As previously announced, January 5, 2009 marks the launch of Pethealth's Green Initiative. As of that date, the ShelterCare Gift of Insurance* will become paperless, thus drastically reducing Pethealth's carbon footprint while making the program more efficient for all involved. Automatic enrollment through PetPoint into the ShelterCare program will be available to only those who adopt a microchipped animal and provide a valid email address. (However, pets that are not microchipped may still be eligible for the gift - see below.) The Documents of Insurance will be delivered via email to the new adopter.

Those of you who are regular readers of the PetPoint Journal will recall that in our first issue, published August 21 st 2007, we indicated that the intake of animals through shelters using PetPoint was generally evenly split between cats and dogs. While shelter staff generally acknowledge the existence of a "Kitten Season" and the impact that has on intake levels of cats, fewer seem to acknowledge the fact that there is a "Dog Season" as well.

You've seen them come in, shaking their heads, scratching their ears until they bleed or ooze smelly discharge - dogs with ear infections are a regular occurrence in both the shelter world and in veterinary offices.

What's new in PetPoint from 1/5/2009

• The ShelterCare changes previously announced to users are now live. 
  • The announcements can be found at: http://www.pethealthinc.com/PethealthPost/PPJournal/PPJournal-oct28_08.htm & http://www.pethealthinc.com/PethealthPost/phpost_dec18_2008_login.html.
  • When processing Adoptions, users will now select from "Immediate" or "Deferred" to activate a Gift or an Offer and select "None" in situations where an adopter declines the Gift or the user is entering a historical adoption.
    • Immediate Gifts are intended for animals going home with their adopter at the time of processing the Outcome.  A Gift or an Offer will be generated at the time of Outcome Adoption for qualifying adopters. 
    • Deferred Gifts are intended for animals going home with their adopter at the time of processing the Outcome Release.  A Gift or an Offer will be generated at the time of Release for qualifying adopters.
  • Users will be able to backdate the Adoption or Outcome Release for Deferred pickups up to 2 days, which will also backdate the activation date of the Gift or Offer. 
  • PetPoint will create an Adopter Download PDF for each qualifying animal/adopter, which can be found on the Outcome Adoption Confirmation page.  Users will need to click on the button for each animal in this section to print or download + email the PDF for the adopter.
  • Adopters who qualify for the Gift will receive an Welcome Email from us within 48 hours contain a link to download their actual policy documents. 
    Shelters can use Admin - Search Gift Policy/Offer to re-download the Adopter Download PDF or re-send the Welcome Email.
  • Adopters that do not have an email address or access to the internet (and therefore cannot receive a Gift or an Offer) are invited to take part in the ShelterCare Intro Policy. For only $1 for the first month of coverage ($15.15/month thereafter), adopters can call our call center at 1-877-707-PAWS (7297) to get started.
  • For full details on the changes, please see the following page in Online Help:  http://www.petpoint.com/help/Sheltercare_Information_2009.htm
• Administrators now have a new utility in Admin Options - Utilities called Outcome - Admin Deceased which allows them to record an animal as deceased after an Outcome.  This feature can be useful when a shelter learns a previously adopted, reclaimed, transferred, or licensed animal has died and wishes to update their records accordingly.