Partially update a shelter profile

This operation edits specific fields of an existing shelter 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 /shelters/{id}

Request headers

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

Request body

All fields required.

Property	Type	Description
`name`	string	Shelter’s name
`address`	string	Shelter’s address information
`phone`	string	Shelter’s phone number, E.164 format
`email`	string	Shelter’s email address
`hours`	string	Shelter’s hours of operation
`available_pet_count`	integer	Shelter’s available pets
`adoption_fee_range`	string	Shelter’s fee range in United States Dollar

Field requirements

Field	Validation Rule
`phone`	Must be E.164 format: +1-XXX-XXX-XXXX

ID generation

PawFinder auto-generates shelter unique identifiers, id. The system ignores id fields in PATCH request bodies or returns a 400 error.

cURL request

curl -X PATCH {base_url}/shelters/1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pawfinder-secret-2025" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ 
          "available_pet_count": 20 
      } 

Example responses

Response: 200 OK

{
  "name": "Dallas Animal Services",
  "address": "1818 N Westmoreland Rd, Dallas, TX 75212",
  "phone": "+1-214-671-0249",
  "email": "info@dallasanimalservices.org",
  "hours": "Mon-Sat 11:00-19:00",
  "available_pet_count": 20,
  "adoption_fee_range": "75-200",
  "id" : 1
}

Response: 400 Bad Request - missing required field values

{
  "error": "Bad Request",
  "message": "Missing required field: name",
  "status": 400
}

Response: 400 Bad Request - invalid values for fields phone or adoption_fee_range

{
  "error": "Bad Request",
  "message": "Invalid value for 'adoption_fee_range'.
             Must be in USD.",
  "status": 400
}

Response: 404 Not Found - no matching id

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

PawFinder Service API