How to hire an animal caregiver

How to hire an animal caregiver, step by step

Here's a step-by-step animal caregiver hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an animal caregiver job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new animal caregiver
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post an animal caregiver job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The animal caregiver hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect animal caregiver also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of animal caregivers.

   Type of Animal Caregiver	Description	Hourly rate
   Animal Caregiver	Animal care and service workers provide care for animals. They feed, groom, bathe, and exercise pets and other nonfarm animals... Show more	$9-17
   Kennel Technician	Kennel technicians are employees who work in animal boarding houses, veterinary clinics, and shelters. Primarily, they take care of and maintain animals living in a kennel... Show more	$9-16
   Dog Walker/Pet Sitter	A dog walker or pet sitter walks the dogs of their clients following the agreed-upon schedules and routes. Dog walkers accompany dogs during the vacation absences and work hours of their clients... Show more	$9-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Pigs
   • PET
   • Animal Handling
   • Animal Shelter
   • General Care
   • Facility Laundry
   • Fresh Water
   • Medical Treatment
   • Routine Care
   • Front Desk
   • Animal Species
   • Medical Care
   • Administer Medications
   • Medical Issues

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
   • Educate pet owners about illnesses, medications, and general care, and answer their questions and concerns.
   • Walk all dogs, and occasionally strange animals such as pigs.
   • Create neighborhood service providing in-home pet care including; leash walks, off leash socials, and cat care.
   • Assist veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants in providing the best care possible for patients.
   • Provide routine grooming including brushing and clipping claws.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your animal caregiver job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An animal caregiver salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, animal caregivers' average salary in tennessee is 45% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level animal caregivers earn 44% less than senior-level animal caregivers.
   • Certifications. An animal caregiver with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an animal caregiver's salary.

   Average animal caregiver salary

   $13.30hourly

   $27,665 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level animal caregiver salary

   $20,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

4. Writing an animal caregiver job description

   A job description for an animal caregiver role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an animal caregiver job description:

   Animal caregiver job description example

   San Diego Humane Society is hiring full-time Animal Caregivers for our San Diego team!
   How you'll impact our mission:
   
   At San Diego Humane Society, we're united by our mission to Inspire Compassion. The ideal candidate will be responsible for providing daily care and enrichment for our shelter animals, including feeding, cleaning, disinfecting, grooming, vaccinating, medicating and possibly performing euthanasia. If you're passionate about making an impact in the animal welfare movement, we'd love to talk to you.
   
   What's in it for you?
   
   At SDHS, we're proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and commit to being a place whereeveryperson - staff, volunteer, and guest - can feel a sense of belonging.We support and invest in employees through conscious delivery of benefits and a workplace environment based on our Core Values.
   
   As an employee you'll enjoy:
   
   + Competitive pay and paid time-off (including your Birthday Day Off!)
   
   + Comprehensive benefits package, training and well-being programs
   
   + 403(b) retirement plan with 5% match after 1 year
   
   + Free pet adoptions, pet vaccines and spay/neuter services
   
   + ...and so much more!
   
   What you'll do:
   
   + Complete daily husbandry routines, including appropriate feeding and exercise, maintaining assigned area in a clean, organized and professional manner.
   
   + Monitor the health of shelter animals; follow established procedures if symptoms of illness arise based on the degree of illness or injury. Administer daily medications, vaccinations and other treatments as appropriate.
   
   + Monitor animals daily and record details of diet, physical condition, elimination and behavior.
   
   + Provide kennel enrichment, training, and socializing of animals in conjunction with Behavior & Training, as time permits. Perform dog introductions and facilitate dog play groups with multiple dogs, following current protocols.
   
   What we're looking for:
   
   + High school graduate or equivalent required.
   
   + One (1) year experience working with animals in a shelter, kennel, vet clinic or volunteer environment preferred.
   
   + Working knowledge of animal breeds, general care, and behavior related information preferred.
   
   Location: Based at our Escondido Campus.
   
   Pay: Starting range is between $17.50 - $19.25 per hour. The hourly rate is determined by your related education and experience.
   
   Vaccine Mandate Policy: SDHS strives for a work environment with the highest level of safety. To that end,being fully vaccinated (and boosted) is a condition of employment for all SDHS employees, including new hiresas one of the many safety measures taken. SDHS makes reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs that prohibit a person from being vaccinated.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right animal caregiver for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your animal caregiver job on Zippia to find and recruit animal caregiver candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit animal caregivers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new animal caregiver

   Once you've decided on a perfect animal caregiver candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new animal caregiver first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an animal caregiver?