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Date: 04/18/2025

Animal Caretakers

Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise provide care to promote and maintain the well-being of pets and other animals that are not raised for consumption, such as dogs, cats, race horses, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.
    • Advise pet owners on how to care for their pets' health.
    • Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.
    • Sell pet food and supplies.
    • Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities.
    • Adjust controls to regulate specified temperature and humidity of animal quarters, nurseries, or exhibit areas.
    • Observe and caution children petting and feeding animals in designated areas to ensure the safety of humans and animals.
    • Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury.
    • Exercise animals to maintain their physical and mental health.
    • Order, unload, and store feed and supplies.
    • Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment.
    • Observe and caution children petting and feeding animals in designated areas to ensure the safety of humans and animals.
    • Clean and disinfect surgical equipment.
    • Advise pet owners on how to care for their pets' health.
    • Train animals to perform certain tasks.
    • Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.
    • Collect and record animal information, such as weight, size, physical condition, treatments received, medications given, and food intake.
    • Perform animal grooming duties, such as washing, brushing, clipping, and trimming coats, cutting nails, and cleaning ears.
    • Answer telephones and schedule appointments.
    • Order, unload, and store feed and supplies.
    • Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.
    • Anesthetize and inoculate animals, according to instructions.
    • Mix food, liquid formulas, medications, or food supplements according to instructions, prescriptions, and knowledge of animal species.
    • Advise pet owners on how to care for their pets' health.
    • Transfer animals between enclosures to facilitate breeding, birthing, shipping, or rearrangement of exhibits.
    • Install, maintain, and repair animal care facility equipment, such as infrared lights, feeding devices, and cages.
    • Answer telephones and schedule appointments.
    • Discuss with clients their pets' grooming needs.
    • Find homes for stray or unwanted animals.

    Skills

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    3

    Abilities

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    Knowledge

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 28770/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 13.83/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 12,970
    • Yearly Projected Openings 2350

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Integrity
    • Dependability
    • Self Control
    • Attention to Detail
    • Cooperation
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Aquariums
    • Articulating boom lift
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Cages or its accessories
    • Cleaning scrapers
    • Compressed air gun
    • Dissolved oxygen meters
    • Diving instruments or accessories
    • Domestic hair dryers
    • Dosing droppers
    • Electric hair clipper
    • Electronic toploading balances
    • Forklifts
    • Handheld refractometers or polarimeters
    • Harnesses or its accessories
    • Immersion heaters
    • Inflatable rubber boat
    • Kennels
    • Laboratory ultraviolet UV sterilizers
    • Ladders
    • Muzzles
    • Oxidation reduction tester
    • Personal computers
    • Pet grooming products
    • Pressure or steam cleaners
    • Protective gloves
    • Respirators
    • Safety sleeves
    • Scaffolding
    • Scissor lift or lift table
    • Shears
    • Slings
    • Special hoses
    • Tongs
    • Underwater cameras
    • Underwater lighting
    • Veterinary nail trimmers or cutters
    • Water filters
    • Water pumps
    • Water purification equipment
    • Water testing and sampling kits
    • pH meters

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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