Sending updates to pet parents

Pet owners worry. Even the ones who act casual are wondering how their dog is doing. Report cards are a simple way to show them their pet had a good time, which makes them more likely to book again.

What goes in a report card

A report card is a short update you send through the parent portal after a stay or a groom. It can include:

• A photo or two
• Notes about behavior and mood
• Details about services performed
• Feeding and medication notes

For grooming specifically, groomers often include:

• The blade numbers used
• Skin or coat issues found
• How the pet behaved during the bath and dry

For boarding or daycare, useful notes look like:

• "Played well with the retriever group today"
• "Ate breakfast slowly but finished everything"
• "Seemed a little homesick this morning but perked up after lunch"

Creating a report card

After a pet checks out, go to the reservation details and click Send Report Card. You can also send one from the daily schedule by clicking the pet's name and selecting Report Card.

You will see a form with fields for each category. Fill in what applies. You do not need to write a novel. Two or three sentences and a photo is usually enough.

Photos upload directly from your phone or computer. The system resizes them automatically so they load quickly on the parent's phone. You can add up to five photos per report card.

When to send them

Timing depends on the service:

• Grooming: Send it within an hour of pickup while the owner is still thinking about the appointment
• Boarding: Send it the morning after checkout, or during the stay for long boardings
• Daycare: Same-day is fine, or batch them at the end of the week

Some facilities send a report card for every single stay. Others only send them for first-time customers or for stays longer than three nights. There is no right answer. Do what your team can sustain without burning out.

What the parent sees

The report card shows up in the parent's portal under a tab called Updates. They get an email or text notification depending on their preferences.

Parents can reply to report cards, but the reply comes to your support ticket inbox, not to the person who wrote the card. If you want replies to go to a specific staff member, mention their name in the card so the front desk knows who to ask.

Using report cards for marketing

Report cards are not just customer service. They are marketing. A photo of a happy dog wearing a birthday bandana is something the owner will screenshot and post on Instagram. If your logo is visible in the background, even better.

Some facilities include a small offer at the bottom of the report card: "Thanks for boarding with us. Book your next stay before the end of the month and get 10% off." This works because the customer is already in a positive frame of mind.

Templates

If you find yourself writing the same thing over and over, save a template. Go to Organization > Settings > Email Templates and create a template called "Standard Report Card." You can still customize it per pet, but the structure is already there.

Templates are especially useful for grooming report cards, where the format is almost always the same: blade number, skin check, behavior notes, next appointment suggestion.

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Report card timing matrix

Service	Best time to send	Frequency suggestion
Grooming	Within 1 hour of pickup	Every appointment
Boarding	Morning after checkout, or mid-stay for long stays	Every stay, or for stays 3+ nights
Daycare	Same day or end of week	Every day, or batch weekly
Trial day	Same evening	Every trial

Creating and sending a report card

What to include by service type

Service type	Must-include	Nice-to-have
Grooming	Blade used, skin/coat check, behavior	Before/after photo, next appointment suggestion
Boarding	Eating habits, behavior, play notes	Photo with staff or other dogs, bedtime note
Daycare	Group play behavior, energy level	Photo from playtime, favorite toy note
Trial day	Temperament observations, socialization	Video clip, recommendation for future bookings