animal caretaker

veterinary technician

customer support representative

animal care coordinator

community outreach manager

Ontario SPCA and Humane Society

My time at the Ontario SPCA was unfortunately defined by a culture of micromanagement, poor communication, and a complete lack of empathy. From the beginning, I experienced excessive oversight that left little room for autonomy or trust. Every task, no matter how minor, was closely scrutinized, creating a stressful and stifling environment that made it difficult to perform confidently or grow professionally.

What was most disheartening, however, was how I was treated after disclosing a mental health issue in good faith, hoping for understanding and reasonable support. Instead of offering accommodations or compassion, I was blindsided and abruptly terminated with no clear explanation. The timing and circumstances made it hard to see this as anything other than retaliation for being honest about my condition.

This experience left me deeply disappointed and hurt. I hope this organization takes a serious look at how it handles employee well-being and mental health disclosures—because right now, it feels like they foster a culture of fear and silence rather than support. 


Working in a shelter with at-risk animals is inherently stressful but can be deeply fulfilling. I have huge respect for anyone that can make a career out of such valuable work. If you are one of those people and are looking for an organization that makes you feel like you’re making a difference, please avoid the OSPCA. The new upper management has a reputation for letting people go without cause if you ask too many questions or if they don’t like your personality. Even if your concerns for animal welfare or operational logistics are legitimate. There is nothing in the way of healthy conflict resolution. There is a reason they have so many positions available on their career page and it’s not because they’re looking for more staff to carry the load. It disappoints me to write this because the services they provide are so important to the community and animals in need, but working here will come at the expense of your mental health and wellbeing.

I do not and would not recommend the SPCA to anyone. If you get injured on the job and end up on modified hours, they’ll fire you without notice! Management treats you like you’re a robot (ie., better not have feelings or a life outside work). Think they have the animals well being in mind?? Ha! Wrong! They don’t care. All they care about is the numbers. Oh! And good luck getting them to take your animals if they have any health issues, behavioural issues, or even if you live outside the area. Working at this organization feels like being in high school again! You constantly have to watch what you have and do and always watch your back. You can’t trust anyone! I have so much more I could say negatively about this place! Highly recommend avoiding it at all costs!

Current management treats staff with zero respect. Even if you are an extremely experienced and competent animal caregiver, your skills and opinion mean nothing to management, and you can be fired with zero notice and for no reason.
There is no communication between management and employees, and you will be expected to do the work of several people with little to no training and for below average pay. Sadly, the animals do not always come first as you will be weighed down by ever-changing protocols and management's inflated egos.  
It is very unfortunate the direction this company is headed, as it used to be an amazing place to work and we had a great team of people.

Working here can be very rewarding with high job satisfaction and personal pride in a job well done, however it can also be heart wrenching and disappointing. You care for the animals at the shelter, you become attached to them and want the best for them. The moment they get adopted is incredibly satisfying. Then we get to see the neglected, starved, abused animals as well and the disgust that builds up knowing human beings are capable of such cruelty is sickening. Having supportive staff and great coworkers is key getting through those moments and remembering the animal is in a much better place and will receive all the necessary care it deserves.

cleaning cage,kennels,giving medication,trips to the vets,rehabilitating investigation dogs.training,ordering supplies,answering phone calls
all animals deserves a second chance in life
co-workers never listened to instructions that were given to them
hardest part of the job when you have done everything that you possibly can to help a sick or injured animal and the end result is not a happy one.
enjoyable part is when a dog that has hasbeen rehabilitated from a shy,scared dog to one that has become a normal dog.

The organization may seem like they know they they want/need and how they can accomplish that, but they seriously do not. Promises made of job security that were never followed, terrible communication between departments, no consistency in messaging and worst of all, only focused on money and doesn't care about the staff. 

There are some great staff and the work is rewarding, but the organization is daft and an massive amount of room to improve on. 

Well if you want a job where you are overwhelmed and under appreciated. This job is for you. They treat staff like numbers and don't care about burnout rate. It's all about see how much you can take, (stress and being overworked) before you quit. Often management is not qualified to do the job and it shows down the line. Coworkers are often pitted against each other by management. I would not recommend working for this company. They use short cuts to get staff to work longer hours without overtime pay. Also some staff are required to work longer than they should to get the job done with no consideration of home life. 

A very relaxed working environment where employee and animal well being is a priority. A typical day involves feeding, cleaning, providing enrichment and filling out paper work for animals in care. In this position I learned a lot about animal care, training and enrichment both in shelter and in the home. The most enjoyable part of the job is seeing an animal in care get adopted. The hardest part of the job is seeing animals that are fearful or stressed. Management and coworkers were amazing and very supportive. 

From my interview and throughout my entire employment with them I was lied to in order to keep me complicit with their inability to actually manage their staff. They will listen to your concerns and make empty promises without any follow through. There is an extreme lack of empathy on the behalf of their overworked staff. They will keep staff at a minimum and overburden them to the point that you are working more than you should without any overtime to compensate you for. The burnout & turnover rate of their staff speaks for themselves. Avoid this place if you value your mental health.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Animal caretaker 36 salaries reported	$19.27 per hour
Veterinary technician 20 salaries reported	$23.62 per hour
Customer support representative 8 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Animal care coordinator 4 salaries reported	$21.62 per hour
Community outreach manager 1 salary reported	$52,500 per year

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