Question:
So if I were ever to work outside the home again (which may be a serious possibility) I could only ever work with animals. That's where my heart is.
The Los Angeles SPCA is hiring for a few positions I'd be great at; but I'm wondering, could I really do it?
So to the 2 lovely ladies who work at animal societies, is it ever too much to take (or is it always too much to take)? Or, do you cry yourselves to sleep every night because of all the pain and sadness you see?
I'd really appreciate the input and feedback. Thanks.


Answer:
I have great days as well as bad.. just like any other job. Not a day goes by that someone comes in and comments "I don't know how you can work here". We do see some awful things and it makes me realize the amount of people out there that haven't a clue when it comes to animals..
When I first started there 6 years ago.. I did have many sleepless nights.. but now I've learned to put up a shield (so to speak).. I'm not sure if that is healthy or not b/c it might appear like I'm not bothered by the things I see & do... but I know I wouldn't have lasted this long if I hadn't. It also helps that everyone I work with has a sick sense of humor just like me.. I guess if we don't laugh, we'd be crying.. and who wants to be around that all day!
There are so many jobs in a large shelter that people could do with other backgrounds.. we have a media/communications representative, Volunteer coordinator, accountant, donations etc. So if a person wanted to work in a shelter but has no experience, they could go that way.
What type of job were you thinking of doing?


Answer:
Thank you, Sue. Really.
I was looking into: Animal Care Attendant. It ranges from cleaning to socializing to assisting in euthanasia. The other position is Pet Adoption Center Store Assistant Manager.
Of course, we'll be moving in the beginning of January and the Seattle Humane Society is located in Bellevue (the city we'll be moving to). So I should probably just wait until then.
The Seattle position is Kennel Technician, sounds similar to Animal Care Attendant (though it doesn't mention euthanasia, just care and such).


Answer:
Actually you would need a 3 year Vet Technician Diploma to be a Kennel Technician. I would check out the Animal Care Attendant (if a position is available) in Seattle. That's the job that I have done (and still do on occasion) for 4 years.. I liked it b/c I worked so closely with the animals. Now I work Lost & Found and it's a lot of tracing ID and matching animals that are strays to their owners (detective work).. I love it but I'm not working as closely with the pets except to ID them and set them up in their cage. I did have an awesome day today.. found 2 dogs that have been missing since August.. it's such a rush! That was an hour & 1/2 ago and I'm still hyper..


Answer:
I really wanted to work someplace with animals, like a shelter or vet clinic, but after thinking long and hard about it, I just don't think I'd be able to deal with all the bad parts about jobs like that. I think I'm better off just taking in animals and giving them forever homes. But I do think it would be awesome to reunite families with their lost pets! And 2 in one day would be extra great!


Answer:
I volunteered at two different no kill shelters and it was the hardest and most depressing thing in my life, it would have been worse with a regular shelter. It is rewarding and painful at the same time (does that make sense?)


Answer:
It takes a certain type of person to work in a shelter... thats why the turn-over is so high.. if you can work there for more than a year, you're more than likely going to be a 'lifer'.. like me. I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I train alot of newbies.. and I can tell within the first couple of days if they will last. Our shelter is a very fast pace, extremely busy.. you're lucky to squeeze in a lunch and forget about taking breaks! I probably stop for 30 minutes in a 9 hour day...
Not the type of job alot of people would want...


Answer:
im not at a shelter but a vet clinic and like sue says there are the really great days to the really poopy days. what i love about my job is fixing animals to make them better so they can go home again. and its really sad when people cant afford to do that. you have to find ways to deal with it or you go crazy. my ways to deal are laughter, owning lots of pets, breeding rats and having good friend who are similar to me that i can rant about the idiots ive met that day.


Answer:
The worst part about my job is giving animals back to their irresponsible owners over & over again.. we have to do it.. but I just cringe for the poor animal b/c I just know that one of these days the animal will come in injured or dead... it happened to two recently (a cat & a dog) that we knew b/c they were at the shelter so often (we call them frequent flyers) and I was so angry.. but what can we do?
I really do like my job though!


Answer:
I also volunteered at a no-kill shelter for 2 years. It was a great experience, all in all. I had the wonderful job of walking dogs and cuddling and playing with the cats.
The worst part of the job is learning the stories behind the animals that we had. Some of them were abandoned for really lame reasons, some of them were strays, some of them suffered horrible abuse. It was also very difficult to lose animals. Some of them were just too far gone once they got to us. My most heartbreaking experience was that of Adonis. He was a sweet, black cat. After 11 years, his owners abandoned him because they did not want to pay for some necessary dental work (I believe that he had some teeth extracted). So, we got Adonis and he was miserable and inconsolable. He would cry and yowl and whine and he carried on for days like this. He was confused and sad. After not even a week, Adonis lost his will to live and went to sleep. There was nothing wrong with him, he just didn't want to be here anymore.
On the other hand, we had some really great animals at our shelter. Many of them stayed for weeks, months, even years...which was just fine with us. Although, when one of our long time residents found a forever home, it was even more rewarding. Just knowing that these animals had a second chance was heart warming. We had a very extensive screening process which made it easier to let the animals go to their new home.
I agree though, some people are not able to do this type of work. However, I would suggest volunteering at a shelter in CA and then make the decision whether or not you'd like to pursue this as a career.