Animal Control Worker

Job Description

An animal control worker, as the name suggests, are professionals that work with municipal or other law enforcement authorities to tackle issues related with animals. This includes working with domestic animals, livestock, and even wild animals. Animal control workers perform a wide range of services. These professionals play a pivotal role in ensuring the welfare of both humans and animals in a region by making certain that the pertinent animal control regulations are enforced. 

What Would I Do? 

In Ottawa, there are multiple roles for animal control workers which can determine what exactly one does. However, in general, the starting position that one gets is that of an animal control officer. In this position, you will be performing the following tasks in your everyday routine: 

• Investigate animal cruelty reports or animal neglect claims
• Perform checks as per the proper protocols. 
• Look for any and all violations in animal care. 
• Report cruelty incidents to the relevant authorities based on your findings. 
• Inform the violators of their negligence and the necessary procedures to follow to fix the violations. 

Am I Suited For a role as an Animal Control Worker?

If you are thinking about working as an animal control officer in Ottawa, you need to self-inspect to assess whether you possess the following characteristics and have the following work preferences: 

• Time management skills are key in this job to ensure you tackle all essential concerns every day. 
• Communication skills for understanding public concerns and explaining the course of action and other necessary information is vital. 
• Adaptability to work in diverse environments. 
• Creativity to come up with innovative solutions for handling animals. 
• The ability to work with others. 
• An inherent will to help other people. 
• Analytical and quick thinking to resolve issues rapidly and effectively. 
• Ability to work with animals and around animals. 
• Basic knowledge of animal welfare
• Ability to assess conditions to ensure animal owners have everything as per regulations. 

Environment & Typical Day 

If you serve as an animal control officer in Ottawa, your typical day can be very hectic depending upon whether you get any complaints from the community, or very lowkey if you do not get many complaints, but are making rounds to check how well the regulations are being followed. A typical day would look something like this:

• Once you reach your place of work, you will check if any reports have been made for animal cruelty or of stray animals. 
• If so, you will respond to them appropriately by going to the place where the incident has occurred, conducting investigations and taking the domestic or stray animals and transporting them to the appropriate facilities. 
• During investigation, you will also check all the violations and enforce animal control laws in the community. 
• You will then assist the facility in providing proper treatment to the animal and may need to administer vaccinations. 
• If there are no complaints, you will assist animal shelters and other facilities in handling daily operations. 
• Thereafter, you will undertake initiatives to educate the public about responsible pet ownership practices. 

What Are The Wages And Benefits

Salary: The typical wage for an animal control officer in Ottawa is around $50,315 per year or $39.79 per hour if the position pays on an hourly basis. These average salaries are often accompanied by an average bonus of around $800. However, the particular wage for a professional can vary depending upon the specific role and responsibilities as well as the level at which they are functioning. 

On the lower end of the curve, the salary can be as low as $21 per hour whereas towards the higher end of the spectrum, the wages can go as high as $48 per hour. The salaries vary for inspectors, trappers, supervisors, and other officials involved in the same work, hence, the variations would depend upon the particular designation. 

What Is The Job Outlook In Ottawa

The job outlook in Ottawa for animal control workers seems to be moderately promising for the coming years.In the current landscape, there have been roughly 460 people reported to be working in the capacity of an animal control officer. Of this,

• Roughly 47% of workers are serving the local, aboriginal, regional, municipal, and  public administration sectors. 
• 18% of the total pool of workers is involved in federal government public administration roles, and 
• About 13% are involved in the provincial public administration sector. 
• The median age of retirement for the workers is about 61 years of age. 

How Do I Become an Animal Control Worker

In order to become an animal control worker, you need to fulfill some basic eligibility criteria and have the prerequisite educational and experience qualifications as well. Alongside fulfilling the character qualifications, individuals aspiring to work in animal control also need to fulfill the following parameters:

1. Education:

• A high school completion diploma is essential. 
• The candidate must have completed a college program in law enforcement, security or equivalent field. 

1. In case the individual does not have an educational background in security services, they must have experience in regulatory occupations or administrative positions. 
2. Certifications: Before getting a job, you must also get the pertinent compulsory licenses and certifications that indicate your suitability for the role. 

Apart from these qualifications, the candidates would also be provided training on the job which they need to complete in a satisfactory manner. Beyond these, the specific required qualifications could vary based on the particular job for which you are applying. 

Where Would I Work? 

If you work as an animal control worker, you are technically a law enforcement agent, and you will be working in an office. However, the major part of your job will also be in the field when you respond to civilian complaints. 

• If you are working for a municipal authority, your office will be in a municipal building, however, you will mostly work in the surrounding areas when responding to complaints of domestic animal abuse, etc. 

• If you work with a private organization, you could work from an office, an animal shelter and on the field, depending upon the exact role that you will be playing in the company, and on the particular tasks to be accomplished for the day. 

How Do I Find A Job? 

In order to find a job as an animal control worker, you can leverage the following online platforms where you will need to fill in an application or send one via email depending upon the particular instructions posed by the recruitment agency: 

• LinkedIn
• Ottawa Humane Society 
• Glassdoor
• Job Bank Canada
• University Health Network, Toronto
• Indeed 

When searching for jobs through any of the job portals or networking sites such as LinkedIn, it is essential to ensure that you read through the entire job description to find the procedure of application preferred by the recruiter, rather than simply clicking ‘Easy Apply’. This is essential to establish yourself as a genuine candidate since some recruiters may require you to send in your applications via email, which is provided at the very end. 

Applying For A Job 

If you are aspiring to be an animal control worker, you need to be careful when filling your application to ensure you establish your suitability for the role. Hence, to ensure that, follow these steps: 

• Check out jobs through all potential leads including those mentioned above. Find out all the jobs for which you are eligible and which interest you by combing through the job descriptions, responsibilities that the selected candidate would hold, and the eligibility criteria. 
• Read through the application process which needs to be undertaken to be considered for the role. Every organization and every open position could have different screening processes, tests, and general application processes which you must follow. 
• Reach out to concerned individuals of authority like HR employees of the organization in case you have any confusion regarding the application. 
• Fill in the application forms completely and carefully, ensuring all your information is accurately filled. 
• Polish your resume to highlight all your educational and experience-based qualifications to match the job description as closely as possible. For each of the different roles for which you send in an application, you may want to tweak your resume accordingly to suit the requirements that the recruiter is looking for. 
• Draft a carefully worded cover letter for any application that so requires by conducting some research about what the organization does, what the job entails, and aligning that information with what you are looking to get out of the position. 

Where Can This Job Lead 

If you choose to become an animal control worker in Ottawa, you will typically start from an entry level position that can be an animal control officer or even an animal control trapper. As your experience grows, you can grow into an animal control inspector, and eventually a supervisor as well, depending upon the availability of the position as well as your overall performance over the years and eligibility depending upon the particular duties and responsibilities of the role.