Hopefully this sort of post is allowed, as it's a question for therapists but unrelated to personal mental health stuff.

I'm in my senior year of undergrad and planning on going to grad school for a master's in mental health counseling. My goal is to be a therapist, and my dream is to be able to do that part time while also running a nonprofit animal rescue with my partner. However, I'm curious what sort of conflicts can come up if you work an additional job that isn't relevant to your role as a therapist.

For example, I volunteer at a rescue now and they have a model I'd really love to replicate. They offer open hours to everyone in a big room where you can come in and play with all the dogs. Say I was in the shelter working part-time and a client came in during those open hours; I know I'm meant to not acknowledge them unless they acknowledge me first or something along those lines, but would it be inappropriate for them to go in and hang out with the dogs if I was present? Similarly, if a client wanted to adopt from the rescue, would that raise issues?

I'd love to eventually do some additional learning about the use of animals in therapeutic settings and sort of blend my passions together through that, but I don't really know what the most ethical, appropriate ways to balance my interests would look like. Any input is greatly appreciated :-)