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A Typical Day Working with Animals
by
Michele C. Hollow
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- There really isn’t a typical day with animals
- Animals have their own personalities & moods
- Animal work schedules can be very flexible
What most animal care workers love about their jobs is that there is no such thing as a typical day. Animals are a lot like small children. We can interact with them, but communicating clearly takes a bit of work. Animals, like people, can have good moods and bad moods. They can be caring and mischievous.
“Each animal has a different personality,” says Dr. Mary Burch, a certified animal behaviorist who holds the title of Canine Good Citizen Director at the American Kennel Club. “Even different breeds of dogs exhibit different behaviors. When you are training a dog or judging, you know that each dog is different. You have to approach the dogs differently. For instance, when handling a Chinese Shar-Pei, they don’t like it when you reach down and approach them from above the head because they can’t see. You have to learn all the nuances of each breed.”
Even for Susan Smith, who doesn’t work directly with animals, each day is different. She handles public relations and development (grant writing) for the Palisades Park Conservancy. Her office is located in Bear Mountain, a state park in New York. “I write grants and press information alerting the media about upcoming events such as nature talks and environmental issues,” she says. “I have a lot of contact with the park rangers and animal care experts.”
She recently promoted a talk on raptors and another one on reptiles, including an albino Burmese python. While her job isn’t hands-on with animals, she does come into contact with them. “What’s great about this job is that I love interacting with the people who bring awareness about animals to the public,” she says. “Also, the scenery here (in the woods) is breathtaking. If I’m having a bad day, all I have to do is take a walk.
“Everyone here cares about animals and the environment,” she continues. “The issues and programs we promote constantly evolve, and that makes this a very interesting job.”
Jim Burwell used to have a lot of typical days. As a former bank executive, he remembers arriving at work at 7 A.M. and leaving after-hours. “It wasn’t exciting, and the days were predictable,” he says.
His life changed when he attended an auction for a local charity several years ago. He bid on and won a golden retriever named Charlie. “Charlie was an unruly puppy,” he says. “He was so hard to control. I decided that if I wanted to keep him that I would have to take him to an animal obedience trainer. I was amazed at the outcome.”
He was so pleased with the training that he decided to go into the profession. “What I have found is that each day is truly different from the next,” he says. “It’s liberating. I make my own hours, and thanks to the different personalities of the dogs and the pet owners, I get to interact with a wide range of pets and people."
"When I started, I did work a lot of nights and weekends. However, it’s different today. We have a lot of stay-at-home moms, and others who work at home offices. So, I work during the day. My schedule is very flexible. I feel like I got my life back. It’s nice being in control of your schedule. And more importantly, it’s nice being surprised by your clients and the personalities of the dogs I interact with. Those surprises—seeing people change their behaviors to work with their dogs, and seeing the dogs’ behaviors change for the better makes each day fun.”
…from The Everything Guide to Working with Animals.
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