Pros
For those that truly care about the health, care and well being of all animals, the job can be very rewarding. Being able to educate customers on proper care, needs and requirements before they decide on a new pet, benefits both the customer and the animals. Regular customers become more like friends and you look forward to seeing them and makes you feel good when they ask for you personally because they trust you.
Cons
There is no actual training for any position. Policy states that no associate is permitted to handle any animal in pet care and/or perform any task involving the animals unless they are pet care certified, but management totally disregards this policy daily, allowing anyone/everyone to handle/sell any/all animals and fish. They even allow non certified associates to receive new arrivals of animals and treat/medicate those in the isolation room. Not only is this violating company policy, it results in a high number of returns, injuries to both customers and animals, and especially in the aquatics department, customers return with dead fish sold to them by non certified associates. If you hire in as non management, you have very little to no chance of advancement. All managers are outside hires, most of the pet care managers have absolutely no experience or knowledge of any of the animals and/or their care and store manager expects associates to train the managers. Alerting the store manager to problems, concerns or policy violations is futile, not only will no corrective action be taken, you end up with a target on your back. Obvious bias towards those that don’t make waves and blindly/quietly do what they are told regardless of right/wrong and when wrong, willing to accept all the blame.