An Animal Care Worker or Manager manages animal care and grooming for a retail store that sells pets or for a pet grooming business. May also provide animal care and grooming at a kennel. Works with animals in shelters or rescue organizations. Works primarily with dogs and cats. Assists veterinarians with vaccinations or other procedures; screens people who want to adopt an animal from a shelter and provides information about caring for animals.
We are not a traditional dog daycare and that's intentional! Barks & Recreation is a small, independently owned pet care business built around the belief that dogs deserve more than a chaotic room full of dogs and a person simply supervising them. We focus on individualized care, enrichment, mental stimulation, canine communication, emotional wellbeing and meaningful relationships with both the animals in our care and their families. We're looking for someone who shares that philosophy. This is not a position for someone who simply "likes dogs." We're looking for someone who is genuinely passionate about high quality animal care and wants to learn how to provide it at a higher level. What You'll Be Doing As an Animal Care Provider, you'll be an important part of the daily experience our clients' pets receive.
Responsibilities will include:
Providing attentive, hands on care for dogs in a small group, enrichment focused environment Learning to recognize and appropriately respond to canine body language and communication Providing individualized enrichment, mental stimulation, structured activities, and appropriate play Feeding pets and following individual care instructions Administering medications when needed Monitoring pets throughout the day and communicating any changes or concerns Maintaining a clean, safe, and organized environment. C leaning is a big part of the job! Assisting with boarding dogs and following their individual routines Providing clients with thoughtful updates about their pets when appropriate Building genuine relationships with both pets and their owners Following Barks & Recreation's standards for safety, enrichment, handling, and individualized care Being willing to learn and continually improve your understanding of animal behavior and care Fear Free & Force Free Care Is NonNegotiable Barks & Recreation is proudly a Fear Free and force free facility. We believe animals should be handled with compassion, patience, respect, and an understanding of their individual emotional needs. We are very proud to follow this scientific standard for canines. We do not use or permit aversive, punitive, or adverse training or handling methods. This includes physical punishment, intimidation, force based corrections or any other method intended to cause fear, pain, discomfort or distress as a means of managing or changing an animal's behavior. Our approach is based on communication over correction and understanding over punishment. All team members are expected to uphold these standards at all times. The use of adverse, punitive, or force based methods on an animal in our care is strictly prohibited and will be grounds for immediate termination of employment. Who We're Looking For The most important thing to us is who you are and how you care for animals.
You should be:
Compassionate, patient, warm, and genuinely kind Dependable and responsible Comfortable communicating with clients in a friendly and professional manner Someone who notices the little things Comfortable working independently and taking initiative Interested in canine behavior, body language, enrichment, and learning Comfortable with the less glamorous parts of animal care, including cleaning, accidents, feeding, and general upkeep Someone who understands that professional animal care requires patience, consistency, attention to detail, and physical work Willing to learn our specific approach to care, even if you have previous animal care experience Committed to Fear Free, force free, compassionate handling and willing to follow our standards without exception Previous professional experience with dogs, daycare, boarding, veterinary care, training, grooming, or another animal care setting is a plus. However, the right attitude and willingness to learn are just as important to us as experience. As a small business, our clients are VERY important to us and many are like family so we need someone with a great attitude. Our clients are truly the BEST , and we are looking for someone with the right attitude and genuine desire to form bonds with them, just as we have. The Barks & Recreation Difference We intentionally keep our environment smaller and more individualized than a traditional, high volume daycare.
Our approach is centered around:
Communication over correction. Quality of care over quantity of dogs. Quality over Chaos. Relationships over transactions. You'll have the opportunity to learn more about canine behavior, enrichment, communication and individualized care than you might in a traditional kennel or daycare environment. Because we are independently owned, you'll also work directly alongside the owner and learn firsthand how a small, relationship based pet care business operates. Schedule This position is approximately 20-30 hours per week. Your regular schedule will consist of: 3-4 shifts per week, either 10:00 AM-6:00 PM or 12:00 PM-6:00 PM 2 days off each week Saturday evening: approximately 2-3 hours , generally based on our current boarding needs Some split shifts on weekends will be needed, but not often Our schedule is intentionally structured, and we're looking for someone who can be dependable and consistent with their assigned shifts, especially given the nature of our model.
Compensation Starting pay:
$12-$14/hour We are a small, independently owned business, and while we may not be able to compete with large corporate facilities on starting wages, we strive to offer something different: a genuinely relationship-based workplace where you not only enjoy coming to work, but where the work itself has meaning. You'll gain meaningful hands on experience, opportunities to learn and the ability to make a real difference in the lives of the animals we care for. As the business grows, there will be opportunities for increased responsibility and compensation for team members who demonstrate exceptional reliability, skill, initiative and commitment to our standards of care. We want the right person to grow with the company. This Job Isn't for Everyone and that's okay! If you're looking for a job where you can simply show up, let dogs run around, and go home, this probably isn't the right position. But if you want to be part of a small business where the details matter, where animals are treated as individuals, where relationships with clients genuinely matter, and where you're encouraged to learn and grow as an animal care professional, we'd love to hear from you. We're looking for someone who wants to become part of us trying to shift an industry model to one that is more focused on the pet's wellbeing... not simply fill a shift. If you believe that dogs deserve patience, respect, enrichment, understanding, and genuinely thoughtful care, you may be exactly who we're looking for.
Pay:
$12.00 - $14.00 per hour Expected hours: 20.0 - 30.0 per week
