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Introduction
This online manual is designed to provide you with the resources we have for animal owners who need assistance with their pets. If an owner wants to rehome their pet, we also have some resources for rehoming as well. Whether or not an owner plans on keeping their pet or rehoming their pet, we try to encourage all owners to get their pets vaccinated and spayed or neutered and strive to provide owners with access to these services. Please make sure the owner knows we do not take in animals, we only provide assistance in finding solutions for owners with concerns about their pets. Although we try and provide solutions to all of our callers, we can only offer our own services and supplies to Norman residents.
Some owners may be in a situation that requires the pet be relinquished in a short span of time. If you feel as though the animal is in a situation that endangers the animal’s health, the animal is at risk of harming people, or the owner has a short time to rehome the pet before they are left with no other options, we can contact the shelter with the information to try and expedite the process. If the animal is suffering or endangering people and unable to be relinquished to the shelter, we can also try and determine if euthanasia may be warranted.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding how to handle a situation or if you are concerned about the welfare of a pet or the family, please let Dr. Tyler know as soon as possible.
Please read the entire manual before calling an owner so you have an idea of what resources we have available and what services we may be able to provide. If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Dr. Tyler.
Recording your volunteer hours
Your volunteer time is very important to us! Your volunteer time is also very important to foundations that provide us grants that allow us to continue to help families. If you volunteer frequently, you can save the link to your phone and clock in and out even easier.
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Interviewing the owner
The initial phone call we have with a caller is probably the most important contact we have. Information in an open ended conversation is usually very helpful in providing a full picture of the supplies and services our clients need. If at all possible, try to call people to be able to get thorough information and thank them for contacting us. Although there are some people that prefer texting and email, many of our clients are elderly or disabled and are much more likely to be reached by phone.
Be sure and record as much information as possible in the client’s record. If you have talked to the person and are not able to get all of their information over the phone, you can send them an online questionnaire.
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Google Drive and Google Voice
Making a phone call:
The first time you sign into the Google Drive account you will need to have someone from our organization present to verify the account with their phone.
Sign into our Google Drive account
Go to https://myaccount.google.com/
For the user name, type in stfrancisarc@gmail.com
For the password, type in KeepURPet2019
Go to https://voice.google.com/calls
*if you already have Google Drive on your computer, you will need to go to the
icon in the upper right corner, click on it, and scroll down to the St. Francis icon
to have access to our account
You can now choose to either make calls or send texts from the menu at the top left-hand corner of the screen. You can click on the message icon to review messages and the icon of a reel to review voicemails. You can compare those entries with the database to see which phone calls have already been returned and completed.
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Options in Google Voice
Interviewing the owner
The initial phone call we have with a caller is probably the most important contact we have. Information in an open ended conversation is usually very helpful in providing a full picture of the supplies and services our clients need. If at all possible, try to call people to be able to get thorough information and thank them for contacting us. Although there are some people that prefer texting and email, many of our clients are elderly or disabled and are much more likely to be reached by phone.
Be sure and record as much information as possible in the client’s record. If you have talked to the person and are not able to get all of their information over the phone, you can send them an online questionnaire.
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You can use either a laptop or phone to use Google Voice. You’ll need to make sure you have the microphone “on” on your laptop or put the app on your phone. For clients that are needing any supplies or services we may need to provide, make sure you get the following information:
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A correct spelling for the owner’s name
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An address if any deliveries may be needed
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For each pet we need to following information
Name
Sex
Spay/neuter status
Approximate weight
Vaccination status
Age
If the owner is needing assistance with more than one pet, make sure you get complete information on each pet. We follow-up with vaccinations and information on spays and neuters for every pet that needs services so we’ll need all of their information.
When you are collecting information on an animal that is going to be rehomed or has behavior issues, get as many details as possible. Ask specific questions such as if the dog can climb a fence, find out the height of the fence the animal climbs; or if the animal chews on items in the house, what kinds of things is the dog chewing on and is it continuous or does it only occur when the owner is gone. If the animal has problems with other animals, get as much detail as you can on what is happening. Is the animal aggressive or is another animal aggressive to their pet? Has the animal ever broken the skin on a human or another animal by biting or scratching? Are aggressive episodes associated with food? Toys? Around the owner? All of these answers can help us understand the significance of the situation and how critical it is for the animal to be removed from the environment.
We have text and email content for most of the different problems you’ll encounter, so don’t worry about not having answers. You can send an owner the content provided using our Gmail account (see diagram for how to access from Google Drive) and we can follow up later. Feel free to modify the script for the individual when you send it if you’d like (i.e. add the person’s name, delete irrelevant information, etc.)
