Even legitimate pet-care messages can be filtered before reaching a client. This guide explains why messages sent through MoeGo are handled differently from personal texts and shares practical ways to reduce the likelihood of filtering.
📖 In this guide you’ll learn:
How SMS messaging filtering works
Why business messages sent through MoeGo (A2P) are handled differently from personal texts (P2P)
What factors may increase the likelihood of filtering
How to write clearer, client-friendly pet-care messages
Which formatting and link practices may help reduce filtering
What to do if an appropriate message is still filtered
How Does SMS Message Filtering Work?
SMS filtering is an industry-wide safeguard used to reduce spam, fraud, and other unwanted or restricted messages.
MoeGo uses Twilio as its SMS service provider. When you send a text through MoeGo, Twilio processes the message and applies its messaging policies and filtering requirements. The recipient’s mobile carrier may also perform additional checks before completing delivery.
MoeGo does not create these filtering rules or decide which individual messages are blocked.
Why Can the Same Message Send from a Personal Phone?
Messages sent directly between personal phones are generally considered Person-to-Person or P2P messages.
Messages sent through a business platform such as MoeGo are considered Application-to-Person or A2P messages. This includes messages written by a team member directly to one client - the message is still A2P because it is being sent through a business application.
A2P messages are subject to stricter messaging requirements than personal texts. This is why the same wording may send from a personal phone but be filtered when sent through MoeGo.
What Can Affect Message Filtering?
Similar to an email spam filter, SMS filtering may look at several signals across the full message - not just one word. This can include the message’s wording, context, links, formatting, and sending patterns.
Because these checks can vary, there is no definitive list of words that will always be filtered. The same term may go through successfully in one message but contribute to filtering in another, depending on the surrounding context.
A message may be more likely to be filtered when it includes:
Content that resembles spam, fraud, threats, explicit content, or another restricted category
Public URL shorteners or links with unclear destinations
Excessive capitalization, punctuation, special characters, or emojis
Highly urgent or forceful payment language
Content or sending activity that appears inconsistent with the business’s messaging use case
ℹ️ Keep in mind
These examples are not a definitive list of blocked words. The same term may be delivered in one message but filtered in another depending on the full context. For more information about restricted content and messaging use cases, review Twilio’s Forbidden Message Categories in the US and Canada.
These recommendations can help reduce the likelihood of filtering, but they cannot guarantee delivery. If an appropriate message is still filtered, contact MoeGo Support. False positives can happen, and our team can review the case with Twilio when appropriate.
Best Practices to Help Reduce SMS Filtering
There is no guaranteed way to prevent a message from being filtered, but clear wording, helpful context, professional formatting, and trusted links can reduce the likelihood.
These practices apply across service types, whether you send appointment reminders for grooming, boarding, or daycare services. The examples below reflect the terms that may be more likely to contribute to filtering when used without enough context.
1. Use Clear Wording and Context
Some terms used every day in pet care may be interpreted differently outside of the industry or misunderstood when they appear without enough context.
The categories below highlight common pet-care terms that may benefit from alternative phrasing. Use these suggestions only when they accurately describe the service, situation, or next step.
⚠️ Important: Keep critical details accurate
Do not conceal, dilute, or inaccurately rename a medication, safety incident, charge, or medical concern merely to pass a filter. Add clear pet-care context instead, or move sensitive details to a phone call or another appropriate channel
🐾 Anatomy, Hygiene, and Breeding
Anatomical, hygiene, and breeding terms may be misinterpreted as explicit or adult content when the pet-care context is not clear.
Terms that may increase filtering risk | Alternative Phrasing |
Anal or anal glands | Gland expression, gland service, rear hygiene, sanitary care, A.G.E |
Stud | Sire or male breeding dog |
Bitch | Female dog or dam |
In heat | Active heat cycle |
Sack | Sensitive area, sanitary area, or lower-body area |
❌ Instead of Your total includes an anal gland expression. | ✅ Try
Your total includes a gland expression service. |
💊 Medical, Medication, & Sedation
References to cannabis-related products, medication, sedation, or graphic health concerns may be misunderstood when the pet-care context is unclear.
Terms that may increase filtering risk | Alternative Phrasing |
CBD, hemp, marijuana | Calming oil, calming chew, soothing treatment, or plant-derived topical |
Sedative, acepromazine, tranquilizer, or drugged | Prescribed calming aid, veterinarian-approved medication, comfort aid, or relaxation protocol |
Infection, pus, bloody, or wound | Irritation, raw area, hot spot, skin concern, sensitivity, or area of concern |
❌ Instead of
Please medicate or sedate your dog before arrival. | ✅ Try
Please administer your pet’s prescribed calming medication before arrival, following your veterinarian’s instructions. |
🛡️ Safety & Behavioral Terminology
Direct language about biting, attacking, or dangerous behavior may be misinterpreted as threatening, abusive, or harassing content when the pet-care context is unclear.
When communicating a safety concern, describe what happened, explain the action your team took, and give the client a clear next step.
