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Personal Care39-2021.00Specialization

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.

$31,200
Median Pay
Less than 6 months
Training
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Animal Care Workers

Career Overview Video

AI Impact Assessment

AI Resilience Score

Score 4/6: growing job demand means AI will assist but humans remain essential

🟡AI-Augmented

How we calculated this:

AI Exposure
Medium+1

27% of tasks can be accelerated by AI

Job Growth
Growing+2

+12% projected (2024-2034)

Human Advantage
Moderate+1

EPOCH score: 15/25

Total Score4/6
Methodology: v2.0 - GPTs are GPTs / BLS / EPOCH Additive ScoringUpdated: 2026-01-09
View full methodology →

Key Responsibilities

  • Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.
  • Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment.
  • Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury.
  • Mix food, liquid formulas, medications, or food supplements according to instructions, prescriptions, and knowledge of animal species.
  • Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.
  • Exercise animals to maintain their physical and mental health.
  • Collect and record animal information, such as weight, size, physical condition, treatments received, medications given, and food intake.
  • Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities.
  • Answer telephones and schedule appointments.
  • Advise pet owners on how to care for their pets' health.

Education & Training

Typical Entry Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Time to Job Ready

0-1 years

Based on Job Zone 2. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.

Technology Skills

CEEJS The Pet Groomer's SecretaryDaySmart Software 123PetDaySmart Software Appointment-PlusEnvision Pet GroomingGroom ProGroomsoftK9 Bytes K9 KoordinatorKennel LinkMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordMobile Dog Grooming Software mGroomer

Key Abilities

Oral ComprehensionOral ExpressionProblem SensitivityInformation OrderingStatic StrengthNear VisionDeductive ReasoningInductive ReasoningTrunk StrengthSpeech Recognition

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Compensation Details

$23,180
10th Percentile
$31,200
Median
$45,080
90th Percentile

Based on 268,830 employed workers

Also Known As

Animal Care AttendantAnimal Care Giver (ACG)Animal Care Service WorkerAnimal Care SpecialistAnimal Care TakerAnimal Care TechnicianAnimal CaregiverAnimal CaretakerAnimal Daycare ProviderAnimal Feeder

Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics

O*NET Code: 39-2021.00