Updating Google Voice
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Once you have responded to a call, please update Google Voice with the client’s name. From Google Voice, click on the 3 dots above the client’s conversation (see diagram above). Click on “People” and then click on the head icon with a +.
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Air Table
We keep all of our clients’ information in an app called Airtable. You have a few options on how to open Airtable. The first time you access AirTable you will need to have a SFARC volunteer verify your device.
Access to Airtable:
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App on your phone
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User name: info@stfrancisarc.org
PW: KeepURPet2019
You will be using the “St. Francis Database”. The database is essentially a series of spreadsheets and you can identify each one by the tabs at the top. The two spreadsheets you will mainly be using are the “Time Clock” and the “Contact Log”.
Almost all of the spreadsheets are linked to the main spreadsheet, “Contacts” where all of the information is stored. Much of the information you type in will be stored on this spreadsheet and this will be used to autofill most of the information on the other spreadsheets.
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Other spreadsheets include:
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Delivery/Pick-up - after you select that an person needs a delivery, you will go to this tab to enter the amount of food to be delivered and any additional notes. Those instructions can be found here.
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Delivery form - this tab is responses from delivery drivers that their delivery is done and includes any notes they have about the delivery.
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Pantry program - this tab is all of the information on deliveries to small pantry shelves.
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PFP - these are all of a monthly pet food pantry clients and new applicants.
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Pets - this is information on pets. You can access client's pets directly from their information as well. If you click on the client's name on the contact log, scroll down through the information and their pet's information should be listed if it has been provided.
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Submitted forms - if someone has submitted a form, the form responses are all on this tab.
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BFoP- these are all of the applications we have received for free spays and neuters. The forms are usually sent to Best Friends of Pets every Wednesday.
Entering a phone call, message, or email
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Once the database is open, make sure you are on the tab for the “Contact Log”.
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Right click on the first box in the “Contact Log” table (it will be a date) and click on “insert record” OR look in the bottom left hand side of the screen and their should be a "+" sign you can click on.
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Date contacted - enter the date the client called or messaged us.
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Method [of contact]- choose from one of the options
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Name - if the person is a current client, as you type in the name it should come up as an option and you can just click on the name. Please also check the last 4 digits of the phone number to see if there is a match in case you don't have the spelling correct. If the client hasn't called before, click on “Add a new record” at the bottom of the screen after you enter the name. If the person is already a client, just verify all of the information for the individual such as the email address and physical address (covered in the section on client’s information).
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*If the person’s name appeared on Google Voice and not just a phone number, they should be a previous client. If their name doesn’t appear on AirTable, please check the spelling or search for the phone number on the call log by using the search feature in the upper righthand corner.
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Phone number - if the person is a current client and we have a phone number, it will autofill. If not, you will need to enter a phone number when you enter the client’s information (described in next section).
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Reason for contact- choose from one of the options
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Status - this is for the current status of the call
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These are the options:
New - for clients that have been added to the call log but haven’t been contacted.
Follow up - there has either been an attempt to contact the owner or the owner was contacted but requires follow up. If we have tried to contact the owner twice unsuccessfully, the status can be changed to done.
Delivery/Pickup - needs a delivery or has an item the person would like picked up (like a donation).
Choosing this option will automatically create a delivery/pick-up request on the delivery/pick up tab.
Use this option after you have already contacted the client and have all of the information needed for the delivery
(i.e. the type and size of the pet, delivery address, etc.)
See section on scheduling a delivery
Consult -this option will email Dr. Tyler that you would like for someone else to look over the case.
If you would like to be the one to follow up on a case, use your name as the progress status.
In progress- if we are waiting on something and still need to confirm it's been resolved. An example would be if we
contacted Second Chance to see if they would take an animal but we haven't heard back.
Done- once we have called a person twice and texted once with no response or when the issue is resolved
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Notes- just brief information to summarize the reason for the call (i.e. needs medical assistance for dog’s broken leg)
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Deliveries completed- this is an autofill entry that tells you how many times we have delivered to the client before. If the client already has 3 deliveries, they will need to have a PFP (Pet Food Pantry) application that is pending or approved (see below).
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Applications- this is any application the client has filled out and the status of the application.
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Svcs needed- these are any services the client needed that may need to be followed up on. This information is autofilled from the contact’s information. If a client calls and wants a delivery and “Spay/neuter” is in the services needed field, you might ask if they have already had their pet spayed or neutered or if they would like an application with their delivery or the form emailed to them.
Entering client’s information
Once you’ve entered the information into the contact log, click on the client’s name. (Another option is to click on the Contacts tab and enter the client’s information directly on to the contact sheet.)
