What authentication does the Petfinder API use?

Petfinder uses OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow. Agents obtain an access token valid for 1 hour (3600 seconds) by presenting a client ID and client secret to the /oauth2/token endpoint. Through Jentic, credentials are stored encrypted in your Jentic One instance and tokens are refreshed automatically - agents never handle raw client secrets or token expiration logic.

Can I search for pets by location with the Petfinder API?

Yes. The /animals endpoint accepts a location parameter (city and state, postal code, or latitude/longitude) and a distance parameter in miles (default 100, max 500). Results include the distance field showing miles from the search location. Sort by distance, recency, or random to customize result ordering.

How do I filter pets by behavior traits like good with children or house-trained?

Use the boolean filter parameters: good_with_children, good_with_dogs, good_with_cats, house_trained, declawed, and special_needs. These parameters accept true or false and filter the results to only include animals matching the specified criteria. Combine multiple filters to narrow the search (e.g., good_with_children=true and house_trained=true).

How do I search adoptable pets through the Petfinder API via Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'find adoptable dogs near me' or 'petfinder search animals', then load the /animals operation schema. Specify filters like type, location, distance, size, age, and behavior traits, and Jentic handles OAuth token refresh and credential injection. Results include animal details, photos, and organization contact information. Install with pip install jentic run it through Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

Can I retrieve organization details for animal shelters with the Petfinder API?

Yes. The /organizations endpoint searches organizations by name, location, state, or country. The /organizations/{id} endpoint retrieves full details including mission statement, hours of operation, adoption policies, contact information, social media links, and photos. Use this to build shelter directories or integrate adoption workflows.

Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Petfinder API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which Petfinder operations and credentials the agent may use. Every exposed Petfinder operation is read-only (searching animals via /animals, fetching one animal with /animals/{id}, searching shelters via /organizations, and reading types and breeds), so you can allow only the specific lookups you want and the agent can do nothing beyond retrieving and searching pet and organization data. Since the resource id sits in the URL path, a rule can even pin the agent to a single animal or a single organization.