Animal Care

If you count your pet as your closest confidant and phone home at lunchtime just to hear him/her whimper over the line then you might consider turning your obsession into a professional career. Animal care is a popular choice for those with a penchant for our furry friends and doing a nightcourse is a great way of satisfying your interest without renouncing your job and family/social life.

Various VECs scattered around Ireland are recognising the growing demand for qualifications in this area and offer numerous courses embracing animal welfare and grooming which is quickly establishing itself as a niche market in itself. These courses will help participants to develop a basic understanding of the needs of animals and teach them how to respond accordingly. Not only will a nightcourse in animal care be of great enjoyment to any animal lover it is also considered to be an important introduction to anyone wanting to work with animals or train for an animal related career. Typical workplaces for those with an animal care qualification would include everything from veterinary hospitals to dog grooming salons.

As well as being taught the idiosyncrasies of training, bathing and grooming animals much emphasis will also be placed on how to successfully provide for their nutritional needs as well as giving them a hygienic living arrangement. The Bray Institute of Further Education offers a Diploma in Animal Care which runs over a period of two years and covers a broad range of training in areas like Animal Welfare, First Aid, Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Conservation. Career prospects are available in areas such as veterinary clinics, catteries, dog kennels and animal sanctuaries.

So for those of you who count your childhood heroes as being among Bambi and Lassie then maybe a course in animal care is your true calling…