Animal Control Workers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Examine animals for injuries or malnutrition, and arrange for any necessary medical treatment.
• Write reports of activities, and maintain files of impoundments and dispositions of animals.
• Euthanize rabid, unclaimed, or severely injured animals.
• Clean facilities and equipment such as dog pens and animal control trucks.
• Organize the adoption of unclaimed animals.
• Investigate reports of animal attacks or animal cruelty, interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, and writing reports.
• Investigate reports of animal attacks or animal cruelty, interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, and writing reports.
• Issue warnings or citations in connection with animal-related offenses, or contact police to report violations and request arrests.
• Prepare for prosecutions related to animal treatment, and give evidence in court.
• Remove captured animals from animal-control service vehicles and place animals in shelter cages or other enclosures.
• Write reports of activities, and maintain files of impoundments and dispositions of animals.
• Supply animals with food, water, and personal care.
• Train police officers in dog handling and training techniques for tracking, crowd control, and narcotics and bomb detection.
• Train police officers in dog handling and training techniques for tracking, crowd control, and narcotics and bomb detection.
• Capture and remove stray, uncontrolled, or abused animals from undesirable conditions, using nets, nooses, or tranquilizer darts as necessary.
• Issue warnings or citations in connection with animal-related offenses, or contact police to report violations and request arrests.
• Investigate reports of animal attacks or animal cruelty, interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, and writing reports.
• Educate the public about animal welfare, and animal control laws and regulations.
• Contact animal owners to inform them that their pets are at animal holding facilities.
• Capture and remove stray, uncontrolled, or abused animals from undesirable conditions, using nets, nooses, or tranquilizer darts as necessary.
• Answer inquiries from the public concerning animal control operations.
• Examine animal licenses, and inspect establishments housing animals for compliance with laws.
• Examine animal licenses, and inspect establishments housing animals for compliance with laws.

Skills

• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.

Abilities

• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.

Knowledge

• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

65210/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

31.35/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

260

Yearly Projected Openings

30

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Self Control
• Stress Tolerance
• Integrity
• Dependability
• Attention to Detail
• Cooperation

Tools

• Air rifles or air handguns
• Animal control traps
• Animal transport cage
• Bar code reader equipment
• Cages or its accessories
• Compressed air gun
• Crimping pliers
• Digital cameras
• Dog catching pole
• Handguns
• Lariats
• Leashes or leads
• Lifts
• Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
• Medical acoustic stethoscopes
• Muzzles
• Personal computers
• Security cameras
• Sporting shotguns
• Tongs
• Two way radios
• Winches

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Document management software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Geographic information system
• Internet browser software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Process mapping and design software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software