Terms that may increase filtering risk | Alternative Phrasing |
Aggressive | Reactive during handling, stress-related reactivity, or showed significant handling sensitivity |
Dangerous | Unable to participate safely, presented a safety risk, or additional caution was required |
Attack | Involved in an altercation or initiated unsafe contact |
Bite or tried to bite | Bit a team member or attempted to bite during handling |
❌ Instead of
Your dog is too aggressive and tried to bite. | ✅ Try
[Pet name] attempted to bite during handling, so we ended the service early to keep everyone safe. When you have a chance, please give us a call or text so we can talk through what happened. |
💳 Aggressive Reminders & Fees
Payment-related wording is not automatically filtered. However, messages that combine dollar amounts with all caps, repeated urgency, threats, or strict demands may resemble scam or aggressive collection messaging.
Keep the tone professional, explain what the charge is for, and make the next step clear.
Terms that may increase filtering risk | Alternative Phrasing |
PAY NOW | Please review the balance for [Pet name]’s appointment here: [link]. |
OVERDUE | A balance of [$ amount] remains for [Pet name]’s appointment. |
FINAL WARNING | This is the last reminder about the remaining balance on your account. |
Late fee | A late fee of [$ amount] has been applied according to our policy. |
Cancellation fee | A cancellation fee of [$ amount] has been applied to [Pet name]’s appointment according to our cancellation policy. |
❌ Instead of
Hi, your $50 balance is OVERDUE. Please PAY TODAY to avoid an additional late fee. | ✅ Try
Hi [Client name], a $50 balance remains for [Pet name]’s appointment. You can review it here: [link]. |
2. Use Clear Formatting and Trusted Links
Formatting and links can also affect whether a message is delivered. Even when the message itself is appropriate, certain formatting choices or unclear links can make it look more like spam.
Use Emojis Sparingly
A small number of relevant emojis may be appropriate, but long strings of emojis can make a message look promotional or spam-like.
❌ Instead of
🚨🚨 Grooming deals today!!! 🐾✂️✨ | ✅ Try
Grooming appointments are available this week. Reply to learn more. 🐾 |
Use Normal Sentence Case
Avoid using all caps or repeated punctuation to create urgency.
❌ Instead of
FINAL REMINDER!!! YOUR APPOINTMENT IS TOMORROW!!! | ✅ Try
Friendly reminder: [Pet name]’s appointment is tomorrow at [time]. |
Avoid Public URL Shorteners
Public URL shorteners, such as bit.ly or goo.gl, can be identified as spam by US carriers because the final destination is not immediately clear.
In general, we recommend sending the full link to your clients whenever possible. While full links may not always look as clean, they are often easier for carriers and clients to recognize as legitimate.
If you choose to use a shortened link, it should be:
Proprietary: using a dedicated custom domain that belongs to your business, not a free shared public shortener
Properly branded: aligned with the business or sender identified in the text message
You can read more about how to send short links in this Twilio guide.
❌ Instead of
Vaccine info here: bit.ly/abc123 | ✅ Try
Hi [Client name], please review our vaccine requirements before [Pet name]’s stay: [full or branded website link] |
3. Understand Restricted Message Categories
Some restrictions apply to the type of business, content, or messaging use case - not just to specific words.
This means changing the wording of a message does not make an otherwise prohibited use case compliant. For example, certain categories may still be restricted even if the message is rewritten to sound more natural or client-friendly.
For more information, review Twilio’s Forbidden Message Categories for SMS and MMS in the US and Canada.
4. What Happens Inside MoeGo When a Message is Filtered
When a filtered message occurs, it appears as a delivery error in the client's Message Center with the following message:
"This message was blocked by the carrier as it contains sensitive terms violating the A2P communication regulation. Please revise or rephrase your message and resend."
Or "80121: Sorry, your message is filtered due to the following content not permitted by carrier policy"
💡 In some cases, MoeGo may display terms associated with the filtering decision. Treat these as troubleshooting clues, not as a definitive blocked-word list. Filtering can depend on the entire message, sender history, links, use case, and carrier-specific signals.
This means Twilio or the recipient's carrier flagged the message content, and it was not delivered. The message will show as failed in the conversation view.
Before resending, use the checklist below to review your message.
5. Review Before Resending a Filtered Message
If a message is filtered, review it before sending again. A few small adjustments may help reduce the likelihood of the revised message being filtered.
Before resending, check whether the message includes:
pet-care terms that may need more context
excessive emojis, all caps, repeated punctuation, or special characters
public URL shorteners
overly urgent, aggressive, or unclear payment language
missing context, such as your business name, the pet’s name, or the appointment reason
After reviewing the message, try sending a revised version with clearer context, simpler formatting, and a trusted link if one is included.
6. When to contact MoeGo Support
Contact MoeGo Support if:
the message appears appropriate and pet-care related;
you have already reviewed the wording, formatting, and links;
the message is still being filtered;
or you are not sure what may be causing the issue.
False positives can happen. MoeGo Support can review the message details and, when appropriate, work with Twilio to request additional review.