Animal Care Worker
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Love animals? Animal Care Workers get to work with animals every day and get paid for it!
Animal care workers are the everyday heroes of animal care services. They clean kennels, walk dogs, snuggle kitties, and do whatever it takes to make sure the animals they care for are clean, healthy, and safe. |
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Training Needed
Most animal care and service workers learn on the job. Still, many employers prefer to hire candidates who have experience working with animals. Some positions require formal education. Volunteering is an excellent way to gain experience working with animals. |
Important QualitiesCompassion. Workers must be compassionate when dealing with animals and their owners. They should like animals and must treat them with kindness.
Customer-service skills. Animal care and service workers should understand pet owners’ needs so they can provide services that leave the owners satisfied. Some animal care and service workers may need to deal with distraught pet owners; for example, caretakers working in animal shelters may need to reassure owners looking for a lost pet.
Detail oriented. Workers must be detail oriented because they are often responsible for keeping animals on a strict diet, maintaining records, and monitoring changes in animals’ behavior.
Patience. Animal caretakers and all animal trainers need to be patient when training or working with animals that do not respond to commands.
Physical stamina. Stamina is important for animal care and service workers because their work often involves kneeling, crawling, bending, and occasionally lifting heavy supplies, such as bags of food.
Information from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov.
Customer-service skills. Animal care and service workers should understand pet owners’ needs so they can provide services that leave the owners satisfied. Some animal care and service workers may need to deal with distraught pet owners; for example, caretakers working in animal shelters may need to reassure owners looking for a lost pet.
Detail oriented. Workers must be detail oriented because they are often responsible for keeping animals on a strict diet, maintaining records, and monitoring changes in animals’ behavior.
Patience. Animal caretakers and all animal trainers need to be patient when training or working with animals that do not respond to commands.
Physical stamina. Stamina is important for animal care and service workers because their work often involves kneeling, crawling, bending, and occasionally lifting heavy supplies, such as bags of food.
Information from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov.
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