two numbers, by the way. The Case number Pet Friend gives it, which you can link and search by, and your own internal case number right beside it — so your existing filing system still works.

Before you write your first citation, set up your ordinance library. This is where you enter the ordinances your town actually enforces — once.

Each one gets a code, the description the offender should read, a pre-set fine, and the standard wording you always use. Save it, and it's ready for every citation from then on.

Now the citation itself. You record the offender's full name, their address, their email and mobile number, and the address of the offense — which often isn't where they live.

Then you add the ordinances they violated — as many as apply, with one click each. Every one brings its own fine and its own wording, you can change either just for this citation, and the total adds itself up.

Warning or fine is a simple checkbox, and you can link the citation back to the case and the call it came from.

Here's the part officers love. Right from the list, you click Request Signature — and the notice is already written for you: every ordinance, its description, your wording, each fine, and the total due.

Send it to their email or their phone by text, or just hand them your device to sign on the spot. And the moment they sign, they're sent a receipt with a link to their signed copy.

When the fine gets paid, marking it paid sends them a payment receipt too, itemized by ordinance. No envelopes, no filing.

Bite reports work the same way. You record the victim, where the incident happened, and the rabies status — and Pet Friend works out the quarantine end date for you.

And because most biting animals were never in your system, you can either pick one of your animals, or simply describe it — type, breed, and color — using the same dropdowns as intake. The victim can sign the report and get their receipt, exactly like a citation.

One small thing that saves a lot of typing: every address field suggests real addresses as you type. Pick one, or type it yourself — both always work.

And Inventory and Mileage keep track of your equipment and the miles your officers drive, so nothing goes unaccounted for.

Then it all comes back out in your reports — citations broken down by ordinance, unpaid fines, and the calls, citations, and fines for each officer.