Stress
We'll be honest with you, Shmoopers: Working as an animal control officer is a seriously stressful job, and you'll have to stay cool and composed at all times.
It's extremely stressful to work in conditions where people fear and hate you because you make them follow the law. Nobody likes to get a summons or be told they just can't have thirteen cats in their one-bedroom apartment. If you take away a dog that has bitten a bunch of people and is terrorizing the neighborhood, its owners will call you a meanie and tell all their friends how much they hate you and everything you stand for.
Over the course of your career, you will get attacked by angry, frightened, or sick animals, exposing yourself to rabies and all kinds of other dangerous things. This is basically guaranteed, no matter how gentle and kind you try to be.
You'll have to think on your feet all the time. You'll find animals in life-threatening predicaments and you'll have to find a solution fast. The fates of innocent animals are in your hands. That's a lot of pressure.
Sadly, you may also have to euthanize animals that don't get adopted if the shelter you work with isn't a no-kill shelter. This is the one stressor that you can potentially avoid, but you may not have a choice as to what kind of shelter you work for.