WISE COUNTY -- The way interns at the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary describe their daily duties fetching coffee doesn't sound so bad.

"There's all kinds of dirty work, it's not just with the animals," says intern Jenn Fair.

"We learn everything from weed eating to picking up poop," says intern Lawnie Woolsey.

"We build troughs, we build pools all kinds of other stuff rather than just working with the animals," says intern Sarah Stout.

While this internship does have it's moments on the wild side, working with lions, tigers and bears is not the exactly the focus of what they do. They learn about all that goes in to caring for the exotic animals.

"I knew it was going to be a lot of work no matter what I did, but it's all about a passion rather than just hard work," Stout says.

It's the only internship of it's kind. The sanctuary in Wise County is the first sanctuary certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and one of about 10 in the country to offer an internship. Interns learn everything it takes to run this type of facility, from maintenance to food preparation.

"Every day is a little bit of a surprise," says intern Amanda Lavely. "We learn something new and all the animals have such great personalities and just how friendly they can be is surprising, but they can also surprise you and not be so friendly."

One focus is fundraising. The interns learn to care for the animals they have to have money.

"It is kind of like homework," Woolsey says. "After we get done with work we'll go and write grants and proposals, but our supervisors are really great at helping us out and teaching us what we need to learn to go on to different sanctuaries and succeed there."

The interns are mostly college graduates with degrees in biology and veterinary science. They stay for three to six months and live in dorms at the facility.

The four current interns are from Nebraska, Arizona, Colorado and Ohio. Four more come in June. Most are from out of state.

"We're training for the future," says Richard Gilbreth, the sanctuary's director. "We're providing these young ladies the opportunity to care for animals here and also carry on with what they've learned to other facilities across the United States."

The program started in 2002 and since interns have gone on to work in zoos and sanctuaries across the country.

Gilbreth says what his interns do in the years to come is the key.

"After spending 20 years of doing this it would be nice to know that what we have done in that last 20 will be carried on in the next 20," he said.