Your work. Your records.
Animal Caretaker Workplace Records Guide
Animal caretakers may balance scheduled feeding, cleaning and exercise with unexpected welfare concerns. An employment dispute about a missed task or shift length is easier to review when the assignment and handoff are clear. Describe the facility setting, your responsibilities and the instructions you received without turning the account into an unsupported veterinary conclusion.
Call now(800) 800-5555Free initial case evaluation. Representation depends on work state and case eligibility. This guide explains record preparation; it does not determine whether a legal claim exists.
A record map for your role
What to organize first
Care assignment
List feeding, exercise, cleaning and handoff duties relevant to the concern, including any revised instructions.
Observation record
Separate your direct observation, the report you made and the response from any later medical explanation.
Shift comparison
Match preparation, care and cleanup work with your own time entry and any written correction request.
Start with the work you actually do
Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise provide care to promote and maintain the well-being of pets and other animals that are not raised for consumption, such as dogs, cats, race horses, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Animal Caretakers (39-2021.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.Source task 5072 · updated 08/2019
- Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment.Source task 5077 · updated 08/2019
- Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury.Source task 5075 · updated 08/2019
- Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.Source task 20132 · updated 08/2019
- Exercise animals to maintain their physical and mental health.Source task 5080 · updated 08/2019
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Animal Caretakers (SOC 39-2021). These describe an occupation across employers. They are not a required pay rate, an overtime calculation, or evidence of discrimination or unpaid wages.
Select your work state to see its published pay range. No personal pay information is requested or sent.
The 25th and 75th percentiles mark the middle half of the estimated wage distribution; the median is its midpoint. Actual pay can differ with experience, employer, location and duties. Hourly and annual figures are shown as published, without converting one into the other.
All published state estimates for this occupation
| State | Hourly 25th | Hourly median | Hourly 75th | Annual median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $11.50 | $13.62 | $16.48 | $28,330 |
| Alaska | $15.46 | $17.61 | $22.86 | $36,640 |
| Arizona | $17.25 | $18.35 | $22.64 | $38,180 |
| Arkansas | $13.74 | $14.54 | $16.93 | $30,230 |
| Connecticut | $17.24 | $17.94 | $22.11 | $37,310 |
| Delaware | $15.00 | $16.30 | $17.48 | $33,910 |
| Florida | $14.31 | $16.42 | $18.01 | $34,150 |
| Georgia | $13.48 | $14.36 | $16.80 | $29,860 |
| Hawaii | $15.82 | $19.29 | $24.91 | $40,130 |
| Idaho | $13.94 | $15.47 | $17.24 | $32,170 |
| Indiana | $12.76 | $14.42 | $17.03 | $29,990 |
| Iowa | $13.10 | $14.46 | $16.89 | $30,080 |
| Kansas | $11.75 | $14.34 | $18.40 | $29,830 |
| Kentucky | $13.39 | $14.77 | $18.22 | $30,720 |
| Louisiana | $10.98 | $13.42 | $16.04 | $27,910 |
| Maine | $16.95 | $17.90 | $21.15 | $37,230 |
| Michigan | $13.93 | $14.58 | $17.50 | $30,320 |
| Minnesota | $15.25 | $17.51 | $20.00 | $36,430 |
| Mississippi | $10.67 | $12.97 | $14.37 | $26,970 |
| Missouri | $14.09 | $15.02 | $17.07 | $31,230 |
| Montana | $14.23 | $16.45 | $18.81 | $34,210 |
| Nebraska | $14.02 | $15.23 | $18.99 | $31,680 |
| New Hampshire | $14.08 | $16.73 | $20.54 | $34,790 |
| New Mexico | $13.98 | $16.14 | $17.93 | $33,570 |
| New York | $17.14 | $18.19 | $21.05 | $37,840 |
| North Carolina | $13.72 | $14.84 | $17.30 | $30,870 |
| North Dakota | $14.93 | $16.37 | $18.58 | $34,040 |
| Ohio | $13.70 | $14.57 | $17.46 | $30,310 |
| Oklahoma | $11.50 | $13.92 | $17.00 | $28,940 |
| Pennsylvania | $13.66 | $15.08 | $17.53 | $31,360 |
| Rhode Island | $16.76 | $17.85 | $21.12 | $37,120 |
| South Dakota | $13.80 | $14.61 | $17.00 | $30,390 |
| Tennessee | $13.52 | $14.69 | $17.39 | $30,550 |
| Texas | $13.69 | $15.74 | $20.16 | $32,730 |
| Utah | $14.10 | $16.71 | $20.20 | $34,750 |
| Vermont | $16.29 | $17.35 | $20.60 | $36,090 |
| Virginia | $14.18 | $16.53 | $18.33 | $34,380 |
| West Virginia | $12.13 | $13.73 | $16.54 | $28,550 |
| Wisconsin | $13.54 | $14.50 | $17.71 | $30,160 |
| Wyoming | $12.25 | $13.98 | $17.58 | $29,080 |
“Not published” preserves unavailable or suppressed source cells. “Above reporting limit” preserves a top-coded source value without inventing a number. A missing state estimate does not establish service eligibility. The data describe wage and salary employment; they do not measure self-employment income.
Source: BLS May 2025 state workbook · OEWS tables · BLS technical notes. Use your own schedule, pay statement and compensation terms to identify the question you want reviewed.
Trace scheduled care and exceptions
Identify the assigned care activities and the shift in which they were due. Note changes in feeding, exercise or cleaning instructions and who approved them. Describe any interruption you personally observed, including a need to seek assistance. Separate tasks you completed from those handed to another worker, and mark uncertain timing or recollection explicitly.
Record a reported concern and response
If an animal's condition affected the workplace event, describe the observed behavior in general terms, the time reported and the supervising role notified. Note the direction you received rather than diagnosing the condition yourself. Connect any later warning or schedule change to its own dated record without assuming the report caused the employment decision.
Protect client and facility records
Keep your own schedule, pay records, training documentation and permitted employment messages. Do not remove client contact information, treatment records, facility access details or restricted research materials. Identify the care log or assignment record that may clarify the sequence and where it is maintained. Ask how confidential material should be handled before sharing it.
Choose your next step
Review the workplace retaliation guide, unpaid wages guide, or discrimination guide if those concerns fit your experience. A job title alone does not establish a claim.
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