Reference animals: documenting lineage and inviting the owner

To add a sire, dam, or other relative you do not own, create a reference profile for it. A reference profile records an animal for your pedigrees without making you its owner, and its real owner can claim it later.

Search for the animal first. If it is already on Creatures, link to that profile instead of making a new one.

Create the reference from your animal

1. Open your animal's Pedigree tab.
2. Select the empty Add sire or Add dam box.
3. Under Find on Creatures, search for the parent. If it is already on Creatures, pick it and select Link sire (or Link dam).
4. If it is not, select Create reference profile. Type the name and anything else you know, such as a registration number or birth year.
5. Turn on Keep this parent private if you want only you and your team to see it. Then select Create and link.

Create the reference with Add animal

1. Select Add animal.
2. Under What is your relationship to this animal?, choose Never mine, pedigree reference only. If you don't see this question, select Adding one you sold, or a pedigree-only reference? first.
3. Right below that choice, under Keep this reference private, pick Public or Private.
4. Add the name, species, breed and sex. Select Add more details (optional) for any dates you know. A photo is optional for a reference.

5. To invite the owner now, open More profile details in those details and use Invite the owner (optional). Search for them by name, or choose Send an email invite and type their email. Leave Send a reminder if not claimed on, and Creatures emails them once more about 7 days later.

6. Select the create button, such as Create Rhona's profile.

Add only details you can support, since other pedigrees may link to this profile. If you made two profiles for the same animal by mistake, see Merging duplicate animal profiles.

A reference's breed can also come from its pedigree, such as the papers you imported. Its Edit profile page then says From this pedigree. You can change or clear the breed.

Reference privacy

A reference can be private only while every animal it is linked to is yours. See Public, private, and reference animals for the full rule.

Invite the owner later

Open the reference you created and find Invite the owner under Added by. On a wide screen it sits beside the profile. On smaller screens, it is further down in the About section.

• Already on Creatures: search by name, pick them, and select Invite.
• By email: select Invite by email, enter the address, and select Send invite.
• By text: select Invite by text, enter the number, confirm you have their consent, and select Send invite.

Sent invitations show under Pending invites. Up to two can wait at once, and each invitation link works for 14 days. To send the link yourself, use Share with the owner under Share claim link. A shared link is not tied to one person, so a claim made through it is reviewed first.

Keep track of your references

In your Dashboard, open Reference profiles under Animals & Groups. It lists every reference you created as Unclaimed or Claimed, with Open profile beside each one.

Add breeds to ancestors you added

Pedigrees often leave an ancestor's breed blank. When some ancestors you added have none, choose the Reference filter on your profile's animals and select Add breeds, such as Add breeds (4). Home may show Add breeds to 4 ancestors you added, and your animal's Pedigree tab shows Review breeds for its own ancestors.

Review ancestor breeds groups them. Where the pedigrees below them suggest a breed, untick any that aren't, then select the button, such as Use Boer for 4. Pick a breed for the others if you know it, or leave them blank. Undo puts your last save back.

What happens when it is claimed

A person you invited can claim the profile right away after signing in with the invited account. If you created the reference and the animal turns out to be yours, your own claim is approved right away too. Anyone else's claim is reviewed by our team first.

After a claim, the owner takes over the profile and everything on it, and you no longer look after it. If you typed a biography before inviting the owner, they see it on the claim form and it stays on the profile when they claim.

Use a reference only for an animal you do not own. If you own the animal and are handing it to someone else, use Transferring an animal to its new owner instead.

Related information

• Claiming a reference animal someone created for you
• Public, private, and reference animals
• Pedigree, family, and lineage

Updated on: 05/11/2026