Taking and Sending Pictures

Operating Procedure

 

This procedure will ensure great pictures are taken and sent efficiently and accurately.

 

Why are great pictures important? 

 

Customers love to receive pictures of their dogs and cats! Pictures are the only glimpse of our clients’ pet stay when they are away, so it is crucially important to take great pictures. Our clients greatly appreciate this, as it reassures them that their pet is doing great staying at PAWS.

 

What can go wrong?

 

If a client receives a picture of their pet that looks dirty, out of focus, and/or the pet looks sad, the pet parents expect the worst. The pet parent may decide not to come back simply because of a picture where their pet looks sad. As mentioned earlier, the photos sent to pet parents are the only glimpse of their pet's stay - please use extra care and patience when taking photos. The importance of taking great pictures cannot be underestimated.

Picture Guidelines

The staff member must be trained in taking the photographs by a qualified staff member and all pictures must be approved by a supervisor until we are confident the staff member understands what we are looking for.

 

Pictures should only be taken outside in the greenyards or in the play gym (prioritize taking them in the greenyards). Pictures should never be taken on concrete or have poop buckets/shovels, etc (anything that is dirty). People love to see their dogs interact and having fun. The picture should make the owner happy that they entrusted us with the care of their beloved pet.

 

OBJECTIVE: Happy, clean dogs having fun! 

Be patient. It can take some time and multiple pictures before you get the perfect photo.

 

THE FOLLOWING IS ENCOURAGED:

  • Colorful, fun images.
  • Pets playing with each other (nicely).
  • Dogs smiling and having fun.
  • Get to the pet’s level. Pictures taken from above looking down are not as flattering.
  • For cats, having them engaged and playing (cat tree is great for this!)

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT ALLOWED:

  • Slobber.
  • Poop in the background.
  • Poop buckets in the background.
  • Dirty pets.
  • Out-of-focus images.
  • Wet floor in the play gym.
  • Hair or debris in the background.
  • Aggressive looking animals (including pets in the background of photos).
  • Photos on concrete (unless the concrete is 100% clean and there is some sort of green in the picture).
  • 'Live' photos (feature with iPhones).
  • Sad looking pets (have patience - engage with the pet and try to get them to smile!)
  • Photos with poor lighting.
  • Excessive fencing or foreign objects in the background.
  • Photos taken inside of suites.

 

 

Departure Pictures for Boarding


We send at least one picture of each boarding guest the day before departure. This procedure must be started before the first group starts to ensure all photos will be taken.

 

To access the departure picture list:

  • Navigate to 'Reports & More' > 'Reports' > 'Reservations By Day'.
  • Select tomorrow's date. 
  • In the 'Reservation Types' section, select only the boarding options.
  • Press 'Generate Report'.
  • Click 'Lodging' to sort by room order.
  • This will generate both a 'Check Ins' and a 'Check Outs' section.
    • To see only departures: "X" out of the 'Check Ins' section.
  • Click 'Lodging' to sort by room order.
  • Then, press 'Print PDF' to print.
  • Highlight all dogs that are in group play.

Group leaders are to take photos of group dogs in group play, and pet care technicians will take pictures of the individual play pets during their custom playtimes. All photos must be sent along with the pet's name to the Paws house cell phone number at (203)443-3031 once taken. Pictures can ONLY be sent to the pet parent with supervisor approval. 


Daycare pictures

 

We always send pictures for a dog's first day of daycare. These are to be sent mid-day, along with a mid-day call to the pet parent to inform them about how their dog is doing.

 

We like to send pictures to existing daycare pet parents, too! If you get a cute picture of a pet while they are in daycare, don't hesitate to send it to the pet parent! Reminder, only send pictures if you are authorized to do so.

 

Social Media Posts

 

We post to Facebook and Instagram on an almost daily basis. When posting to social media, please only select the best photos from the day. For Facebook, it should be around 10-15 photos, and on Instagram, 3-5 photos is a good range. If there are more wonderful photos taken, don't hesitate to post more pictures than these recommendations - but still remember to only post the best photos out of the bunch. Do not post a photo in which you can read a dog's ID collar, as we want to maintain all pet's anonymity online for safety. Please use fun but appropriate captions - some good ideas include the day of the week (ie: "Sunday Funday!