Career-building resources in animal rescue available in DFW
October 1, 2008 9:06 AM Subscribe
Looking for an tips, contacts, experiences to pass on to a Dallas/FW resident interested in animal rescue.
Along with a real (but shallow) birthday gift I'd like to pass along something to inspire or educate my sister about a field she's interested in. She calls it animal rescue. I think she means small domestic animals, but I'd broaden it to any kind of wildlife, as she likes animals in general. At this point she needs a lot of encouragement and inspiration and I suspect she's vague on the actual details, so I'm looking for:
contacts that would be interested in talking to someone like her
upcoming events, fairs, or job fairs
experiences/places/animal reserves I could buy her a pass to
tips on good programs for someone with no college experience
Good volunteer hookups
Nonfiction but engaging books in the discipline
Etc.
Hopefully this conveys the idea appropriately. I'm willing to further research any and all ideas, so please, unload on me. Thank you in advance!
(And for the record, she's already approached me previously because she hoped my general biology background would help, but I had nothing then, but I know my help won't be turned down).
Along with a real (but shallow) birthday gift I'd like to pass along something to inspire or educate my sister about a field she's interested in. She calls it animal rescue. I think she means small domestic animals, but I'd broaden it to any kind of wildlife, as she likes animals in general. At this point she needs a lot of encouragement and inspiration and I suspect she's vague on the actual details, so I'm looking for:
contacts that would be interested in talking to someone like her
upcoming events, fairs, or job fairs
experiences/places/animal reserves I could buy her a pass to
tips on good programs for someone with no college experience
Good volunteer hookups
Nonfiction but engaging books in the discipline
Etc.
Hopefully this conveys the idea appropriately. I'm willing to further research any and all ideas, so please, unload on me. Thank you in advance!
(And for the record, she's already approached me previously because she hoped my general biology background would help, but I had nothing then, but I know my help won't be turned down).
This thread is closed to new comments.
Does your sister plan to eventually undertake some sort of schooling, on the path to working in animal rescue? A lot of people who are involved in animal rescue and cruelty prevention do so as volunteers; the ones who actually get paid for that work are often veterinarians, or have other animal training or secondary classwork, such as experience as a shelter employee or animal health tech.
If college work is a dealbreaker, then she'll have to make up for that with hands-on experience (as with most fields), and slowly work her way up by networking, and accepting low-paying jobs until she can get into better ones, etc. Has she looked at volunteering with the SPCA of Texas (which despite its statewide-sounding name is actually the Metroplex organization)? There are no pre-qualifications to volunteer, other than being 18+. I have several friends who have been shelter volunteers at various SPCAs, and the duties can range from petting and playing with shelter animals to kennel clean-up (unfortunately it's not at all exciting, like on the Discovery Channel shows). That might be a fine way for your sis to learn more about the industry while also learning whether it's a good fit for her.
posted by pineapple at 4:13 PM on October 1, 2008