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

Skills

• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• 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.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• 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.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• 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.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

Abilities

• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• 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.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• 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.
• 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.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• 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.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

Knowledge

• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• 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.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• 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.
• 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.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• 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.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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:

• Stress Tolerance
• Self-Control
• Integrity
• Dependability
• Attention to Detail
• Perseverance

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