Add a new pet profile

This operation creates a new pet profile in the PawFinder system.

Endpoint structure

POST /pets

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

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

ID generation

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

cURL request

curl -X POST {base_url}/pets \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pawfinder-secret-2025" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ 
          "name": "Charlie", 
          "species": "dog", 
          "breed": "Beagle", 
          "age_months": 24, 
          "gender": "male", 
          "size": "medium", 
          "temperament": "curious, friendly", 
          "medical": { 
            "spayed_neutered": true, 
            "vaccinations": ["rabies", "dhpp"] 
          }, 
         "description": "Charlie is a friendly beagle
                        who loves exploring.", 
         "shelter_id": 1, 
         "status": "available", 
         "intake_date": "2025-11-12" 
} 

Example responses

Response: 201 Created

{
  "name": "Charlie",
  "species": "dog",
  "breed": "Beagle",
  "age_months": 24,
  "gender": "male",
  "size": "medium",
  "temperament": "curious, friendly",
  "medical": {
    "spayed_neutered": true,
    "vaccinations": ["rabies", "dhpp"]
  },
  "description": "Charlie is a friendly beagle who loves exploring.",
  "shelter_id": 1,
  "status": "available",
  "intake_date": "2025-11-12",
  "id": 6
}

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 species, gender, size, or status

{
  "error": "Bad Request",
  "message": "Invalid value for 'species'.
             Must be one of 'cat', 'dog'.",
  "status": 400
}

PawFinder Service API