Truth is... Nationwide, except for veterinary medical workers, there are few if any educational requirements for pet care workers, including groomers and trainers. In New York City, a new law will regulate shelters to implement higher standards of care, for other pet services businesses, the Health Department requires a three day course in care and handling for "brick-and-mortar" businesses only (not including independent groomers, sitters, trainers or walkers) -directed toward managers. Only one staff member who has taken the course is required to be on site. This means staff members may be working without any formal training and with no assurance that any training they might receive is the right kind.
In many places, there are no requirements as to how many dogs or cats a pet care worker may work with at one time. For example, a doggy day care may employ one handler to supervise one dog, five dogs or thirty dogs. Staffing ratios of handler to dogs are mostly dictated by profit concerns-not how many handlers can reasonably work with a set number of dogs to insure the animal's safety and welfare.
PetCenterEd wants to change all that. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to pet welfare, education and the appropriate training of pet workers of all kinds. Our aim is to be the first school and pet services center to offer a formal academic model- with study and classroom instruction in theory and concepts and applied training through expert guidance and mentoring-under one roof.
The PetCenterEd approach is revolutionary because it is holistic: our students will learn and practice within a single framework. Our school will not only properly prepare pet service providers for a working environment, we will provide that environment.
And for today's elementary school students, PetCenterEd has humane education programs to benefit NYS humane education law's requirements to promote animal welfare and responsible pet ownership. Reach out for more information.
