Animal Care Specialist

About the role

As a Companion Animal Specialist, you are the primary expert and advocate for the health, welfare, and proper care of companion animals and aquatic life within the Pet Care Center (PCC). You ensure exceptional animal care and habitat maintenance while supporting sales, merchandising, and inventory execution. In close partnership with the sales team, you help deliver outstanding customer experience by combining deep animal-care knowledge with strong operational discipline. This role is ideal for someone passionate about animal welfare who enjoys teaching others and contributing to a collaborative team environment.

Responsibilities

• Pet First – Ensure the health, safety, and proper care of all companion animals and aquatic life in accordance with Petco standards, policies, and procedures; complete and verify required animal care tasks (hourly animal health checks, wellness documentation, maintenance logs, incident reports); ensure proper handling, documentation, and care of relinquished and adoption animals; serve as primary resource for animal care education for customers and PCC partners; adhere to and promote all safety, animal welfare, and loss prevention procedures.
• Foster the Fun – Deliver knowledgeable, compassionate, and solution-focused service to customers; actively support customer interactions using Petco’s selling model; promote a culture of teamwork, inclusion, and collaboration across the PCC; mentor and educate partners on animal care standards, maintenance routines, and best practices; maintain professional, clean, and well-presented animal habitats and aquatic areas.
• Let’s Go! – Support achievement of department sales, margin, and shrink goals; ensure merchandise is stocked, priced, and displayed to Petco standards (focus on companion animals and aquatics); efficiently order live animals, supplies, and related merchandise in partnership with sales team to support inventory integrity and business goals; analyze inventory data and identify opportunities to improve in-stock levels, shrink, and operational efficiency; participate in animal and aquatic-related physical inventory counts; assist with opening and closing procedures as assigned; perform additional duties and special projects as needed to support PCC operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Animal Care & Maintenance – Verify all animal care and maintenance tasks are completed according to established schedules; perform routine housekeeping duties (cleaning habitats and tanks, sweeping and mopping floors, dusting, facing merchandise); ensure compliance with all regulatory, operational, and safety standards.
• Customer Experience & Sales Support – Process register transactions accurately and efficiently; evaluate customer needs and escalate concerns to the Leader on Duty when appropriate; support Omni-channel and in-store initiatives through consistent execution and customer engagement.

What Success Looks Like: Animals are healthy, safe, and cared for to Petco’s highest standards; customers trust the team’s expertise and return for guidance and solutions; animal habitats and aquatic areas are clean, compliant, and visually appealing; inventory and merchandising support sales while minimizing shrink; partners feel supported and informed through shared animal-care knowledge.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 1 year of experience working with or caring for companion animals and aquatic life.
• High school diploma or GED preferred.
• Completion and ongoing maintenance of the Petco Animal Care Certification Program required.

Skills

• Strong knowledge of animal care, husbandry, and maintenance practices.
• Demonstrated ability to educate others and communicate effectively.
• Strong customer service mindset with an aptitude for selling behaviors.
• Basic business, math, and inventory management skills.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills.

Schedule

Flexible availability to support Pet Care Center operating hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Benefits

Purpose-driven work that makes a difference for pets and people; a welcoming, inclusive team environment; opportunities to learn, grow, and explore