Animal Caretakers
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.
266,910 people do this job in the US. $35,360 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 16%
- 7%
- 78%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 9%. Today's estimate: 11%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 23% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform animal grooming duties, such as washing, brushing, clipping, and trimming coats, cutting nails, and cleaning ears.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Find homes for stray or unwanted animals.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | 51%Half by now | |
| Exercise animals to maintain their physical and mental health.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Train animals to perform certain tasks.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Advise pet owners on how to care for their pets' health.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Discuss with clients their pets' grooming needs.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | 99%Half by now | |
| Answer telephones and schedule appointments.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers18% now, 19% by 2028
- Animal Trainers1% now, 1% by 2028
- Animal Breeders24% now, 33% by 2028
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians15% now, 15% by 2028
- Animal Control Workers38% now, 38% by 2028
- Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals2% now, 2% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).