What a 9-year-old taught me about animal care

This summer, I spent a week at Passion Petits Animaux, a family-run animal boarding facility in Switzerland. I couldn’t wait to meet all the animals, and I was curious to see how professionals cared for hundreds of rabbits, guinea pigs, and cats while their owners were away.

During the busiest weeks of summer, the facility looks after up to 800 animals.

After showing me around, the owner introduced me to her 9-year-old daughter, Alice.

While her mom welcomed customers, answered questions, and kept the business running, Alice showed me how everything worked.

She quickly became my teacher.

The first day, I mostly observed. But the next morning, Alice and I got straight to work.

Every day, we cleaned cages, changed water, fed the animals, and moved from enclosure to enclosure.

Alice always knew what came next, where everything was kept, and patiently answered every question I had. She had even named all of the cats and could recognize every one of them.

She also taught me interesting facts about the animals, like how some cats’ fur can grow back darker after it has been shaved.

Besides boarding pets while their owners were away, they also breed rabbits, guinea pigs, and Ragdoll cats.

I especially enjoyed spending time with the cats and helping bottle-feed the tiny kittens.

Alice’s mom told me that Switzerland offers a formal apprenticeship for animal caretakers, although she never completed it herself. Her interest in animals began when she was 12 years old and adopted two guinea pigs. By the time she was 16, she was caring for around 100 of them. What started as a hobby grew into the business she runs today.

Alice is already learning from her mom and knows so much about caring for animals.

I’m also 12.

It makes me wonder where my own interest in animals might lead me one day.

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