Occupation
Animal care attendant
Animal care attendants feed, clean, exercise, and monitor animals in kennels, catteries, shelters, boarding facilities, and research or holding units. The work is physical and routine-driven, with cleaning and feeding rounds that run every day including weekends. Shelter settings add difficult situations involving neglected animals and distressed members of the public.
Also known as: Kennel attendant · Animal shelter worker · Pet care attendant · Animal caretaker · Animal shelter attendant
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Occupation content
Part of Agriculture, animals and environment
A visual day in the work
What the work involves
Clean, disinfect, and restock kennels, runs, and enclosures on the daily round.
Prepare and give feeds and water according to each animal's care plan.
Exercise, socialise, groom, and enrich animals in care.
Observe appetite, behaviour, and physical condition and report concerns to a supervisor or veterinarian.
Handle intake, identification, and record-keeping for arriving and departing animals.
Talk with owners, adopters, and visitors about care, behaviour, and facility rules.
Entry-route stepper
How people commonly enter
Direct entry with on-the-job training and employer-provided animal handling instruction.
A short course or certificate in animal care, animal welfare, or kennel operations.
Volunteering at a shelter or rescue that leads into paid work.
A college certificate or diploma in animal care for people aiming at supervisory or technician roles.
Typical training: Short course or on-the-job training
Licensing: Not typically licensed
Work-context map
Typical work context
- Physically active
- Team based
- Shift work
- Public facing
- Varied work
Physically active · Team based · Shift work · Public facing · Varied work
Related interests
- Realistic (hands-on)
- Social (helping)
Realistic (hands-on) · Social (helping)
Related aptitude preparation
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Skills to practise
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Agriculture, animals and environment.
Official sources
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Agriculture, animals and environment in Canada, not a figure for Animal care attendant. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
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Agriculture, animals and environment: education pathways
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Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Agriculture, animals and environment: licensing
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