Pet Handler / Co-owner

Pet Care Professional / Worker Co-op Co-Owner

Overview:
Are you passionate about animals but looking for more than just another pet care job?

Pet Care Co-op LCA is looking for motivated pet care professionals, animal advocates, and aspiring entrepreneurs who want the opportunity to work for themselves - with others.

As a worker cooperative, our Co-owners aren't simply employees. Members have the opportunity to build their own client relationships, develop professionally, contribute to company decisions, and participate in the growth of a business they have a stake in.

Our cooperative provides the infrastructure, brand, systems, training, community, and operational support that can make building a career in pet care more accessible - while members contribute their time, skills, ideas, and leadership to strengthening the cooperative.

This opportunity is best suited for someone who wants ownership, responsibility, flexibility, and community rather than simply being assigned a schedule.

What You'll Do

Co-owners participate in both pet care services and cooperative development. Depending on your skills, experience, territory, and interests, responsibilities may include:

• Providing professional in-home pet sitting and dog walking
• Supporting training, enrichment, daycare, boarding, pet waste removal, or other approved services
• Developing and maintaining positive relationships with clients and their pets
• Completing meet & greets and following established client-care procedures
• Following Pet Care Co-op safety, handling, documentation, and communication standards
• Maintaining reliable transportation and traveling between client homes within your service territory
• Communicating availability and capacity so care can be scheduled responsibly
• Building and maintaining your own client book within the cooperative
• Participating in networking, referrals, community outreach, and other growth activities
• Supporting fellow members when appropriate and helping strengthen coverage within the cooperative
• Participating in meetings, training, voting, committees, projects, or rotating cooperative responsibilities
• Contributing your individual skills and experience to the continued development of the company
• Upholding the cooperative's professional standards, policies, and shared values

What Makes This Different

This is not a traditional pet sitter position.

We're building a worker-owned company where pet care professionals can develop careers instead of remaining stuck in low-wage gig work.

Co-owners have the opportunity to benefit from shared:

Business Infrastructure
Scheduling systems, client management tools, service standards, contracts, administrative resources, and established operating procedures.

Brand & Marketing
Operate under an established cooperative brand while participating in networking, referrals, community partnerships, and collective marketing.

Training & Development
Continue developing your pet handling, client service, business, leadership, and cooperative ownership skills.

Community & Coverage
Build independently without having to operate completely alone. Members work together to create stronger client coverage and greater collective capacity.

Ownership & Voice
Eligible members participate in cooperative governance and help shape the future of the organization.

Who We're Looking For

You may be a great fit if you:

• Have a genuine passion for animal welfare and responsible pet care
• Want to develop a long-term career or business in the pet care industry
• Are entrepreneurial and comfortable taking initiative
• Understand that ownership comes with both benefits and responsibilities
• Are dependable, communicative, and capable of working independently
• Enjoy collaborating without needing constant supervision
• Are willing to build client relationships and participate in business development
• Can receive feedback and remain accountable to shared standards
• Are interested in leadership, community impact, and cooperative economics
• Are willing to contribute to the company beyond simply completing paid pet care visits
• Have reliable transportation and are comfortable traveling locally between client homes
• Are willing to complete required onboarding, training, and field-based evaluation

Previous professional pet care experience is valuable, but character, reliability, willingness to learn, and entrepreneurial initiative matter just as much.

What We're NOT Looking For

This opportunity may not be the right fit if you're primarily looking for:

• Guaranteed hours without responsibility for developing clientele
• A traditional employer/employee relationship
• A position where management handles every business decision for you
• Gig work with little involvement beyond completing assigned visits
• Ownership benefits without participating in the responsibilities required to grow and maintain the cooperative

Our Current Services:

• In-home pet sitting
• Dog walking
• Pet training
• In-your-home boarding
• Daycare
• Pet waste removal
• Additional pet care services as the cooperative grows

The Ideal Co-owner

We're especially interested in people who look at a growing company and think:

"What can I help build?"

You don't need to know how to do everything. In fact, we're looking for people with different strengths.

You might be incredible at animal handling.
You might love networking and bringing in new clients.
You might have leadership experience.
You might be great with organization, training, community outreach, marketing, or operations.

The goal of a cooperative isn't for everyone to be identical.

It's for people with complementary strengths to build something stronger together.

Ready to Explore Ownership?

Our selection process is designed to help both you and the cooperative determine whether this model is the right fit.

Candidates will learn about our services, cooperative structure, expectations, training standards, and opportunities before making a commitment.

If you're looking for more than a job - and you're ready to take responsibility for building a career alongside other pet care professionals - we'd love to meet you.

Work for yourself. With others.

Pay: $500.00 - $3,500.00 per week

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid training
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person