Working with animals

[okiron]

If you haven't noticed...I've been online constantly for the past couple days. Partly because I have a horrid cold combined with random panic attacks throughout the day makes doing anything but sitting in front of the computer possible. My computer chair is my bed so I can lay down when needed. And the other part is because I quit my job. A lot of reasons on why I did, but mainly because, I hated my job and I could be getting paid doing the same exact thing somewhere else for a lot more money.

I have some money saved up to take care of bills and rent for at least 2 months, 3 if I'm careful so no worries on that part. And I'm on such good terms with Walmart that I could get a job with them within a week. I'm guarenteed a job if money is an issue But honestly, I rather not go back to retail. Specifically, photo. I love what I do but I think it's time for me to move on and try something new.

So...for the past couple days, I've been job searching with nothing particular in mind. Right now I saw that my local animal shelter will be having a job fair on the 30th of January. Basically a month away but I don't mind. But the thing is...would I be able to handle it? I've never worked with animals professionally and I have no idea what to expect. If accepted, what kind of drama should I expect to see? I know the biggest challenge is not to bring all the animals home but at the same time, I HATE adopting from shelters so it wont be that big of a challenge.

I beg for honest opinions and advice. Either way, I gots 27 days to think about it lmao.

 

[missyscove]

Here's some information you might enjoy reading:
http://www.laanimalservices.com/about_careers.htm

I volunteer with LAAS. Some of the ACT's seem to really enjoy their jobs. It's obvious they prefer working with animals to working with the public though.

 

[okiron]

missyscove wrote:

Here's some information you might enjoy reading:
http://www.laanimalservices.com/about_careers.htm

I volunteer with LAAS. Some of the ACT's seem to really enjoy their jobs. It's obvious they prefer working with animals to working with the public though.

Thanks missyscove. Those jobs listed wont do me any good till I become a RVT but I wont even think about getting into that route before wetting my toes at least. If I like it enough after that, going back to school it is! For now I'll try the nitty gritty job of a kennel attendant or some other lowly position just to try it out

Edit : And guess who has a job interview at Newport Hills Animal Hospital on Monday at 12pm:biggrin2:

Must go shopping now >.< The buns chewed up my dress pants and the ratties got to my jeans. I have no pants!

 

[Maukin]

I've worked with animals all of my life. My degree is Animal Science. I've worked as a vet tech, a farm hand, a lab worker and an assistant manager.

Working with animals can be rewarding, but it's also exhausting sometimes. There are no breaks, animals must be fed, medicated, and cleaned up after. Babies are born in the middle of the night and it's not always a miraculous process. You must be used to poo, pee, blood, mucus and other unidentifiable bodily fluids. You may be bitten, scratched, slimed, stomped on, sneezed on orattacked on more than one occassion. Your reflexes will sharpen and your sense of smell will dull.

It can be a joy, but working with animals is not always all ootsy-cutsey. It's sleepingon hay balespricking your butt waiting for a mare to foal. It's that idiot owner that thought that leaving the litter of newborn pups out in the garage with the car pumping exhaust into their box was a form of keeping them warm. When you deal with living things, animal and human, you have that totally undefinable "What else can happen?" factor that you must deal with every day, sometimes more than once a day. I loved it. I felt every day that I had made a difference. And yes, sometimes I did take one home...

 

[stargazerLily]

Maukin wrote:

Working with animals can be rewarding, but it's also exhausting sometimes. There are no breaks, animals must be fed, medicated, and cleaned up after. Babies are born in the middle of the night and it's not always a miraculous process. You must be used to poo, pee, blood, mucus and other unidentifiable bodily fluids. You may be bitten, scratched, slimed, stomped on, sneezed on orattacked on more than one occassion. Your reflexes will sharpen and your sense of smell will dull.

It can be a joy, but working with animals is not always all ootsy-cutsey. It's sleepingon hay balespricking your butt waiting for a mare to foal. It's that idiot owner that thought that leaving the litter of newborn pups out in the garage with the car pumping exhaust into their box was a form of keeping them warm. When you deal with living things, animal and human, you have that totally undefinable "What else can happen?" factor that you must deal with every day, sometimes more than once a day. I loved it. I felt every day that I had made a difference. And yes, sometimes I did take one home...

Ditto to all of that! I've worked with animals on and off my whole life it seems, but have been working in the veterinary field for the last 3 years. To a point, you become desensitized to a lot of things, smells being one of them. But on the other hand, your sense of smell becomes sharpened. If you work in the animal field long enough you begin to recognize the smell of blood, the smell of parvo poop vs regular poop vs colitis poop and so on. And you can recognize the different smells of infections, kidney failure, liver failure, rotten teeth, etc.

There have been times I hated my job, and the majority of the time I love my job. Working with animals can be rewarding, but it can also be heartbreaking. And there are also times you can't resist but to take your work home with you.

