Pet Paradise

Pet Playtime Coordinator

May - August 2022 • Lakewood Ranch, FL

What I liked

I loved working with the dogs! This was a great experience to de-stress over the summer and also earn a little bit of cash. The location was just down the road from my house and I got to bring my dogs to work with me!

What I wish was different

I joined during a really stressful time at the facility as most of the staff had quit and there was all new management. Many employees kept quitting because they didn't like the new management, which made it hard on me as I didn't have a very well-rounded training experience, especially as I was hired right before a holiday weekend, a really busy time for the resort. Over time, as the new management got more comfortable with new hires, I noticed that new-hire training was a lot more well-rounded. I ended up having to help train new hires, even though I had only been working there a couple of weeks longer than some of the people I was training.

Advice

I went into this job thinking it was going to be easy and that I was essentially just going to get paid for playing with dogs all the time, which was not an uncommon belief. However, this job is harder than it looks. It is physically strenuous as you are on your feet the entire 8-hour shift, and it can also be very, very gross since you are cleaning up after the dogs. Recognize that this job will have its easy days but it will also be really tough when the resort is busy (which is basically all summer and also around the holidays).

Be the first to mark this as helpful