Replace a shelter profile

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This operation replaces all fields of an existing shelter record with new data. Use this operation to correct major data entry errors across many fields, update complete shelter information after moving facilities, or standardize shelter profiles when migrating from legacy systems.

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

PUT /shelters/{id}

Request headers

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

Authentication

Required - include an API token in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer API_TOKEN

Request body

All fields required except for id, which is auto-generated.

Property	Type	Description	Value Format
`name`	string	Shelter’s name	Any text
`address`	string	Shelter’s location information	Any text
`phone`	string	Shelter’s phone number	E.164 format: “+1-XXX-XXX-XXXX”
`email`	string	Shelter’s email address	Any text
`hours`	string	Shelter’s hours of operation	Any text
`available_pet_count`	integer	Shelter’s available pets	Numeric value
`adoption_fee_range`	string	Shelter’s fee range	United States Dollars
`id`	integer	Shelter’s unique identifier	Auto-generated, read-only

cURL request

# Replace all data for the shelter profile with `id`= 1
# Recommended base_url = http://localhost:3000
curl -X PUT {base_url}/shelters/1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pawfinder-secret-2025" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ 
         "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": 25, 
         "adoption_fee_range": "75-200" 
}   

Success response `200`

Returns the created shelter profile complete with the id:

{ 
  "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": 25, 
  "adoption_fee_range": "75-200",
  "id": 1 
}   

Error responses

Code	Scenario	Response
`400`	Missing values	`{ "error": "Bad Request", "message": "Missing required field: name", ... }`
`400`	Invalid values	`{ "error": "Bad Request", "message": "Invalid value for 'adoption_fee_range'. Must be in USD.", ... }`
`401`	Missing API token	`{ "error": "Unauthorized", "message": "Authentication token is required for this operation.", ... }`
`403`	Invalid API token	`{ "error": "Forbidden", "message": "Invalid or expired authentication token.", ...}`
`404`	Invalid `id`	`{ "error": "Not Found", "message": "Shelter with 'id' 1 not found.", ... }`

PawFinder Service API