Your story brings some of my personal experiences to mind. I had a guidance counselor tell me that college was a waste of money and that most kids from my town dropped out. Your love of animals is commendable, and I think that your plan of working at an office (or a shelter) is a good one. A lot of animals out there just need love, and that would be a huge contribution from you, though it saddens me to think you were blocked from making this a career. You might like this story, it's about the dog walker in my neighborhood: https://medium.com/human-parts/for-the-love-of-dogs-deedf33ceba1