When a young Brittany Bloor told people she wanted to be a veterinarian, she really meant it. Now, as a senior in Carroll University’s animal behavior program, Brittany is thriving.
When Brittany was a senior at her high school in New Berlin, Wisconsin she began working at Humane Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) in Waukesha. There, she grew close to people in the animal caretaker department and began to understand how to connect people in the community with dogs in the shelter for adoption.
Once Brittany got to Carroll, she quickly discovered how much she loved the hands-on experience of working at the animal shelter, combined with dog training classes. HAWS eventually hired Brittany to be a kennel technician and then a training instructor, teaching basic manners for dogs or helping clients work directly with their pets – dogs, cats, or other small animals.
Eventually, Brittany fostered a rescue dog named Riley in her ANB 255 class, inspiring Dr. Josie de Hartog, associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, to consider pet adoption. Brittany used what she learned in the program to assess how Riley would do well alongside another dog in a smaller family, and ultimately determined that de Hartog’s home was the perfect environment for Riley.
What’s next for this animal lover? Brittany is currently taking Carroll’s behavioral ecology course, conducting research on elk at the Milwaukee County Zoo. In the future, consulting as an animal trainer is a real possibility for her. But for now, she would love to remain in the shelter setting, due to her love for helping displaced animals and people find companions in one another.