If you ever cross paths with a person in the animal welfare profession and you ask them what they do, you might face a rather long pause before they answer you. The pause gives them time to decide if they are going to tell you their real profession or if they are going to make one up.
For some reason, announcing that you work with animals causes people to think that they want to hear about all of the stories associated with their pet. People in our profession drown in pet stories. Pet owners are more likely to tell you about their pets than to tell you about their children… probably because the pet is better trained.
It isn’t that we don’t want to hear about your pet, but after working day in and day out with pets, we already know all about pets and what your pet does is really no different that what any other pet does. So the next time you come face to face with an animal shelter worker, instead of telling them about your pet, tell them about your last fishing trip… it will be greatly appreciated.