Fix each animal's own meal
Follow each animal's feeding instructions, measure out its portion of food, and refill its water bowls.
Career profile
Animal Caretaker
Animal caretakers feed animals, keep their living spaces clean, and spot changes in the animals.
Day by day, you learn each animal by watching how it eats, how it moves, and how it reacts to you.
A day in the life
Clean one kennel, then the next
Working kennel by kennel, you pull out dirty bedding, disinfect the pen and equipment, and run the laundry.
Note food left in bowls
Write down any food an animal didn't eat, and tell your shift lead when an animal's condition changes.
Take dogs out to play
In kennel jobs, you walk dogs and play with them outside their pens between stretches indoors.
Quick facts
High school + workplace training
United States · 2025–2035
$35,360/year
United States · May 2025
12.1% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
High school + workplace trainingTypical preparation is a high school diploma or equivalent and short-term on-the-job training.
Pay
$35,360/yearNational median for animal caretakers, equivalent to $17.00 an hour.
Outlook
12.1% projected growthAbout 62,800 openings a year are projected for animal caretakers nationally.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You find satisfaction in getting everyday care right.
- You notice small changes and write clear notes.
- You can be patient with worried owners and adopters.
Things to weigh
- Animals need holiday and weekend care. Shelter work can also mean seeing suffering or helping with euthanasia.
- Cleaning, lifting, and repeated bending are part of the work. Handling animals carries injury risk.
Where AI may help
Scheduling programs organize appointments; shelter software keeps animal records together.
What people still lead
You still handle animals and notice changes that need attention.
What we can’t predict yet
How much observation future tools can take over remains uncertain, especially when an animal’s behavior is ambiguous.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national midpoint is $17.00 an hour. It is a comparison point, not a starting offer.
The national spread
In May 2025, the median was $35,360 annually. The 10th and 90th percentiles were $27,250 and $50,060—about $13.10 and $24.07 hourly. These describe the wage distribution, not beginner and experienced pay.
Setting and hours matter
Annual medians were $37,460 in arts, entertainment, and recreation and $33,350 in professional, scientific, and technical services. These are broad industry groups. Part-time work is common; annual earnings depend on hours. Self-employed income is excluded.
Openings include replacement hiring
Employment is projected to grow from 365,300 to 409,400 during 2025–2035. The 62,800 average annual openings include replacement needs as well as growth; they are not all newly created jobs or current vacancies.
Getting started
Learn in a kennel job
- What the route involves
- Learn feeding, cleaning, and handling routines on the job.
- What it can lead to
- Build experience for broader kennel-care responsibilities, including bathing and grooming.
- What to check
- Employers may prefer previous animal experience.
Prepare for zoo care
- What the route involves
- Combine a bachelor’s degree in biology, animal science, or a related field with hands-on animal experience.
- What it can lead to
- Build the science background and practical experience sought for wildlife-care positions.
- What to check
- Check each zoo’s requirements. Education and experience do not guarantee a place in a competitive hiring process.
Many roles begin with workplace training. Zoo care usually calls for more preparation.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get reliable
Learn the feeding schedule, cleaning routine, and care records.
Handle more situations
In shelter work, develop your handling skills and learn to explain an animal’s needs to potential adopters.
Teach others
Seek responsibility for showing new staff or volunteers how to care for animals.
Where you can work
Boarding kennels
Pets stay while owners are away, often overnight. Care schedules continue beyond ordinary business hours.
- Indoors
- Shift work
- Physical demands
Shelters and adoption centers
You may work alongside volunteers and help adopters understand animals’ needs. Public conversations share the day with cleaning and handling.
- Indoors
- Outdoors
- Shift work
- Physical demands
Zoos
Wildlife care calls for species knowledge, ways to keep animals stimulated, and careful safety routines. The work can be dirty and repetitive.
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
With an owner’s permission, observe a familiar pet during its normal feeding routine. Write a short log of what it ate and how it behaved. Would you enjoy noticing and recording these details every day?
Stay safe: Let the owner handle the animal and keep its usual food and routine unchanged.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Animal Caretakers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine. Animal Caretakers — 39-2021.00. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Animal Care and Service Workers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Best Friends Animal Society. Animal Care and Adoptions Specialist — New York, NY. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Wildlife Care Specialist FAQ. Accessed 2026-10-03.