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As some of you may know, I've been kind of in a quarter-life/post-university existential crisis where I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Since I'm also unemployed I've been volunteering to build skills/keep myself busy/check out different fields of work. I've been volunteering at a no-kill animal shelter recently, just walking dogs once or twice a week. But I get to see the workings of the shelter and I find it pretty fascinating. I have been toying with the idea of working in animal welfare, possibly even at the shelter I volunteer at. Being a vegetarian and sometimes-vegan, I love animals. I also want to be able to work to match strays/abandoned animals with caring owners, to rescue animals from abusive owners, etc. I guess almost like social work for dogs and cats.
My gf is friends with one of the office staff at the shelter and so I asked her how she got a job there, and she said she volunteered for a few years and eventually a position opened up. That particular shelter is quite small too, so it's even harder to work there. Evidently it's not an easy field to break into.
There's a few SPCA branches around here, but I'm not so sure about them. On their website, they seem to have a pretty decent volunteer training program, but I've read bad things about the SPCA shelters; some have a bad rep for euthanizing animals that didn't need to be, treating volunteers poorly, not taking criticism/complaints seriously, etc. They've garnered a reputation for being more "animal control" than animal welfare. But it may be my only real chance at getting experience with setting up adoptions/fostering/learning about animals, as the shelter I volunteer at is small and doesn't really allow volunteers to do more than clean rabbit cages and walk dogs.
Does anyone have any experience in this line of work? Is it worth the time/effort to pursue? Or am I sort of romanticizing the job?
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this is what I learnt:
You need nerves of steel, because some cases you'll come across will defy belief...neglect, cruelty and just sheer wanton mindlessness.
And you'll also have to learn how to euthanize an animal.
RSPCA inspectors here in the UK, undergo a visit to an abattoir as a compulsory part of their training, and have to put a cow to sleep by firing a bullet through its head.
It's unpleasant, unpalatable and very distressing.
But you have to learn to do it.
You also have to have the patience of a saint, because you can't show anger or intolerance of those whom you confront.
You have to be dedicated, persistent and develop a thick skin.
You have to be prepared to work in all kinds of conditions, all seasons, day or night.
And not all animals are small, cute furry and cuddly.
some are vicious, dangerous, unmanageable and frankly, a complete turn-off.
I could not, and still cannot, tick all of those boxes.
If you think you can, go for it.
I am worried about the euthanizing part though, which I'm not sure I agree with. Again, there are some no-kill shelters around, but from what I understand, it's hard to get a job at these places.
I'm curious, @federica, how far did you go in your investigation into this field? Did you actually try it? Or did you go in a similar direction? Or not at all? I'm not too worried about making tons of money (although of course it would be nice), but what kind of wages are we talking about, if you don't mind me asking? You don't have to answer if you don't like my question haha.
@seeker242 What sort of experience did you need to work at a shelter? What position did you have? I appreciate your answer, as it shows a totally different side to the work from federica's.
Vet work is out of the picture for me - it would require me to go through another 5+ years of university study, and there's only one or two vet programs in the country. It's not cheap either.
the first one was pleasant, and more a way of sorting the wheat from the chaff, shall we say. I do know two of the applicants didn't make it past first post because one young lady had too "fluffy" and romanticised idea of wht the job would entail...and the second young man was a vegan animal-rights activist with all the charm of a three-day-old piece of cod....
the second interview really spelled out the nitty-gritty of the job.
with slides and a video of what the job entailed.
Remember this was a few years back, before television was broadcasting fly-on-the-wall drama-documentaries as they do now...
so the material came as a bit of a shock.
At the end of the day, four more applicants dropped out. Including me.
but there was no shame in it.
I mean, I'm not looking to make it rich, but when you (@Mountains) say "living on next to nothing," that's a bit disconcerting especially since I live in the most expensive city in Canada.
I have a long and vested interest in canine care.