veterinary technician

veterinary assistant

veterinarian

maintenance technician

animal welfare specialist

The Animal Foundation

A typical day at work involves balancing the responsibilities of my role while navigating the complex dynamics of leadership and office politics. The daily tasks can be rewarding, particularly when working with team members who share a genuine passion for the mission. However, the constant tension caused by favoritism, inconsistent leadership, and poor communication from upper management makes it challenging to stay fully engaged. The CEO's short temper, lack of leadership skills, short sighted approach, and unable to stay cool under even the slightest pressure, sets the tone, often creating an atmosphere of fear rather than collaboration.

In terms of what I learned, I've gained valuable insights into how to remain professional under pressure and how to handle unpredictable situations. The experience also highlighted the importance of having clear, supportive leadership and the impact it can have on employee morale.

Management, unfortunately, is one of the biggest drawbacks. There is a significant gap between the values the company claims to uphold and the actions of its leaders. Favoritism is evident, and many decisions seem driven by internal politics rather than the good of the organization. This disconnect leads to a workplace culture that feels disingenuous at times, where employees are expected to perform without the support or accountability that should come from the top.

The hardest part of the job is dealing with the constant shifts in priorities driven by upper management's lack of consistency. It often feels like playing a political game rather than focusing on the mission, and it’s difficult to perform at your best in an environment that feels unstable.

The most enjoyable part of the job, despite these challenges, has been the relationships with coworkers. The camaraderie among team members who are in the trenches together makes even the hardest days more manageable. There's a shared understanding of the challenges we all face, and the support from peers has been invaluable.


Working at this organization provides a unique environment with a mix of positive and challenging aspects. On the positive side, it offers the opportunity to work alongside many kind and dedicated people who genuinely care about their work. The mission-driven atmosphere fosters collaboration at certain levels, and the organization's core values, while inspiring, are meant to guide everyone toward a common goal.  However, significant challenges exist, especially in upper management. Leadership often lacks engagement with the day-to-day operations, which creates a disconnect between fieldwork and decision-making. This lack of involvement has contributed to a sense of instability and inconsistency in enforcing the organization's values. It becomes difficult to uphold these values when they are not modeled consistently by leadership, which can result in frustration among employees.  Additionally, there is a stark contrast between the expectations placed on front line employees, who are often underpaid, and the actions of higher-ups, who seem more focused on directives than on fostering a supportive, hands-on approach. While the company has potential and some excellent staff members, the chaotic management structure and misalignment between leadership and staff could benefit from reevaluation to improve the overall workplace experience.  

The Animal Foundation does amazing things, and is definitely a wonderful organization. On a whole, they care about their workers, the animals they care for, and the community. No two days were the same, and it was very enjoyable.

The only thing I will say, is that you didn't find out your schedule for the week until the Saturday night before, giving you virtually no time to plan things because you didn't know when you would be working. Management was very great and funny, but perhaps lacked professionalism in some aspects.

If you are part time, you will work a full 8 hour day, and then work 3 half days, so the scheduling is a little weird in that regard too. Because I was part time, half the time it felt like my co-workers/managers forgot I was even there. They forgot to give me a break one time, because they thought I had already gone, and it wasn't even a busy day. The Adoptions Team has occasional meetings after work to discuss the day, and half the time when I was there they would say "I didn't even realize you were here today!" and that was after a day's work of running around mind you, so I felt like I was unappreciated in that sense.

To conclude, The Animal Foundation is amazing, and if you don't plan things in advance and don't mind working weird amount of hours for part time, this would be a great place to work, but if you are like me and like being able to plan things more than a week out, definitely take that into account.

When I started, the job was tough but fulfilling. The original supervisors were supportive and truly listened. After they were let go, many of us weren’t even given a chance to interview for leadership roles told we lacked experience only to find out it was favoritism. Even asked to be trained to shadow a supervisor to learn how to support the team better. I was told I could but it never happened, and no follow-up was given. I joined right after a staff walkout, and we were always short-staffed. The emotional toll of seeing animals in rough conditions was heavy, but I stayed because I cared deeply.

