First off, let me just start by saying that I absolutely love my job, and I can say that I truly enjoy going to work. Of course I have those days where I just don’t want to go, but everyone has those days no matter what they do for a living.

I get asked all the time, “Do you have a job?” And, “Where do you work?” When I tell people that I work at a dog daycare/boarding and grooming facility, the first words that I almost always hear are, “Oh my gosh, you are so lucky to get to play with dogs all day,” or, “Oh, that must be a really easy job,” or something along those lines.

Well, that could not be further from the truth. No, my job definitely isn’t the hardest job in the world, but I along with every other animal care taker in the world are not given enough credit for how hard our jobs really are.

I will admit, I do spend about 20-30 percent of my time playing with dogs, giving them attention or getting my face attacked with kisses but, the other 70-80 percent of the time I am busting my ass cleaning the dog rooms, doing dishes, laundry, keeping things tidy and organized, feeding the dogs, running dogs to and from play groups and to and from the office when they come in and when they leave.

I spend almost my entire day on my feet, running back and forth around the building doing various tasks I have been assigned to for that day. My job is very labor intensive and extremely fast paced. When I finally catch a break in the chaos, I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and get back in the game because five dogs just walked in my lobby, three dogs are going home, two nail clippings to do, four dogs to give baths to, and I need to take dogs to their play group, clean the room of the dog who couldn’t hold it and peed everywhere, etc.

A lot of people think taking care of one dog is a lot of work…could you imagine being responsible for up to 100 dogs? On a busy summer day, we can reach up to nearly 100 dogs if not a few more, and while I have many other staff there with me, I am still responsible for those dogs.

I have been working with animals my whole life and have been working at my current job for over a year now and let me just make it known that animals are my passion and always have been and always will be. I think it’s very important for everyone to have a job that they love going to. I come home some days and instantly crash on the couch. My feet ache, my back hurts, I smell like straight up dog (not the good “puppy” smell either, the gross smells), and sometimes I have a pounding headache…but at the end of the day, my work dogs make it all worth it. Getting to see those wonderful smiling faces and how their tails wag happily when they see me makes all the exhaustion worth it because I love those dogs and they love me too.

So, my message to everyone is please don’t underestimate my job or anyone else who does what I do, plus more. Instead, give them a smile and a huge thank you for how hard they work because happy dogs make for happy dog parents.