Alert system for lost/found animals

Purpose

 1.1. Provide real-time alerts to staff, volunteers, and the public about lost or found animals within specific geographies.
 1.2. Facilitate rapid reunification of pets with families through automated, multi-channel communications.
 1.3. Improve shelter capacity and animal welfare outcomes by speeding up owner notifications.
 1.4. Minimize manual data entry and alert creation by integrating with intake and found animal systems.
 1.5. Foster public engagement and assist community-driven pet recovery efforts through wide-reaching announcements.

Trigger Conditions

 2.1. New lost animal entry recorded in shelter management system.
 2.2. New found animal report submitted on public web portal.
 2.3. Volunteer or staff flagging animal as “reunited,” ending alert sequence.
 2.4. Geo-fence triggers (animal sighted in other jurisdiction post-report) update alert area.
 2.5. Scheduled alert retries at set intervals until animal is marked as found or reunited.

Platform Variants

 3.1. Twilio SMS
  - Feature/Setting: Use Twilio Messaging API; send outbound SMS to registered community lists on trigger.
  - Sample config: Set API endpoint, define sender ID, use dynamic text input for animal description/location.
 3.2. SendGrid
  - Feature/Setting: Transactional Email API to send emails to volunteers and public.
  - Sample config: Set up email templates, API key, recipient groups mapped via shelter data.
 3.3. Slack
  - Feature/Setting: Slack Incoming Webhooks for dedicated channel #lost-and-found-alerts.
  - Sample config: Generate webhook URL, format JSON payload with alert details.
 3.4. Microsoft Teams
  - Feature/Setting: Use Teams Connector for “Animal Alerts” channel.
  - Sample config: Configure Office 365 connectors, map data fields to message cards.
 3.5. WhatsApp Business API
  - Feature/Setting: Send alert messages via WhatsApp automation.
  - Sample config: Register phone numbers, configure template messages with merge fields.
 3.6. Facebook Pages
  - Feature/Setting: Auto-post to shelter’s Facebook page via Facebook Graph API.
  - Sample config: Set up app with Page Publish rights, formatted lost/found post structure.
 3.7. Twitter/X
  - Feature/Setting: Programmatic posting to Twitter feed using Twitter API v2.
  - Sample config: Authenticate app, POST tweet with alert text + photo URL.
 3.8. Google Chat
  - Feature/Setting: Send messages to a Google Chat room via Webhooks.
  - Sample config: Obtain webhook, map alert fields to card payload.
 3.9. Zapier
  - Feature/Setting: Trigger multi-channel workflows using shelter data input.
  - Sample config: Set “New Animal Alert” as trigger, push to email/SMS/social actions.
 3.10. Mailchimp
  - Feature/Setting: Auto-email campaign creation for lost/found notices.
  - Sample config: Subscriber list sync, formatted campaign template, trigger via API.
 3.11. HubSpot
  - Feature/Setting: Automated email workflow and contact segmentation.
  - Sample config: Set workflow triggers, personalize email content with animal/profile fields.
 3.12. Discord
  - Feature/Setting: Send alerts to Discord server with Webhook.
  - Sample config: Webhook URL, channel assignment, embed alert details/images.
 3.13. Telegram Bot
  - Feature/Setting: Push alerts to groups/subscribers using Telegram Bot API.
  - Sample config: Register bot, set sendMessage method with dynamic text.
 3.14. Shopify
  - Feature/Setting: Display lost/found alerts as rotating banners in store frontend.
  - Sample config: Sync animal data, automate product/page update with alert info.
 3.15. Wix
  - Feature/Setting: Site-wide banners or pop-ups for visitors using Wix Automations.
  - Sample config: Trigger banner display from new alert record.
 3.16. Salesforce
  - Feature/Setting: Automated case/email/task on new animal entry.
  - Sample config: Process builder to trigger workflow and external notifications.
 3.17. Zendesk
  - Feature/Setting: Auto-generate support tickets for each alert, update on status change.
  - Sample config: Trigger tickets from intake API event, notify relevant user groups.
 3.18. Google Maps
  - Feature/Setting: Map embed or notification based on reported animal last seen location.
  - Sample config: Dynamic pins and info cards from animal alert data fields.
 3.19. Constant Contact
  - Feature/Setting: Send animal alert email to area-specific mailing lists.
  - Sample config: Use email API, preset list segmentation by subscriber ZIP.
 3.20. Pushover
  - Feature/Setting: Push lost/found notifications to staff mobile devices.
  - Sample config: Set API token, user keys, compact alert messages with link.

Benefits

 4.1. Significant reduction in time-to-alert after new case intake.
 4.2. Consistent, accurate, and multi-channel communications reducing staff workload.
 4.3. Rapid, community-wide mobilization increases pet recovery rates.
 4.4. Real-time tracking and geo-targeted reach on public engagement.
 4.5. Enhanced data consistency and automated status closure when animal is found or returned.