Things worsened under the new manager. Schedules were changed, requests denied, and I was frequently called in unnecessarily. She also changed intake procedures, which made accurate medical records harder to complete and gave animals less time to feel safe and decompress. The environment became toxic and disorganized. Would Come Back if Management and Communication Improved

The supervisors and team members were truly some of the best I’ve ever worked with. They were compassionate, kind, and genuinely caring, consistently supporting one another and creating a positive, collaborative environment at the peer level.

Unfortunately, upper management was the opposite experience. Leadership above the supervisory level often lacked accountability, resisted feedback, and managed through fear rather than support. To be direct they have an aversion to accountability. Playing the nice girl/ victim instead of accepting any responsibility of their role, while actively working to target people behind the scenes. 

Frequent and abrupt changes were implemented with little communication or consistency, leaving employees uncertain about expectations from one day to the next. Concerns raised were not addressed constructively, and those who spoke up often were targeted rather than supported.

While the frontline team culture was outstanding, the broader leadership structure created a difficult and unsustainable work environment. Especially in a field already prone to compassion fatigue.


The upper management worries more about been in meetings and expensive luncheons with the committee members than actually been in the office and seeing about the business and employees needs. The CFO is selective on the policies he applies, only some people are submitted to such policies and others can do whatever they want. Most of the clerical staff are ruthless, mean, cold hearted people that do not care about the co workers or been team players they only care for themselves. They don't care about inner communication and been a family, when I had issues with the former manager, I made a formal complaint through HR and the CFO didn't even bother to talk to me or address my concerns, the new manager said she didn't care about that because that was before her time and to her it was just two co workers not getting along and we had to resolve it ourselves

I was a faithful, loyal and honest volunteer for the organization for many years before finally becoming a staff member. Not even 1 week of being there I started getting complaints and by the end of week 2 I already had a written warning. The complaints never stopped. It was discouraging and hurt my self esteem. So It was like somebody didn't want me there and management never took my side of the story into account.  After finally getting terminated they didn't seem to care about continuing my volunteer service. It all seems to be corporate greed and politics now. They may have experienced upper staff, good equipment, resources, and still a darn nice building but management needs an overhaul and take a look at how some employees/volunteers are really being treated. 

Great work-life balance. Great supervisors/managers that assist with daily duties. Team members help each other out, cover shifts, great attitudes all around. I love that we get to work with all kinds of animals, not just dogs and cats! Heart warming to be able to help animals get adopted to their forever homes! I enjoy working in a brand new, beautiful facility. I have learned so much here, highly recommend The Animal Foundation for someone who is new to the animal welfare world, or for a seasoned, career based, individual. 

Horrible place to work, compassion fatigue is real in this stressful environment that will leave you helpless to help those you chose this career for.
They give the least amount of funds to the animals and those doing the work, and the most to the ones in the "White House" upper management. 

I had to work 10 hours straight with no lunch break, didn't have enough help to lift heavy dogs or equipment. 
Animals suffer for the three day hold time and then are put down without a voice. 
 Mistakes are made because employees are over worked and exhausted. Management will fire you if you don't agree with them, so best to stay quiet.
I left on my own in 2014 but have seen this happen to other employees over and over.  


What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of the job, was working hands on with animals, the experience I will be able to take with me and carry on into my career path. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The amount of animals coming in that need assistance, homes, food, etc. It's sad the pandemic of this situation. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic. The managers were amazing until they hired a new manager from out of state, who changed hours without caring how it effected out of work life, and if not able to commit were terminated. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arrive, clock in.. start your duties.

The Animal Foundation is a busy place. As the largest single site, open-admission shelter in the U.S. we intake and care for almost 30,000 animals per year. Our low-cost spay/neuter clinic is always busy. Our adoptions center can find forever homes for up to 200 animals per weekend when adoption promotions are running. There is never a dull, boring minute here. 
And your busy day is filled with making a difference in an animal's life and in your community's welfare. If you want to work among kind-hearted coworkers, doing terrific work and making a difference, then The Animal Foundation is where you need to be.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Veterinary technician 1 salary reported	$22.00 per hour
Veterinary assistant 1 salary reported	$14.68 per hour
Veterinarian 1 salary reported	$140,000 per year
Maintenance technician 1 salary reported	$17.40 per hour
Animal welfare specialist 3 salaries reported	$14.83 per hour

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