Behavioral assessments

A behavioral assessment is a structured questionnaire — like a SAFER-style test — that you run on an animal. ShelterSync scores the answers, gives a risk level, and keeps the record. This page lists every assessment in your organization and is where you start new ones. Assessments are for staff and administrators.

Start, score, and review behavioral assessments for your animals.

See every behavioral assessment in one searchable list, start a new assessment for an animal from a template, and open a finished one to read its answers, score, and risk level. Each shelter starts with default Dog and Cat Behavioral Assessment templates. A red risk result automatically restricts the animal. Assessments are available to staff and admins.

What you can do here

• Search or filter assessments by status and risk level
• Start an assessment: pick an animal and a template
• Fill in a draft assessment and save it to score the risk level
• Open a completed assessment to read its answers and result

Start an assessment

1. Click Start assessment in the top-right.
2. Pick the animal and the template (each shelter starts with default Dog and Cat behavioral assessment templates).
3. ShelterSync creates a draft — an assessment you can fill in now or come back to later.

Fill it in and submit

Open the draft and answer the questions. Templates can use several question types, including:

• Rating — a 1–5 scale.
• Yes / no with a note — a yes/no answer plus an optional comment.
• Multiple choice, text, and number questions.

You can save it as a draft and finish later, or submit when you're done. On submit, ShelterSync adds up the scores and calculates the risk level.

How risk is decided

Each answer can carry points. The template's scoring rules turn the total score into a risk level:

• 🟢 Green — low concern.
• 🟡 Yellow — some concern.
• 🔴 Red — high concern. A red result automatically restricts the animal from activities so it isn't handled before staff review it.

If you disagree with the calculated level, you can override it — you'll be asked for a reason, which is recorded for the audit trail.

Review past assessments

The list shows every assessment with its animal, template, status, risk, score, and who assessed it. Use the search box and the status / risk level filters to find what you need, then click a row:

• A draft opens so you can keep filling it in.
• A completed assessment opens read-only, showing the answers, score, and result.

Fields explained

Field	What it means
Status	Where the assessment is: draft (in progress), completed (submitted and scored), or cancelled.
Risk	The result ShelterSync calculates from the answers — green, yellow, or red. A red result restricts the animal from activities.
Score	The total points from the answers; the template's scoring rules turn the score into the risk level.

Where templates come from

The questions in an assessment come from a template. Templates are built on the Survey builder page (under Settings), where you choose the purpose "assessment", add questions, and set the scoring rules.

TIP

Need to change an answer on a completed assessment? Completed assessments are read-only to keep the record trustworthy. Start a new assessment for the animal to re-evaluate it.