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Documents and paperwork20 minLevel: BeginnerUpdated on August 6, 2026

Preparing a care authorisation for your animal while you are away

How to write a clear letter authorising someone to look after your animal when you are away, with data, contacts, limits and what still needs your consent.

Audience
Pet owners
Species
Dog, Cat, All species
Scope
Valid everywhere

What you need before you start

  • I dati dell'animale: nome, specie, razza, numero di microchip e, se lo hai, il libretto sanitario
  • I dati della persona che deleghi: nome, cognome e un documento di identita valido
  • I recapiti del tuo veterinario di fiducia e, se possibile, di una clinica aperta nelle ore in cui sarai assente
  • Un tuo documento di identita e i tuoi recapiti raggiungibili anche a distanza

Sooner or later it happens to many people: a trip, a hospital stay, a long day out, and someone else has to look after the animal in your place. As long as it is filling the bowl and walking the dog, a spoken arrangement is enough. Things change when the animal has to be collected from the vet, a treatment needs authorising, a facility has to be entered, or a decision has to be made while you cannot be reached. In those moments a person with nothing in writing can find themselves stuck, and time lost in an emergency is costly. A written authorisation solves the problem in advance: it puts in black and white who may look after the animal, for what, within which limits, and how to reach you. It is not a complicated document, but it must be prepared with the right data and handed over to who needs it before you leave. This guide explains what to write, how to hand the authorisation over, and which contacts to leave, remembering that the formal requirements a clinic or facility asks for should always be checked with them.

When you really need a written authorisation

Not every absence needs a document. For an evening out or a weekend when a trusted person drops by to feed the animal, a message with the instructions and your contacts is often enough. A written authorisation is needed when the person staying with the animal might have to do something on your behalf in front of a third party, that is someone who does not know you and needs to know who is authorised.

  • Collecting the animal from the vet or a clinic after a visit or a stay.
  • Authorising the continuation of a treatment already agreed while you cannot be reached.
  • Entry into boarding, dog daycare or a facility that asks for a named contact.
  • A trip where the animal is entrusted to another person for several days.
  • A prolonged absence for work, hospital or commitments during which others manage the routine and documents.

What to write in the authorisation

A useful authorisation is short but complete. It must let whoever reads it understand in a few seconds who you are, who you authorise, for which animal, for what, and for how long. A few clear lines beat a vague page: the person using it is often in a hurry, and every ambiguity becomes another phone call.

Elements to include in an animal care authorisation
ElementWhy it mattersNote
Who you authorise and who you areIdentifies the two people with no room for errorName, surname and valid document details for both
Which animalTies the authorisation to that animal and no otherName, species, breed and microchip number
What they are authorised to doDefines the scope: collection, routine, facility entryList the permitted actions explicitly
What needs your assentKeeps the important decisions with youFor example non urgent procedures or spending over a threshold
Period of validityPrevents an authorisation staying open indefinitelyStart and end date of the absence
How to reach youAllows a call before unplanned decisionsA reachable number and an alternative contact

Preparing and handing over the authorisation step by step

  1. Gather the animal's and the people's data

    Put together the animal's name, species, breed and microchip, and the document details of the person you authorise and your own. Having them in front of you while you write avoids transcription errors, especially on the microchip number.

  2. Write what you authorise and what you do not

    List the permitted actions explicitly, for example collecting the animal, following the routine and presenting at a facility, and state what instead needs your assent, such as a non urgent procedure or spending over the agreed threshold.

  3. State the period and the contacts

    Add the start and end date of the absence, a number where you are reachable and an alternative contact. If you will be somewhere without coverage, write it and leave a second reliable reference.

  4. Sign and attach the documents

    Sign the authorisation, date it and attach a copy of your document and of the authorised person's. Check first with the clinic or facility whether they ask for a particular form or additional documents.

  5. Hand over the authorisation and the animal's documents

    Give the person the signed authorisation, together with the health record and the animal's documents, or copies of them. Make sure they know where everything is and have the contacts at hand.

  6. Tell the vet and the facility in advance

    Let your trusted clinic and any facility know who will come in your place and for which period. Advance notice makes everything quicker and reduces the risk of hold ups when they are needed.

Contacts and instructions to leave with the authorisation

The authorisation says who is authorised, but on its own it is not enough to manage the animal. Whoever stays with it also needs the practical information for the routine and for a possible emergency. Preparing a second sheet with contacts and instructions, or keeping it in a shared place that is always accessible, completes the job.

  • The trusted vet and a clinic open during the hours you will be away, with address and number.
  • Ongoing treatments: which medicines, at what dose and at what time, with the same wording as the leaflet.
  • Allergies, intolerances and known reactions already flagged by the vet, so mistakes are not repeated.
  • The daily routine: meals, amounts, walks, habits that reassure the animal.
  • What to do in an emergency: who to call first, what to say and where to take it.
  • Where the animal's documents, the health record and the signed authorisation are.

Frequently asked questions

Does the authorisation need to be certified or is my signature enough?
It depends on who has to accept it. For many everyday situations an authorisation signed by you, with copies of your documents and the authorised person's, is enough. Some facilities or some procedures may ask for a stricter form. That is why the practical rule is a single one: ask in advance the clinic or facility that will have to accept it what requirements they apply, so you prepare the document from the start in the way they will accept without having to redo it all on the spot.
Can I authorise someone to decide on a treatment in my place?
Important clinical decisions remain yours and are not delegated lightly. In the authorisation you can state that the person is authorised to continue a treatment already agreed with the vet and to manage the routine, but for new or significant procedures the best rule is that they try to contact you first. For emergencies, it helps to have decided together in advance how to act and up to which spending limit, so whoever stays with the animal is not left alone facing a difficult choice.
How long is the authorisation valid?
It is valid for the period you write. Stating a start date and an end date matters precisely so as not to leave an authorisation open indefinitely. When the absence ends, the authorisation is considered concluded. If you expect recurring absences you can prepare a template to fill in each time with the right dates, updating the contacts if they have changed in the meantime.
Do I need an authorisation even if I leave the animal with a relative who lives with me?
For everyday life no, because whoever lives with the animal already shares its care. The written authorisation becomes useful when that relative has to present alone in front of a third party, for example collecting the animal from a clinic where you are usually the reference, or taking it to a facility that asks who is authorised. In those cases a signed sheet with the contacts prevents them being blocked just when speed is needed.

What to do next

Prepare the authorisation before you leave, not in the moment of need: write who you authorise and for which animal, what they may do and what needs your assent, the period of validity and the contacts where you are reachable. Add a stated spending limit, attach copies of the documents and check in advance with the clinic or facility what requirements they ask for. Hand over, together with the authorisation, the instructions on the routine, the ongoing treatments and what to do in an emergency, keep them in a shared place and retire the authorisation when the absence ends.

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Preparing a care authorisation for your animal while you are away · Animiyo