Animal Care Technician-Full-Time

POSITION SUMMARY: 

An employee in this position keeps animal containment areas clean and sanitized in the care and maintenance of the animal shelter for Harnett County. This includes encouraging adoptions; reuniting owners with lost animals; maintaining the facility grounds; ensuring the safety and health of animals within the facility; feeding and caring for the animals housed in the shelter; and euthanizing animals on an as-needed basis.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION:  

• Works at the County’s animal shelter; cleans facility; and cares for animals.
• Assists the public visiting the shelter.
• Answers telephone; greets visitors; receives inquiries; provides information; and refers inquiries to appropriate personnel as needed.   
• Dispatches field services officers.
• Intakes animals; takes pictures of animals for posting on website; enters the animal information into the data system; weighs animals; and provides vaccinating/deworming/flea medications. 
• Cleans and maintains animal confinement area; cleans and disinfects cages; feeds and waters confined animals; makes routine inspections of animals and their cages to monitor health, safety, cleanliness of cages, etc.
• Performs general health and temperature evaluations of animals prior to adoption.
• Maintains a daily medication administration log with time checks and dosage levels; assists with FIV/FeLV/Heartworm tests; draws blood to test for some diseases; documents test results; and assists/performs rabies vaccinations at the request of the public and upon adoption of an animal.
• Walks dogs.
• Washes laundry.
• Takes out the trash.
• Encourages adoptions of sheltered animals; assists interested parties in claiming or adopting confined animals, accompanies visitors to the adoption room, processes required paperwork; implants microchips; collects fees; and provides receipts.
• Prepares and maintains records, such as numbers and classifications of animals confined, claimed, adopted, destroyed, etc. and of shelter activities; files and retrieves material as requested.
• Maintains supply inventories; orders material as necessary; and restocks.
• Performs and/or assists in euthanasia of unadoptable or diseased animals and for decapitation of animals for the purpose of rabies testing.
• Assists other staff in transporting large, injured, and aggressive animals.
• Works after hours as needed.
• Completes paperwork necessary in order to comply with the law.

• Assists Supervisor on specific calls for service.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO PERFORM WORK: 

• High school diploma; preferably Associates Degree in Animal Science Biology, or Vet Tech certification.
• One year of related experience in carrying for animals desired;
• Or equivalent education and/or experience; and

• Possession of a valid North Carolina driver's license.
• Ability to attain Certified Rabies Vaccinator (CRV) and Euthanasia Technician (ET) certifications within one year.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES: 

• Knowledge of the operations, functions, procedures, and legal processes of the animal shelter.
• Knowledge of the methods of safely caring for animals.
• Knowledge of breeds of animals in knowing about the aggressiveness of certain breeds and in aiding in the identification of lost pets.
• Skill in handling animals.
• Ability to deal constructively and tactfully with the public.
• Ability to maintain accurate reports.
• Ability to build and maintain cooperative and effective public relations with the community.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 

Must be able to perform very heavy work exerting up to 20 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects; frequently requiring 50 pounds of force to move objects; and occasionally requiring to exert up to 100 pounds of force to move objects.  This work also involves the physical abilities of balancing, crawling, crouching, feeling, grasping, handling, discriminating among sounds, kneeling, lifting, having manual dexterity, using mental acuity, pulling, pushing, reaching, performing repetitive motion, speaking, standing, stooping, expressing ideas by the spoken word, shouting to be heard above ambient noise, and walking.  An incumbent must also possess the visual acuity to analyze information, perform inspections such as color of animals, use measurement devices, and to operate a computer.

 WORK ENVIRONMENT:            

The employee works primarily in an animal shelter location and is subject to hazards associated with animal care including working in both inside and outside environments, in extreme cold weather, and exposure to various hazards such as atmospheric conditions, noise, vibration, vicious animals, and physical conditions such as odors.  This position deals with a variety of animals and people, responds to changing priorities, and requires working after hours on-call or on weekends as scheduled.

Salary : $32,315 - $37,567