Our Work Study Program is coordinated through the Provincial Public School System and is managed on site through the Animal Care Supervisory Staff. Work Study students do work in contact with wildlife and are instructed in all facets of animal care, husbandry, examination, therapy, zoonoses, diet, natural history and rearing. The time of year will determine much of what a student wil be exposed to, but rest assured this is an intensive work study not for the faint hearted or easily tired. Proof of an up to date tetanus booster will be required to work in contact with certain of the animals as well as a signed parental consent form.
Work Study students typically work an eight hour day and are encouraged to attend morning meetings which generally consist of a "topic for the day program" which can include fluid therapy, drug therapy, and administration, zoonoses, animal restraint and capture and a host of other exciting topics. We do treat you as an employee in these circumstances and do expect a positive committed attitude to all facets of the operation. At the end of the work study which is typically two to three weeks the student will receive an extensive evaluation from one or more of the supervisors.

Outstanding candidates will be considered for future volunteer positions or may even be invited back to participate in our summer internship program (students under the age of 18 can not live on property) where you can obtain valuable references which can assist you in future career endeavors.  This is an excellent opportunity for young adults considering entering college to pursue biological, ecological, and wildlife studies. Elements of it will also be useful to students considering careers with animal organizations such as the Humane Society, SPCA and even Zoo's.

Internships are covered in greater detail in the Intern Section of this site, but typically internships are available year round though they differ in intensity and job occupation as determined by the seasonality of care. We require a minimum four week committment in the winter and a mimimum eight week committment for Spring, Summer and Fall internships. Learn more as to why in the FAQ section of the intern portion. Critter Care is committed to your long term educational goals and will provide continuing online support before during and after you leave our organization. Portions of the site are password protected to preserve the integrity of the information provided and is intended for your personal private use while at our organization and in your post departure studies. Please respect and value this while you are here, and after you leave through encouraging others to support our education programs and the operation of the organization as a whole. At present we do not charge a fee for our internships, but rest assured you will be provided with superior education in the rearing and husbandry of mammals as well as random exposure to their critical care. What you take from this experience will be up to you, but rest assured there are few programs in North America that will provide you with as much direct hands on contact with wildlife as this program will.

At present one of our Animal Care Supervisors is pursuing her certification as a Wildlife Biologist and once completed will begin to establish the development of our Post Release Programs as specified by our Executive Director. It is our intent that post release studies provide continuing data on the status of our animals furthering the general understanding of the effects of rehab on the environment with a strict committment to non-invasive tracking methods of study. Through further scientific study we believe we can improve our methods and ensure the best possible survival and reproduction rates of our animals which is the primary goal of any rehab program. We encourage solicitation from organizations interested in post release studies with the understanding that we will only accept the most modern methods of tracking (which excludes collaring bears) as we believe that certain current methods dictated by funding induce unnecessary stress on the animals post release. We have in the past participated in other post release programs and actively endorse several others that provide important data into animal welfare.