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  • C9C Professional Pet Care Provider Job Application

    C9C Professional Pet Care Provider Job Application

  • Next Cohort Start Date–January 4th, 2026

    We have fixed onboarding dates and do NOT hire on a rolling basis.
  • C9C Values

    Community

    Cloud 9 exists primarily as a local small business dedicated to provide long-term support to members of the city we (Nicole and Jordan)’ve called home for our entire lives. We believe social connection, empathy, equity, and safety are basic rights for all living beings.

    ————For candidates, this means we are looking for people that respect the intensive efforts that have gone into building our business into what it is. C9C is our life's work. Even if this is a temporary position for you, your time here has impact. We work hard to build our brand into a reliable community resource. It is imperative that we can stand proudly behind our team's integrity, respect, professionalism, customer service, and genuine care for the Kalamazoo community. Given that we are entrusted with people's homes while they are away, candidates must demonstrate that they understand the weight of that responsibility and are prepared for the demands of the job through their demonstrated character.

     

    Wellness

    While we work with pets, it is our job to tend to the needs of ALL who wind up in our care, human and animal alike. We look beyond “just behavior” and “just a dog walk” to provide a professionally skilled eye to all we do—after all, these are SO MUCH MORE than ‘just a pet.’ Given that this job provides life-sustaining service and our clientele is made up of neighbors fully trusting us with their homes while they are away, we work very hard to be exceptionally clear regarding the high standards inherent to the role. 

    ————For candidates, we are looking for emotionally-attunted, inquisitive, passionate individuals that want to learn how to better care for those around them: their personal pets, the household of pets they are entrusted with, and the people, too. Caring for people is non-optional when working with animals, and individuals with a dislike for understanding and caring for people are not well-suited for this work. Additionally, because caregiver burnout is real, we cannot hire individuals who do not demonstrate skills necessary for a role where you are independently obligated to complete all work that sustains the life of living beings—time management, thorough self-directed use of resources, ability to accept and implement constructive feedback, professional communication skills, emotional regulation, and problem solving are all "must-haves."

     

    Excellence

    We’ve put in the work to bring intensively-thought-out, evidence-based, professional quality services that are the just-right blend of passionate heart, brilliance, and guidance through a gentle hand. When you book with Cloud 9, we give our all to bring you the best pet care and dog training has to offer: because your best friend deserves the best of the best!

    ————For candidates, this means anyone who approaches this work as "just a dog walk" or "just pet sitting" is not the right fit. It is SO much more than that, and we mean it and take that seriously. If you want to expand your skillset, sharpen your knowledge, and grow as an individual during your time with us and beyond, we are eager to meet you! Those perceiving this role as a simple, laid-back gig for cuddling animals and walking down the block and back in fair weather with a slow-moving, gentle dog or purring kitten will not be successful (or safe) in the role and therefore are not suited for this position.

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  • Dear Applicant, 

    Please fill out the application in full prior to submitting. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

    Thank you for your time and interest!

    Gratefully, 

    Nicole B., Cloud 9
    Nicole Bowdish 
    Co-Owner & Founder | Cloud 9 Canine, LLC
    Contact: manager@kzoopet.com

    *No calls or texts regarding applications, please!*

  • Candidates Requirements

    Candidates Requirements

    Please ensure you meet all candidate requirements below.
  • Availability Requirements

    Availability Requirements

    Please ensure you meet the requirements for availability.
  • Summary of Required Availability

    OPEN availability on Saturdays.

    Some weekday early mornings (6am-8am).

    Some weekday late nights (9pm-11pm).

    At least one weekday day camp* shift.
    (*The full span of either 7:45am-12:15pm or 12:45pm-5:15pm, once weekly minimum, Monday through Friday.)

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    Not required, but of note for scheduling—peak dog walking demand falls on weekdays from 10am-3pm.

  • Scheduling

    Scheduling

    Our service hours are 6am-11pm, 365 days per year.
  • Please type your routine availability schedule in the box below, formatted as follows.

     

    Sunday: 0:00 AM - 00:00 PM

    Monday: 0:00 AM - 00:00 PM

    Tuesday: 0:00 AM - 00:00 PM

    Wednesday: 0:00 AM - 00:00 PM

    Thursday: 0:00 AM - 00:00 PM

    Friday: 0:00 AM - 00:00 PM

     Saturday: OPEN REQUIRED

  • Job Demand Requirements

    Job Demand Requirements

    Please carefully consider and review job demand requirements before continuing with the application.
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  • Example of a report that you would need to be able to write efficently, completed within a service time. 

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  • Example of a dog that is 70lbs and needs to EXERCISE when we take her out—are you prepared to handle an animal with this amount of energy as a standard type of dog you would work with, multiple times within a day, for an hour EACH time?

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  • Example of a strong dog that needs us to stay calm and collected around him while also approaching his handling with care given that he was a recent stray with unknown history coming into services. Would you be excited to patiently, kindly, and compassionately handle a dog like this while keeping yourself safe? Would you struggle to keep your hands to your side so you don't reach out to touch him and startle him? Does the sight of a dog in a muzzle make your heart race? Please consider the demands of the position and your personality before applying—this job is not cuddles and leisurely strolls, as we work hard to very clearly state!

  • PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

    PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

    Tell us about your working history!
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  • CANDIDATE INFORMATION

    CANDIDATE INFORMATION

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  • Time Commitment

    Time Commitment

  • 6 Month Minimum Commitment

    Due to our intensive New Hire Training Program and the relationships that form between staff and the pets we serve, we require a six month minimum commitment to employment with Cloud 9 Pet Care. This position is NOT suitable for temporary, seasonal, or otherwise shorter-term work.

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  • CANDIDATE PROFILE

    CANDIDATE PROFILE

    Tell us more about yourself!
  • Job Demands

    Job Demands

    The job demands section details the “unfiltered” challenging aspects of the job—it is not an "easy pet sitting gig." Please review this section thoroughly, taking time to honestly consider if this position may or may not be a good fit for you.
  • Cloud 9 Culture

    C9C is a professional pet company. We have worked hard at a point in our development as a small local business to define our company culture. We will have you review and sign our Code of Ethics before starting. Here are examples of expectations of our culture for you to consider. These standards apply equally to C9C leadership as well as the entire field staff team.

     

    • Positive reinforcement paradigm—we do not scold, hit, discourage behavior; we look for what the pet is communicating through their behavior, get curious, and encourage MORE behavior (meaning acting in different ways) rather than STOPPING behavior (suppression).

     

    • Coachability—we all are forever-learners. If you find your ego bruises easily, you struggle with applying feedback, or you don't usually have questions, this role may feel demoralizing as we are always aspiring to grow, not expecting ourselves to be perfect or getting upset when we are informed that we were wrong about information or situations.

     

    • Respect for workplace emotional climate—we do not tolerate gossip, mocking, pressuring/guilting co-workers to take our work, speaking ill of clients, making fun of pets, working with a negative attitude that makes pets/people uncomfortable, or otherwise behaving in ways that demonstrate poor professionalism in the workplace. We consider the emotional safety of beings as equivalent to physical safety. People and pets alike can have bad days, but we expect mature, direct, remediatory communication from all involved.

     

    • Documentation—taking seriously the risks involved with the job and providing proper written and verbal communication with high levels of detail. All—clients, your co-workers, the pets, C9C leadership— should be able to sense your professionalism and responsibility for the work you do.

     

    • Honoring the experience of all others–This means taking the perspective of others whenever we interact. We understand that our co-workers may be having significant personal matters in their lives and therefore it is not fair to assume they should be available to take your work because you are having a personal emergency. We understand that there is no one "on demand" for us and we have to show up for the pets in our care. We realize the clients are expecting us at set times, so we don't show up early or late for our own convenience. We read over our written reports and messages to ensure they do not risk causing upset or offense to anyone in written communication.
  • We Work with Intensive Behavior Cases

    C9C is a professional pet company. The majority of households we serve bring us in because they need PROFESSIONAL level service. Candidates do not need any prior experience in the pet industry to be successful in this position, though we expect candidates to demonstrate passion and commitment to achieving C9C's mission-oriented working standards.

    To be candid, if you are looking for nothing more than a simple side gig spending time with animals, this position is not for you. Our tag line is "SO much more than just a (pet/dog walk/pet sitter)" and we mean that wholeheartedly. We are a professional pet company with intensive standards for the skill and knowledge of our staff. It is imperative candidates begin the job ready to completely learn and unlearn just about everything modern culture teaches us about handling pets AND are committed to bettering their approach/mindset to pet handling to meet evidence-based standards for continuously evolving best practices.

  • We Don't Get to "Just Call In" From Work

    As an essential service, unfortunately we can't just simply let a household know we won't be able to come in to work today and therefore they need to find another person to come feed/water/medicate/let-out their pets: pets depend on us for their survival needs, and if we do not show up, it can lead to serious welfare concerns. Although C9C operates in a team-based structure, individual providers hold SOLE responsiblity for performing service to assigned households.

    Our culture at C9C is intense in terms of boundaries. We believe that no one else should be expected to take responsibility for anyone else's workload. We believe the emotional climate in the workplace should be professional, friendly, and relaxed without pressure/animosity/stress caused by someone else's personal matter interrupting the workflow of the day. Most importanatly, we believe in ensuring our staff team feel 110% clear in the expectations of the role and what they are signing up for—not to "scare people off" but simply because the role is not flexible in terms of demand, and it is imperative that anyone hired here has the self-awareness to know if they are not looking for what we have to offer BEFORE getting involved.

    Regardless of circumstance, staff must always use communication channels to find their own coverage AND find a way to show up to provide service if coverage is not voluntarily offered by co-workers. There will be instances where you are stressed out, have something serious going on, and you need to still show up to work—calm, collected, and nurturing to the pets whose behaivor can worsen by your stress, and with co-workers who don't deserve to have a bad day because your mood is sour.

