Partially update a pet profile

This operation edits specific fields of an existing pet record in the PawFinder System.

PUT vs PATCH

PUT replaces an entire profile and PATCH only updates the fields provided in the request body. In a PUT request, missing fields set to null or default values. In a PATCH request, fields not present in the request remain unchanged.

Endpoint structure

PATCH /pets/{id}

Request headers

Header	Value	Required
`Content-Type`	`application/json`	Yes

Request body

All fields required.

Property	Type	Description
`name`	string	Pet’s name
`species`	string	Pet’s species
`breed`	string	Pet’s breed
`age_months`	number	Pet’s age in months
`gender`	string	Pet’s gender
`size`	string	Pet’s size category
`temperament`	string	Pet’s personality traits and behavioral characteristics
`medical`	object	Pet’s medical information
`medical.spayed_neutered`	boolean	Pet’s spayed/neutered status
`medical.vaccinations`	array	List of vaccinations the pet has received
`description`	string	Pet’s personality, needs, and background
`shelter_id`	number	ID of the pet’s current shelter
`status`	string	Pet’s adoption status
`intake_date`	string	Date the pet entered the shelter in Year-Month-Day format
`id`	integer	Pet’s unique record ID

Field requirements

Field	Validation Rule
`species`	Must be either `cat` or `dog`
`gender`	Must be `male` or `female`
`size`	Must be `small`, `medium`, or `large`
`medical.spayed_neutered`	Must be boolean
`medical.vaccinations`	Must be array of strings
`status`	Must be `available`, `pending`, or `adopted`
`intake_date`	Must be valid ISO 8601 date in YYYY-MM-DD format

cURL request

curl -X PATCH {base_url}/pets/4 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pawfinder-secret-2025" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ 
        "name": "Bella", 
        "species": "dog", 
        "breed": "Labrador Retriever", 
        "age_months": 12, 
        "gender": "female", 
        "size": "large", 
        "temperament": "friendly, energetic", 
        "medical": { 
          "spayed_neutered": true, 
          "vaccinations": ["rabies", "dhpp", "leptospirosis"] 
        }, 
       "description": "Bella is a young lab who loves
                      to play fetch and swim.", 
       "shelter_id": 4, 
       "status": "adopted", 
       "intake_date": "2025-10-01",
       "id" : 4 
} 

Example responses

Response: 200 OK

{
  "name": "Bella",
  "species": "dog",
  "breed": "Labrador Retriever",
  "age_months": 12,
  "gender": "female",
  "size": "large",
  "temperament": "friendly, energetic",
  "medical": {
    "spayed_neutered": true,
    "vaccinations": ["rabies", "dhpp", "leptospirosis"]
  },
  "description": "Bella is a young lab who loves
                 to play fetch and swim.",
  "shelter_id": 4,
  "status": "adopted",
  "intake_date": "2025-10-01",
  "id" : 4
}

Response: 404 Not Found- no matching id

{
  "error": "Not Found",
  "message": "Pet with ID 999 not found",
  "status": 404
}

PawFinder Service API