Veterinary Assistant

Job Description:

SUMMARY

Working under the direction of the Shelter Veterinarian, the incumbent triages incoming animals in to the shelter, paying special attention to medical and behavioral issues. Must be able to administer injections, perform venipuncture, take vital signs of animal, and properly restrain animals. Assess and treat various medical conditions and provide necessary vaccinations. Alert supervisors immediately if an animal is displaying signs of advanced animal cruelty so that appropriate investigations can occur. Handle various types and breeds of animals with varying degrees of socialization. Evaluate and interpret animal signals and behaviors to ensure safety of animals, employees, and the public. Ensure humane animal handling with daily interactions and medical procedures. Perform accurate and thorough data entry of the animals’ intake, medical treatment, and behavior. Adhere to stringent daily cleaning to reduce the transmission of diseases throughout the shelter. Inventory all approved medications. Must be able to work well independently and in a group. Must possess basic computer literacy skills and be able to handle multiple unrelated tasks simultaneously while working in a busy environment. Report to the Animal Care Supervisor. The incumbent is expected to exercise good judgment, independence, initiative, and professional expertise in conducting day-to-day operations. All work duties and activities must be performed in accordance with the City safety rules and operating regulations, policies and procedures as well as federal, state, and local regulations.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist veterinarian in medical procedures including but not limited to exams, surgery, treatments, and or other required procedures. Must be able to initiate emergency procedures.
• Properly induce anesthesia, intubate, and monitor patients under anesthesia according to best practices. Accurately take vital signs of animals including temperature, pulse, and respiration.
• Maintain and use medical equipment such as IDEXX Lasercyte and autoclave.
• Perform routine laboratory procedures and analyses in hematology, microbiology, urinalysis, and serology. Prepares samples for outside laboratory analysis when required.
• Perform both urinary and venous catheterization, analyze skin and ear cytologies.
• Triage all incoming animals to determine appropriate placement in the shelter, medical needs and behavior of animal to ensure safe staff interactions and overall mental wellbeing of the animal.
• Notify supervisors of animals whose medical condition is severe enough that it is showing numerous signs that the animal might be a victim of animal abuse, cruelty or neglect.
• Process animals into the shelter which includes but is not limited to: document the animals breed, age, sex, color, etc. along with the contact information for the owner / finder in a confidential agency database; photographs of all incoming animals; ensure that the unique shelter identification follows the animal and is placed on their kennel; locate and trace microchips and any other form of ID on the animal; attempt to contact owner to reunite the animal with its owner; ensure all animals have the proper food, water, bedding, and toys appropriate for the breed, weight and special conditions of each individual animal.
• Assess animal behavior to ensure appropriate and safe handling during daily interactions with animals. Document behavior and/or specific handling procedures on the kennel card to ensure the safety of the animal and employee throughout the animals stay at the shelter.
• Handle dangerous and aggressive animals in a humane manner in accordance with National Standards and agency best practices.
• Monitor and assess the behavioral and medical health of all animals on a daily basis. Begin treatment for medical conditions within their scope of training and authority. Inform the supervisor of changes in behavior or medical condition outside the scope of authority. Read and interpret various animal samples.
• Provide daily behavioral enrichment for all animals in an effort to maintain or improve overall animal health of animals.
• Performs required and strict disinfecting protocols shelter-wide on a daily basis to reduce spread of zoonotic and contagious diseases. Performs extensive disinfecting upon the threat or confirmation of a disease causing shelter wide outbreak being brought into the shelter.
• Log and inventory all medications handled in the shelter. Maintain the standards required by the federal government when handling controlled substances.
• Administer subcutaneous vaccines upon intake to animals being assessed for rescue, transfer or adoptions. Document all medications and vaccines in the shelter database, outlining dosage, frequency and timing. Review vaccination records and prepare vaccines according to vaccine protocol. Maintains pharmacy records, and controlled drug, anesthesia, fecal and heartworm test logs.
• Use confidential agency database efficiently to enter and redeem animals, administer medications / vaccines / treatment; process animals as needed for health, adoption, and euthanasia; enter and read memos to determine legal holding periods and information. Maintain confidentiality of information acquired from databases along with sensitive information on current animal cases.
• Maintains supplies used by the shelter, unloads and loads supplies as necessary
• Performs assigned duties which require bending, twisting, climbing and lifting up to 50 pounds on a regular basis. Lifts and carries heavy animals and feed bags which may cause prolonged strain.
• Works under adverse conditions including extremes of temperature, humidity, precipitation and fumes
• Maintains professional demeanor and appearance at all times. Communicates effectively both orally and in writing.

MARGINAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Performs various duties related to the disposal of carcasses;
• Assists other divisions as needed;
• Contacts supervisor as questions on procedures arise;
• Reads and follows instructions, and performs simple math as necessary for inventory control.
• Performs any and all other duties as assigned/required.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

No supervisory responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EXPERIENCE and/or EDUCATION

• Associate's degree (A. A.) or equivalent from two-year college or technical school; or one year related full time employment experience and/or training in animal handling such as veterinarian assistant, veterinarian technician, kennel staff, or animal groomer.
• Obtain and maintain current tetanus vaccinations within 1 year of employment.
• Obtain and maintain current rabies vaccinations within 1 year of employment.

OTHER KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and/or ABILITIES

• Knowledge of calculating drug dosage and administering medications and vaccinations.
• Knowledge of domestic animal behavior.
• Knowledge of animal care such as feeding, cleaning, disinfecting.
• Ability to pass post-offer screening for this position.
• Ability to attend, complete, and pass all sections of the required on-site New Employee Staff Wide Training Program.
• Ability to attend, complete and pass all required training.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization. Ability to write reports and correspondence. Incumbent has frequent contact with staff members and the public. These contacts involve handling questions and complaints requiring tact and judgment to provide service and carry out policy.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to add, subtracts, multiply, and divides in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. The individual follows standard procedures and regulations when performing the duties of the position. Incumbent has the opportunity to make choices when carrying out routine assignments and some analysis and judgment is required when assisting the public. Work may be reviewed for quality and completeness at critical phases and upon completion.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Valid Driver's License if City vehicle is used.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee frequently is required to climb or balance and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to sit. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job employee is regularly exposed to poor working conditions with frequent exposure to animal related hazards including bites and scratches and is required to lift and carry heavy animals and feed bags which may cause prolonged strain. High stress may occur due to attachments made in caring for shelter animals with the knowledge of the possible euthanasia of these animals in accordance with departmental policies. Other stress may include counseling bereaved pet owners and dealing with emotionally charged situations with the public. The duties of the position involve frequent bending, lifting and other activities requiring physical strength and stamina. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.