    That does not mean you can't have off days or bad days, or that we don't want to help out where we can. It does mean that our small business has everyone working at all times, and nobody is 'on demand.' If you are someone who needs or benefits from a job where you can flexibly call off when you have something personal going on, a life-sustaining job is NOT for you, and we strongly discourage applying from this position.

    Attendance demands of this position differ vastly from most other industries and can be incredibly stressful, but it is a reality of an *essential* service that everyone, including C9C leadership and business owners, are responsible for. Most of our staff do just fine, but that is because we work VERY hard to honestly screen everyone and present our expectations without "fluff" or sugarcoating.

    Cloud 9 Canine, LLC has a 100% attendance rate to services. If you are someone who is likely to break that 100% attendance score due to you having a personal matter going on, this job is NOT for you—and that's okay!—but no one else can determine that except yourself.

    We put this in here to prompt candidates to assess what that may mean for their individual needs BEFORE considering this position. Please think realistically about if this type of attendance demand may or may not be suitable for you as an individual.

  • We Have to Show Up If Coverage Is Not Available 

    In the event that we attempt to find coverage and no one is available and willing to cover our assigned services for us, we still have to go out to take care of the pets assigned to us as we are responsible for their care. This includes ensuring we are able to independently self-manage our time off, plan ahead, and monitor & update our availability accurately in online systems. Every member of the team has to take responsibility for their own service roster once assigned: it is solely our responsibility to ensure every pet receives service as assigned.

    We also need to be very organized, attentive people to confirm our availability is displayed correctly; if you're not this type of personality OR still developing this skill, this is not a good fit to LEARN time-management in. Candidates should already possess strong self-organization and time management skills.

  • We Have to Be Resourceful

    In the event of a barrier in us making it out to homes to providing essential care services, we have to be resourceful. C9C does not cancel on clients and guarantees we will show up.

    An example would be if our car doesn't start one morning, we have to be able to seek out alternate transportation (borrowing a car from a friend or family member, utilizing public transportation, professionally communicating with clients that we are on the way but a bit delayed, or using rideshare apps) to still make it to our visits. Being able to stay calm in stressful situations and independently work to find solutions, without getting overwhelmed or giving up, is critical in this line of work.

  • Anyone Commutes Anywhere In Our Service Area

    • We provide in-home services, traveling between client residences on our routes of assigned services.
    • We commute throughout Kalamazoo, Comstock, South Portage, Parchment, and Texas Corners which consists of a lot of time spent on the road, and routes are multi-variable, so there is NO GUARANTEE you will work in neighborhoods close to home: all of us work all over the service area.

    • This requires comfort driving in extreme and hazardous weather conditions to ensure pets receive food, water, let-outs, and medications even in the middle of severe weather events.
      *We prioritize safety over timeliness (i.e, being able to drive slow and not rush in poor weather), but we provide services in all weather so team members need to be comfortable driving in and working outdoors in all kinds of weather, even severe (we provide life-sustaining essential services).

    • Service hours are 6am-11pm which will require commuting to and locating homes in the dark.
  • New Hire Training Process Expectations 

    • We value coachability over perfectionism; meaning, taking the need to be constantly learn from your trainers, your co-workers, the clients, and the pets you spend time with seriously is the most important factor for the job.

    • ALL new hires, no matter their background within the pet industry, always come in with a LOT to learn about evidence-based, +R paradigm-centered, skilled pet handling. 

    • Given the unregulated nature of the pet industry, everyone also comes in with a lot of beliefs and practices to "unlearn" (throughout new hire training).
       
    • We don't expect new hires to be fluently skilled and knowledgeable from day one, but we do expect to see new hires meeting new hire objectives AND applying everything they learn each day. Our tag line is they are "so much more than just a pet" and this job is SO much more than "just dog walking."

    • While we provide new hire training, new hires are continuously evaluated for their safety and suitability for working unsupervised (always on camera, but without in-person support) in client homes with ANY type of pet we serve. Therefore, we start with a probationary period where we may, at any time, dismiss new hires that do not meet criteria for demonstrating coachability, safety awareness, and a full respect for risk-aversion, pet welfare, and initiative for continuously and independently working to better themselves as handlers to, in turn, better serve the pets whose well-being we are entrusted with.
  • A-DAY-IN-THE-LIFE SCENARIOS

    A-DAY-IN-THE-LIFE SCENARIOS

    Answer how you would respond in the following scenarios that will likely occur at some point during the job.
  • Pretend you are caring for the pets in the scenario below.

    • You have just finished an early morning pet sitting visit for a pair of dogs, Bella and Tycho.
    • You discover one of the dogs has peed on the rug when you walk into the home.

    • Tycho jumps on you and scratches you when you walk in, barks loudly while you leash him and Bella up, and lunges at squirrels you pass on the walk. 
    • You take them on a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood.
    • They both are served breakfast, which they eat.

    • After breakfast, you spend the rest of the visit hanging out with them on the couch.
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    Thank you again for your interest in joining C9C!
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