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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

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, including hourly animal health checks, wellness documentation, maintenance logs, and incident reports.
Ensure proper handling, documentation, and care of relinquished and adoption animals.
Serve as the primary resource for animal care education for customers and PCC partners.
Adhere to and promote all safety, animal welfare, and loss prevention procedures.
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.
Support the achievement of department sales, margin, and shrink goals.
Ensure merchandise is stocked, priced, and displayed to Petco standards, with a primary focus on companion animals and aquatics.
Efficiently order live animals, supplies, and related merchandise in partnership with the 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 Pet Care Center operations.
Verify all animal care and maintenance tasks are completed according to established schedules.
Perform routine housekeeping duties, including cleaning habitats and tanks, sweeping and mopping floors, dusting, and facing merchandise.
Ensure compliance with all regulatory, operational, and safety standards.
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.

Requirements

Minimum of 1 year of experience working with or caring for companion animals and aquatic life.
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.
Completion and ongoing maintenance of the Petco Animal Care Certification Program required.
Flexible availability to support Pet Care Center operating hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Ability to safely lift and move merchandise, supplies, or animals weighing up to 50 pounds.

Skills

Animal care
Habitat maintenance
Sales support
Merchandising
Inventory management
Customer service
Education
Collaboration
Communication
Organization
Interpersonal skills
Cashiering
Point-of-sale transactions

Location

Pet Care Center retail environment

Work Type

Full-time
Onsite

Experience Level

1+ year of experience

Education Level

High school diploma or GED preferred
Petco Animal Care Certification Program

Salary/Compensations

$17.00 - $25.00
Starting Rate: $20.61

Benefits

Health benefits
Financial benefits
401K
Incentives
PTO

About the Company

We’re proud to be "where the pets go" to find everything they need to live their best lives for more than 60 years — from their favorite meals and toys, to trusted supplies and expert support from people who get it, because we live it.
We believe in the universal truths of pet parenthood — the boundless boops, missing slippers, late night zoomies and everything in between.
We are 29,000+ strong and together we nurture the pet-human bond in more than 1,500 Petco stores across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 250+ Vetco Total Care hospitals, hundreds of preventive care clinics and eight distribution centers.
In 1999, we founded Petco Love. Together, we support thousands of local animal welfare groups nationwide and have helped find homes for approximately 7 million animals through in-store adoption events.

Equal Opportunity

Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or any other protected classification.