Begin with what you know on the day she arrives
A rescue dog with no documents does not arrive with no information. She arrives with a shelter or rescue name, an estimated age, notes about how she was found or surrendered, the food she has been eating, and whatever the rescue observed about her appetite, stool, energy, and behavior. Write all of that down on the first day, exactly as given, and keep the rescue's own paperwork even if it is only a single sheet. Early notes that seem trivial, such as coughing in kennels or flinching when her ears are touched, often become the clues a vet needs weeks later.
Take clear photographs on arrival: full body from the side, face, teeth if she tolerates a gentle look, and any visible marks, thin patches, scars, or lumps you notice. Photographs date the starting point in a way memory cannot, so if a patch spreads or a lump changes, you can show what it looked like at the beginning rather than describing it from guesswork.
What the first vet visit should establish
Book the visit within the first week or two unless your rescue advises sooner for a puppy, a senior, or a dog who arrives unwell. The goal of this appointment is a baseline, not a verdict on every unknown. Expect a full hands-on examination covering heart and lungs, ears, eyes, skin and coat, teeth and gums, joints and movement, and body condition, plus an accurate weight recorded as the starting point for all future comparisons.
Vaccination history is treated as unknown when there is no reliable record, so your vet will plan how to build protection from that starting assumption and explain the sequence and timing for your dog. Parasite checks are equally central: a stool sample is commonly requested, and heart and intestinal parasite prevention will be discussed based on your area and her likely history. Bring a fresh stool sample to this first visit if you can, because arriving with one saves a return trip.
Ask for a microchip scan even if the rescue believes she is chipped. Chips can be missed, can migrate, or can be registered to a previous keeper, and this visit is the moment to confirm the number and update the registration into your name and number. If she has no chip, discuss having one placed while she is already being examined.
Questions worth asking while you are there
Ask what age the vet would estimate from her teeth and overall condition, and have that estimate written into the file as an estimate, clearly labeled. Ask which existing marks or findings are likely old and stable, and which ones the vet wants watched. Ask what feeding amount suits her current body condition, because rescue dogs arrive both underweight from neglect and overweight from kennel feeding, and the plan differs sharply between the two.
If she arrived with loose stool, a cough, itching, or low energy, raise each one specifically rather than mentioning them in passing at the door. New-home stress explains many mild signs, but only an examination can sort stress from something that needs treatment, and sooner is better if she stops eating, vomits repeatedly, has diarrhea with blood, struggles to breathe, or becomes markedly lethargic.
Building the file forward from that baseline
After the visit, file the examination summary, any results, and the planned dates for follow-up vaccinations or rechecks at the front of the health file, and set reminders for each one before you leave the clinic car park in your mind. Add your own weekly notes for the first month: weight trend if your vet asks you to track it, appetite, stool consistency, and how she settles. That first month of home observation, paired with the clinical baseline, becomes the history she arrived without.
A file built this way quickly stops looking like a file for a dog with no history. Gathering the rescue notes, baseline findings, and rebuilt vaccination record into KinsLe Pet Passport means her new history travels complete to every appointment, trip, and handover from now on.