I am a natural caregiver who loves animals. That's why I was so excited to find a job as a Doggie Daycare Supervisor at a local boarding/grooming facility. It's also why I have kept this job for two and a half years despite my frustration with the way things are done there.
The Pet Care Services Association (PCSA, formerly the American Boarding and Kennel Association/ABKA) has a straight-forward code of ethics and industry standards. Things that the owners of the facility I work at are well aware of, considering that one of them is on the PCSA Board of Directors. Yet, there are a handful of standards they refuse to meet. And they're not just little things- they are health and safety issues. As a PCSA Certified Pet Care Technician who knows the rules, I have expressed these issues several times and nothing has and probably never will be done to change any of it.
Though I've been disgusted by the owner's neglect to follow the rules in order for them to make an extra buck, I have stuck it out for love of the animals I work with. I have grown much attached to the dogs that have been with me in Daycare for so long. I've watched them grow up and have helped them with social issues and general training and have fallen in love with all of them. I just know that if I left, under the facilities current procedures, something awful could happen to what I refer to as "my dogs away from home".
The PCSA is coming this month to inspect our facility and to possibly give us accreditation, which is like giving five stars to a hotel. This will be the first facility ever to be accredited for Doggie Daycare, assuming we actually pass inspection. My co-workers have been breaking their backs trying to get everything up to code for the big day and the owner's have re-worked the schedule for just that one day in order to meet PCSA standards.
My boss approached me the other day and went over the protocol with me to make sure I remembered how everything is really supposed to be done and instructed me to blatantly LIE to the face of the inspector. Now, not only would that be completely against my morals, but if I lie and they receive their accreditation, I would be allowing the madness to continue just as it always has. Also, the things I am supposed to lie about can be easily discovered by looking at our public webcam for a just few seconds. It's a rough situation for me because I'm afraid if I refuse to lie, I will get fired and they will deny me unemployment. And if rebelled and told the truth, things would finally HAVE TO change for the better but I would, most likely, still get fired with no chance for unemployment. And if the PCSA found out that I lied I could be stripped of my certification as a Pet Care Technician, therefore killing my dream of starting up my own successful but ethical Doggie Daycare someday.
I'm scared stiff. My job, my dream career, my future is riding someone else's corruption and dishonesty. I don't know what my rights are in this situation. And I don't know if lying will save or damn me. It just all seems like a huge catch-22 and I have no idea what to do. PLEASE HELP ME.
The Pet Care Services Association (PCSA, formerly the American Boarding and Kennel Association/ABKA) has a straight-forward code of ethics and industry standards. Things that the owners of the facility I work at are well aware of, considering that one of them is on the PCSA Board of Directors. Yet, there are a handful of standards they refuse to meet. And they're not just little things- they are health and safety issues. As a PCSA Certified Pet Care Technician who knows the rules, I have expressed these issues several times and nothing has and probably never will be done to change any of it.
Though I've been disgusted by the owner's neglect to follow the rules in order for them to make an extra buck, I have stuck it out for love of the animals I work with. I have grown much attached to the dogs that have been with me in Daycare for so long. I've watched them grow up and have helped them with social issues and general training and have fallen in love with all of them. I just know that if I left, under the facilities current procedures, something awful could happen to what I refer to as "my dogs away from home".
The PCSA is coming this month to inspect our facility and to possibly give us accreditation, which is like giving five stars to a hotel. This will be the first facility ever to be accredited for Doggie Daycare, assuming we actually pass inspection. My co-workers have been breaking their backs trying to get everything up to code for the big day and the owner's have re-worked the schedule for just that one day in order to meet PCSA standards.
My boss approached me the other day and went over the protocol with me to make sure I remembered how everything is really supposed to be done and instructed me to blatantly LIE to the face of the inspector. Now, not only would that be completely against my morals, but if I lie and they receive their accreditation, I would be allowing the madness to continue just as it always has. Also, the things I am supposed to lie about can be easily discovered by looking at our public webcam for a just few seconds. It's a rough situation for me because I'm afraid if I refuse to lie, I will get fired and they will deny me unemployment. And if rebelled and told the truth, things would finally HAVE TO change for the better but I would, most likely, still get fired with no chance for unemployment. And if the PCSA found out that I lied I could be stripped of my certification as a Pet Care Technician, therefore killing my dream of starting up my own successful but ethical Doggie Daycare someday.
I'm scared stiff. My job, my dream career, my future is riding someone else's corruption and dishonesty. I don't know what my rights are in this situation. And I don't know if lying will save or damn me. It just all seems like a huge catch-22 and I have no idea what to do. PLEASE HELP ME.
