Animal welfare officer, Waitakere City Council

Kevin Plowright takes control of a wayward dog in Waitakere. Picture / Fotopress

Name: Kevin Plowright
Age: 39
Role: Animal welfare officer, Waitakere City Council
Working hours: 40-hour week, plus take turns at being on call at night and weekends for emergencies
Average pay: $35,000 to $40,000 depending on qualifications and experience
Qualifications: Animal welfare investigation level 4, certificate in animal control level 4, firearms licence, animal first aid certificate, first aid certificate, certificate in canine behaviour 

Describe how you got this job?

I was a part-time house painter and solo dad and I wanted a career change in an area that would work in with my child and something I was really good at.

I had a background in dog training and I saw the job advertised in the paper. I had put myself through the animal welfare investigation course.

Describe what you do?

Every day is completely different. We deal with animals, but a big part of that is dogs - dog attacks or dogs barking or wandering. We receive complaints and look into each one.

It may be stock on the road, or horses, cows or pigs out. If a dog is running riot, we have to go out and fix the problem. We are not just dog control, which most other dog-control agencies are.

In Waitakere, we also do animal welfare like the SPCA. When we are dealing with the welfare of animals it has a flow-on effect to the control. We can have a greater effect on solving problems with animals as one agency.

Being able to do the welfare as well is why I wanted to work for Waitakere.

There's also a high emphasis on educating people about looking after their animals.

What have you had to do to succeed at this job?

I think having people skills is a huge one, working with the owners of the animals. And you need the animal knowledge to stop something happening, such as working out why a dog is barking.

When dealing with animals there is a lot of emotion. So instead of being involved in dramatics, you need to take a step back and deal with the facts.

People can be initially aggressive. You need to work to bring their excitement level down and then they usually end up working with us.

What sort of training or experience do you need?

Having a background in dog training and dog behaviour is essential. It is a must to have an idea on how to safely remove an aggressive dog. Animal investigation skills are also necessary as problem-solving is a large part of the job.

What skills and qualities do you need?

A firearms licence, having dog training and communication skills to deal with people. Our job is really busy so time management is important.

What is the best part of the job?

Problem solving through advice. Being able to change a bad situation for an animal to a good situation.

What is the most challenging part?

Dealing with people - they can be more aggressive than the animal. Often the animal involved is a family pet and in our approaches about a wandering dog for instance, we encourage the owners to keep the animal at home.

We try to educate first. If we are ignored we then have an option of infringement and impounding the dog.

How do you define success in this job?

Basically making a difference. We have 16,000 dogs alone in Waitakere and six officers controlling the areas. When an area is running smoothly, that is success.

What are your career hopes for future?

I have a strong interest in the education side of things and would like to develop that. The more we can educate people the more we can make a real difference.

For instance, with children being bitten by dogs, education in schools is important. We talk about animal welfare and bite prevention and what we do.

If I wanted a job like yours how would I go about it, and what qualifications would I need?

I would have a look at the canine behaviour course and the animal investigation course.

It is a good idea to make contact with workplaces like Waitakere and let management know you have a strong interest. Send in your CV. Get involved in the animal industry.

We have volunteer workers helping out in the kennels and people can also volunteer with the SPCA.

What advice would you have for someone contemplating a career like yours?

The more animal background you have, the better. Contact someone like Unitec to see what relevant courses it is running.