What does an Animal Attendant do?
An animal attendant is responsible for administering high-quality care for the animals in a shelter, clinic, or wildlife preserve. Animal attendants monitor the health conditions of the animals, manage their food intake and medications, maintain the adequacy of animal stock inventories, and report any critical findings and unusual observations to the veterinarians. They also ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of all the facilities and cages, as well as the efficiency of tools and equipment to support daily animal operations.
Animal attendant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real animal attendant resumes:
- Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
- Skil at handling, restraining, husbandry and veterinary procedures with reptiles, mammals, raptors, amphibians, and songbirds.
- Clean goat and pig yards, train goats and pigs, keep records.
- Serve as midwife for birthing dogs, cats and goats.
- Care for goats by providing them with feed every week.
- Maintain cleanliness of the shelter and medicate animals direct by supervisor as needed.
- Complete beginning of the month and end of the month paperwork regarding clients and DSS
- Distribute medication and assist clients with job search and housing search through local DSS.
- Restrain animals for catheter placement, blood draws, vaccinations, ear cleaning, etc.
- Execute jugular and femoral vein surgery technique, canine dosing and catheter placement resulting in generation of studies.
- Interview pet owners upon animal check in to the hospital's kennel to understand their pets' needs and requirements.
- Maintain cleanliness of hospital by sweeping, taking out trashes, doing loads of laundry, and various other janitorial chores.
- Follow all USDA, FWC & AZA regulations precisely and adhere to extremely high standards of safety, cleanliness and professionalism.
- Organize and complete paperwork associate with the husbandry procedures
- Maintain sanitary, comfortable and compassionate medical environment for patients, boarders and permanent residents.
Animal attendant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 59% of Animal Attendants are proficient in PET, Patients, and Animal Handling. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Problem-solving skills, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Animal Attendants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PET, 59%
Worked with Colorado Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA) to better monitor state licensed breeders and other facilities.
- Patients, 6%
Established collaborative relationships with Veterinary Technicians to support their responsibilities, including holding patients requiring injections or calming nervous pets.
- Animal Handling, 6%
Gained experience in animal handling and proper restraint for animals kept in the care of the Humane Society.
- Cleanliness, 3%
Dodge City Animal Shelter, Dodge City, KS Maintain the cleanliness of the shelter.
- Euthanasia, 3%
Performed humane euthanasia and disposed of animals according to department protocols.
- Autoclaves, 2%
Experience in the use of specialized equipment such as cage washers, autoclaves and animal transport vehicles.
"pet," "patients," and "animal handling" are among the most common skills that animal attendants use at work. You can find even more animal attendant responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for an animal attendant to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what animal attendants do because "animal care and service workers should understand pet owners’ needs so they can provide excellent customer service." Additionally, an animal attendant resume shows how animal attendants use customer-service skills: "provided employee training sessions and guest education about the many exotic animals at the facility. "
Problem-solving skills. Many animal attendant duties rely on problem-solving skills. "animal trainers must be able to assess whether animals are responding to teaching methods and to identify which methods are successful.," so an animal attendant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways animal attendant responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "developed humane training solutions to address animal behavior problems. "
Compassion. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of animal attendants is compassion. This skill is critical to many everyday animal attendant duties, as "animal care and service workers must be compassionate when dealing with animals and their owners." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "administer medications, daily feedings, and demonstrate care and compassion toward each animal. "
Detail oriented. A big part of what animal attendants do relies on "detail oriented." You can see how essential it is to animal attendant responsibilities because "animal care and service workers are often responsible for maintaining records and monitoring changes in animals’ behavior." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical animal attendant tasks: "maintained detailed records on activities and environmental conditions in the animal rooms and support areas. "
The three companies that hire the most animal attendants are:
- VCA Animal Hospitals27 animal attendants jobs
- Baylor College of Medicine5 animal attendants jobs
- Tufts University3 animal attendants jobs
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Compare different animal attendants
Animal attendant vs. Pet groomer
A pet groomer typically works with pets and other animals in pet grooming boutiques and pet stores. As a pet groomer, you will perform a few tasks that may include cleaning and taking care of pets such as dogs, maintaining the cleanliness of the work area for the next client, and working with the cash registers. In addition, you will groom dogs and cats using different tools and techniques, ensuring that pets stay safe and are well taken care of.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between animal attendants and pet groomer. For instance, animal attendant responsibilities require skills such as "quality care," "patients," "euthanasia," and "autoclaves." Whereas a pet groomer is skilled in "dryers," "salon services," "pet parents," and "appointment scheduling." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that pet groomers earn slightly differ from animal attendants. In particular, pet groomers are 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an animal attendant. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Animal attendant vs. Dog groomer
Pet care specialists are professionals who are responsible for maintaining the health and safety of pets by providing them their basic needs. These specialists are required to educate pet owners about proper pet care and maintenance while creating personalized customer service to maintain customer loyalty. They must help and assist customers with their needs by providing professional and courteous customer service. Pet care specialists must also order useful items for the store while conducting in-store audits on their inventory.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, animal attendant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "quality care," "patients," "cleanliness," and "euthanasia." Meanwhile, a dog groomer has duties that require skills in areas such as "scheduling appointments," "animal safety," "dryers," and "physical appearance." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Dog groomers earn similar levels of education than animal attendants in general. They're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Animal attendant vs. Pet care specialist
A dog walker provides dog walking services to pet owners at scheduled times, ensuring their safety. They first meet with pet owners to discuss their preferred schedule and use this opportunity to learn more about the dog and understand its needs. There are instances where a dog walker may walk multiple dogs, consider weather conditions, pick-up and dispose of waste properly, and feed dogs with water or food. Moreover, a dog walker regularly updates pet owners with the duration or location of walks, including the dog's behavior.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from animal attendant resumes include skills like "quality care," "patients," "animal handling," and "cleanliness," whereas a pet care specialist is more likely to list skills in "health issues," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "cpr. "
Pet care specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to animal attendants. Specifically, they're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Animal attendant vs. Dog walker
Types of animal attendant
Updated January 8, 2025