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Vax clinic - if the client is interested in vaccinations or needs to have them updated, click this box and they will be notified when we have a public event.
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Call log - that should already have a box with the client’s name in it from what you just entered
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Phone number - if you type in the digits it will auto-format the number
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Communication- this is the most important box. Date all the communications you have with the client and keep a fairly detailed log of conversations. You can copy and paste any messages from Google Voice and emails from the client here. Initial the entry.
Please make sure to make thorough notes about any calls and texts to keep in the owner’s record. If the owner has left a voicemail, you can just cut and paste the text version of their voice message into their record. Please use either our email account or our Google Voice account to call, text, or send messages to clients.
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Phone - if you have entered the phone number on the contact log sheet, you can type the last 4 digits of the phone number to find the entry and click on it.
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Email
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​Address - enter the address like you would to address an envelope. If it is an apartment, include the name of the complex and a building number if there is one. ​ Example:
123 Sesame Street
Norman, OK
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Services needed - click on “+ Link to add record to Services” and choose all the services the client needs from the list of options that apply.
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Delivery date/info - if the owner is requesting a delivery or pick-up, skip to the next section to see how to enter the information
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Pets - skip to the section on pets
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Attachments - this can be used for any documents the owner sends us
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Scheduling a delivery/pick-up
We will provide 3 deliveries (of any kind) to people without income verification. After that, they have to fill out a PFP form (even if the deliveries are for flea and tick products). Once they have submitted the form, we have to receive all of the information requested within 30 days. This includes income verification and any current veterinary records with vaccination history and spay and neuter status.
Please start offering applications with the first and second delivery and notify individuals on the third delivery documentation will be needed in the future.
To schedule a delivery or a pickup, choose “Delivery/Pickup” as the status on a call log. This will automatically create a delivery on the delivery tab. If you have specific notes for the delivery, you can click on the delivery tab and add notes.
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Delivered- this is the date the food is delivered and isn’t filled out until it’s delivered so skip this box
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Done- the delivery person will fill this out so skip this box
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Enter delivery amount: the amount of food is filled out according to the number and size of the pets. For every dog under 40 lb we will deliver 10 lb of food. For every dog over 40 lb we will deliver 20 lb of food. We deliver 5 lb of food for every cat. We will deliver for a maximum of 4 pets.
Example: 110 lb dog, 10 lb dog, and 2 cats
#DF= 20 lb + 10 lb = 30 lb
#CF= 5 lb + 5 lb = 10 lb
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Address - if we have an address for the client, it will autofill. If it doesn’t autofill, you’ll need to add an address for the client on the contact tab.
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S/N - if the client has one or more pets that need to be spayed or neutered, enter the number of applications for a low cost/free spay or neuter to be delivered.
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Notes - you can any additional items the owner may need or any information the owner gives you that may be helpful with the delivery (i.e. client requests it be left somewhere specific).
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Enter the delivery person under the volunteer column (this information is also available at the top of the column):
If the delivery includes medication including flea or tick preventatives, type in Amy Tyler
For all other deliveries, type in Cindy Wanner
Entering a pet’s information
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From the contact’s information, go to the pets section. If the pet isn't already listed, click on “+ Link to a record from Pets”. Enter the pet’s name and click on “Add a new record”. Now click again on the pet’s name.
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Contact - should already be filled in with the client’s name
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Species - choose dog, cat, or other
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Wt - an approximate weight is fine
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Sex - choose from the options
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Breed - fill it in if the owner gives you a breed
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On the section "Pet Age", click on "+Link to a new record". Click on "Add a new record" and enter the pet's age in years (Y), months if provided (M), and weeks (W) if provided.
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Age at time of initial contact - this is the age the client gives you
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Vax due - date vaccinations are due. You can type in “now” if needed.
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Notes- this is for any details about the pet that may be helpful. (i.e. pregnant, not good with children, injured paw)
Entering donations
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You can enter donations either from the client’s contact information or from the Donations tab. From the client’s information, click on “+ Link to a record from Donations”. Click on “Add a new record”.
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Date - date donation is made
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Contact - name of client or organization
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Type - choose from an option
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Description - this is for donated items such as blankets
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Est. value - this is also for donated items
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$- for monetary donations
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Specified - for earmarked donations (i.e. vaccination clinic, food pantry)
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Method - choose from option
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Transaction ID - i.e. check number, PayPal transaction ID
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Thank you - check box when owner is sent a follow up thank you
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Notes - any additional helpful information
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Attachments - can be used for a photo of an item or any documents