 

[okiron]

Thanks Maukin and stargazerLily, these are the replies I expected to get

I can't know for sure if I could handle it or not unless I try so...I will try. It's never a waste of time if I'm going to be learning something.

 

[stargazerLily]

If anything, you can volunteer to work at a humane society/animal shelter before the job fair too, or even after, and that will give you a feel for what it is like. That is actually how I got my start in the veterinary field. I volunteered in the local human society's vet office (they had a vet that would come in twice a week to do exams and spays/neuters).

 

[Leaf]

All I can suggest when working in a shelter is:

Love them as if they were yours, know when to let go - and learn to treat each day with the animals as if it were the last.

 

[Michaela]

Good luck with whatever you decide hun! :hug:

I'm sort of considering becoming a vet, I'm still not sure, but am leaning towards it more than I used to be. I wish there was somewhere I could volunteer but we have no shelters nearby. :? Maybe with work experience next year with school I'll be able to go to a vets.

 

[Maukin]

Yeah, I do have to agree with Stargazerlilly about the sharpening of the nose as well. Parvo has a distict smell, coalitis, pancreatitis, blood, necrotic tissue and unfortunately, death has a distinct oder too....

When I say smell dulling, I'm talking about being able to eat your lunch after castrating 200 piglets and thinking that your taking a shower afterward makes all the oder go away.... What pigs????? I don't smell pigs?????

 

[stargazerLily]

Maukin wrote:

Yeah, I do have to agree with Stargazerlilly about the sharpening of the nose as well. Parvo has a distict smell, coalitis, pancreatitis, blood, necrotic tissue and unfortunately, death has a distinct oder too....

When I say smell dulling, I'm talking about being able to eat your lunch after castrating 200 piglets and thinking that your taking a shower afterward makes all the oder go away.... What pigs????? I don't smell pigs?????

Or being able to go about your day after you have been sprayed with anal glands, poop, blood, vomit and urine, and sit there and act like nothing happened, while everyone at the store looks in your direction wondering who you just killed or where the smell is coming from :biggrin2:

 

[Maukin]

Or going out to breakfast after milking cows since 4am....

Funny how the restaurant used to empty out so quickly.... We ALWAYS got a table. Such nice people....

 

[Bunnicula]

I'm kind of in your situation as I am looking very seriously at what it takes to become a certified wildlife rehabilitator here in PA.

For many, many years I volunteered at our local Humane League and a few other local animal welfare organizations. Maukin and stargazerLily are absolutely right. You do learn how to tolerate smells and to distinguish between them.

There's lots of "dirty" work to be done at a shelter. And, depending on the situation there, it can often be heartbreaking. I will never forget the first time that a cat I become quite emotionally attached to was going to be euthanized. It was spring and the shelter was beyond full with litters upon litters of kittens arriving each day. A beautiful orange tom had been there the longest...and no one was adopting him. The lead kennel tech came in for him and asked me to disinfect the cage for the incoming kittens. I still cry thinking about it. Thankfully, she allowed me some time with him...to hold him and love on him before he crossed the bridge...but it really hurt. I'm not sure I ever got "use" to it...

Another frustrating memory was over a sweet, frightened, formerly abused calico named "Precious." As one of the volunteers that was trained to handle adoptions, I spent close to 2 hours talking with a woman and her daughter about this cat. They were convinced they wanted her...and I thoroughly explained to them about the special needs she had due to her past. They were sure they could deal with it...and they even convinced me and the staff members on duty that night. When I went back a few days later, I found they had returned her because she "hid."

#$%?^&*!?people! I had TOLD them that over and over. Oh, how I wished I could have taken her home...but I also knew our household limitations at the time and that I couldn't save them all. She was euthanized about a week later.

I don't tell you the sad stories to depress you...honestly...

I just think you have to know that those kinds of things happen. And you will feel sad, mad, frustrated, and a whole range of negative emotions. But you will also feel love, joy, pleasure, and satisfaction knowing that you could bring something good to the lives of animals in need. And, the others are correct, you DO sometimes take them home. And you never regret that, trust me!(Sunkist, Louise, Angel, Koko, & Yum Yum were some of the felines who joined our household during my years at the League. Check this out for Louise's story: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=31508&forum_id=5)

I wish you the best with whatever you decide!

~Mary Ellen

 

[Gabby]

:grumpy:Maukin wrote:

You may be bitten, scratched, slimed, stomped on, sneezed on orattacked on more than one occassion. Your reflexes will sharpen and your sense of smell will dull.

yeah I agree, Yeah your sense for the regular every day smell. and yet you can smell differences in bloody poop, or infection etc. while regular smells tend to fade into the background.

for example one of our desk girls who always works desk came out back to get an animal and was like it smells back, here. ha none of us out back could smell a thing.

Honestly it was just the normal smells of a veterinary kennel area..

You have your rewarding times, and you have your times when you asked yourself "could it get any worse?" You get to meet wonderful people average people, below average people and terrible people. And then there are ones that are beyond terrible. Plus ones that mean well but are clueless.


