Paula Johanson - Money-Making Opportunities for Teens Who Like Pets and Animals

Published in 2014 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2014 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Johanson, Paula.

Money-making opportunities for teens who like pets and animals/Paula Johanson. 1st ed.New York: Rosen, c2014 p. cm.(Make money now!)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4488-9384-3

1. Animal cultureVocational guidanceJuvenile literature. 2. Animal specialistsVocational guidanceJuvenile literature. 3. Animal welfare Vocational guidanceJuvenile literature. I. Title.

SF80 .J64 2014 636.0023

Manufactured in the United States of America

CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #S13YA: For further information, contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York, at 1-800-237-9932.

H ow often do teenagers complain that theres nothing to do or that they dont have any money to have fun with? Thats not the case for Bram and his sister Crystal. Theyve been able to turn their interest in animals into part-time work.

When Crystal sold her guinea pigs offspring, Bram noticed that the customers didnt have cages as nice as the one he had made for his sisters pets. This moment was an opportunity! He knew what these animals needed for shelter and bedding. Bram made cages available to sell with each young pet the next time Crystal had a litter of guinea pigs ready for new homes.

It was good marketing. Customers who saw Crystals pets in their home cage wanted to have one like it for their own animals. When a customer asked to buy a matching birdhouse, Bram realized he could build and sell birdhouses, too. He found a book of patterns for them and for birdfeeders and scarecrows.

One family hired Crystal to entertain at their toddlers birthday party. She painted animal faces on the children, sang Old MacDonald with them, and brought two guinea pigs that were the stars of the show. To Crystal, this event was more fun than babysitting. Crystal put up posters at the library and recreation centers to advertise her new Guinea Pig Party service. Every week that summer, she was hired to do a party for different families.

Bram and Crystal arent the only young people looking for ways to earn money. These are just a few of the money-making opportunities for young people interested in pets and animals. Most opportunities for making money fall into two separate types. Finding a job to work for someone else will suit some teens. Other young people would rather offer a service to customers or make things to sell.

There are many suggestions for working with animals. There are options for people living far from cities, where there are farm animals and wilderness. There are also options for people in small towns and suburban settings, as well as suggestions for individuals in the downtown core of a city. Its a good idea to consider all alternatives. Many suggestions that have an urban or rural setting will apply to young people living in other areas as well. After all, country people bring their products to farmers markets in the city. In addition, young people growing up in a big city might spend a summer on a relatives farm.

Pets like these guinea pigs are more than cute animals to cuddle. There are so many money-making ways that young people can learn to care for them and make the things they need.

All of the places people live offer unique settings where opportunities and resources combine. Sometimes animals are the resources, and sometimes they are the opportunities for people to be caring and busy. There are plenty of choices for earning money available to young people who are willing to do the work thats needed for pets and animals where they live.

E arning money by working with animals is easier in many ways for young people living in rural and wilderness areas than it is in cities. There is loads of work to be done, especially for teenagers who can get up early in the morning and face hot days or cold nights with a positive attitude. A terrific thing about living where there are wide-open spaces is having room to work in ways that take up a lot of space, such as raising food animals or following wild animal trails. Being outdoors gives people a chance to feel like a working part of the interconnected web of all living things.

For young people who like being in wilderness areas far from cities, there are good work opportunities. Hunting guides often start as young assistants or camp cooks and become guides in their teens. Licensed guides get properly trained in hunting law and the use of firearms. Some choose to be certified as guides with canoeing or kayaking skills. Many guides and hunters prefer to use cameras instead of firearms.

Working a trapline isnt just historical work. In 2012, there were still more than 150,000 trappers in the United States. According to the Montana Trappers Association, The majority of pelts used in the world fur trade now come from farms. In Canada and the United States, fur farms are usually family-run businesses raising mink and fox. Fur farming is carefully regulated for animal welfare.

Riding horses is not just a hobbyits a skill thats useful for leading groups of visitors on trail rides. Well-trained horses can carry even first-time riders on backcountry tours.

A guest ranch or dude ranch offers vacations in isolated places. Guests ride horses and are sometimes offered the option of helping to herd cattle or horses. Workers on the ranch assist in taking care of the horses and herd animals. Trail riding guides take guests into the backcountry or show them how to do the ranch work.

In the park systems, there are good jobs for young people. A few will be hired as park rangers assistants. Most will find summer jobs as park maintenance workers or campsite assistants cleaning picnic areas and toilets.

Any workers in wilderness areas must be considerate of the wild animals that share the same area. Following basic food safety in a tree planters camp can help prevent attracting scavengers and may end up saving bears and coyotes from needing to be relocated or killed by animal control officers. Forest firefighters must be aware of how fires and burned ground affect the movements of wild animals.