You also have to learn that there are different ways of living and caring for animals, that you may or may not agree with and they are not wrong just different.

I saw something recently that broke down the 3 main differences in cats, One cat is "child" it is given everything and everything no expense spared, 2 the cat is just a cat, they love their cat but they do not attach to it like you would a human child.will do basic care and maybe an extra or 2. and 3rd was the unimportant cat, catis there but not essential, , bareminimum done.

Of course there are people who do fall in the inbetweens of those categories, but in a way it's pretty much right on as the basic 3 groups. You also have those who go above the groups and below as well.

One the things you learn, is no matter what you think and believe, you can't allow your judgement of people to get in the way of caring for their animal. If you work anywhere people bring their animals in to be euthanized you then also have to learn 1 how to handle that. 2 what are the polices on that, does the place euthanize anything that walks in the door and they are asked to euthanize or do they have rules of what is euthanized and what is not(think illness, or aggression, etc.)? Depending on their policies, how comfortable are you with them?

It is an easy burn out job, but if you love it it is worth it. there are many people out there that can't handle it. But seriously if you think you'll like it then you'll never know for sure till you get your feet wet. good luck. And the good news is I think there are several people on here who work in either shelter type conditions or veterinary type conditions that if you feel the need to talk and something very work related you have that option.

I don't want any one who does not work in this type of field to take this wrong, but there are somethings about this type of job that you can only talk to someone else who's been there and experienced it for them to really understand where you are coming from. best of luck Okiron

 

[Leaf]

Gabby wrote:

do they have rules of what is euthanized and what is not(think illness, or aggression, etc.)? Depending on their policies, how comfortable are you with them?

Heres an example of this, from the first humane society I worked for. The HS could easily receive 600 animals a DAY during the spring/summer/early fall months. They have a huge listing of these rules for all people to see when entering the incoming section of the main building:

Too Young (under 8 weeks old cannot be legally adopted out)

Too Old (so many animals come in so age is a determining factor)

Nursing (no room to hold a young family)

Lactating (never really visually appealing to an adopter,"wasted" time/space)

In Heat (can cause multiple problems at the facility)

Pregnant (can't adopt out knowingly, no room to house in facility)

Hybrid (wolf, coyote - no go)

Sick (no $ to treat, possible spread of illness could devistate other animals)

Injured (no $ to treat, looks bad to public, uninjured animals waiting in the wings)

Agressive (to cats, dogs, men, women, kids, livestock - better temperments tochoose from, adopting out can be a liability)

Restricted Breed (in a county, city, municipality)

Bite History (liability to staff/adopter)

Scratched/Bit/Broke Skin on a person 10 days prior to surrendering

Lack of Space (when the runs are full, the runs are full)



In that area, several breeds were pretty predominant. It was very common for us to get litters in that a breeder couldnt sell before they had a new litter on the ground. Most people want to buy a young animal, so the older ones were sometimes brought to us. If a litter of Dalmatians cam in for example - maybe 8 of them, in order to not flood the adoption floor with mostly one breed we'd possibly put 3 up for adoption instead of the whole litter. Same for large litters of black puppies, or really black pups/dogs in general since they are universally the hardest to find homes for.

Working as such, sadly, could put employees in a frame of mind that was easy to sort many of the incoming animals immediatly - we knew when a "dead dog" came through the doors before paperwork was even processed.



As for cats, all of the above rules applied as well with another addition - declawed cats very rarely stayed up for adoption for their alloted length of time (14 days) because they seem to be, for the most part, biters in strange and stressful situations. While always an exception to any "rule" - a declawed cat has its defenses taken away so they resort to the next best defense - -biting.

 

[okiron]

Yeah, I'm expecting all these things and it's gonna be hard for me. Only time will tell if I can do it though. I'm scared but at the same time I'm excited. Thanks for everyones input Keep them coming.

 

[Gabby]

Leaf wrote:

Dalmatians cam in for example - maybe 8 of them, in order to not flood the adoption floor with mostly one breed we'd possibly put 3 up for adoption instead of the whole litter. Same for large litters of black puppies, or really black pups/dogs in general since they are universally the hardest to find homes for.

I have heard from some black dogs are the hardest to adopt out, and from others who's never heard of that. one reason I'd guess is there are alot of them, but I could never get anyone who seems to know why else. just curious. Maybe it is harder in some states and or regions than it is in others??

 

[BlueGiants]

I've found that black rabbits can be the hardest to place as pets... some people just don't want a black animal. Sad, huh?

 

[JadeIcing]

BlueGiants wrote:

I've found that black rabbits can be the hardest to place as pets... some people just don't want a black animal. Sad, huh?

Yup but my fave our black ones.

 

[okiron]

That I don't understand. I love black animals. I would love a black cat, black dog, black rat...I already have the black bunny They're just as loveable as other colors.