Animal Care and Enrichment Specialist

KENTUCKY HUMANE SOCIETY•Louisville, KY

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Animal Care and Enrichment Specialist provides daily care, cleanliness, comfort, and enrichment to Kentucky Humane Society (KHS) animals while helping maintain a safe, healthy, and welcoming shelter environment. The role includes cleaning and sanitizing animal and common areas, providing appropriate housing, bedding, food, and water, and offering enrichment such as toys, food activities, walks for adult dogs, and social interaction. The specialist monitors animal health and behavior, documents observations in Petpoint, and reports concerns to veterinary staff, the Behavior team, the Cat Coordinator, or a supervisor as appropriate. The position also involves maintaining shelter supplies and grounds, organizing donations, providing basic grooming, supporting volunteers and visitors, and assisting with foster, behavior, setup, and other shelter operations. Assigned transportation duties may include moving animals and supplies between KHS locations, events, and offsite veterinary clinics, as well as cleaning and sanitizing transport vehicles and crates. The employee must follow sanitation, safety, disease-control, and PPE practices and be able to work in a kennel or shelter environment, indoors and outdoors, in varying weather conditions. New employees complete New Employee Orientation and Shelter Services Training.

Requirements

General dog and cat knowledge is preferred.
Ability to work independently with little direct supervision.
Strong interpersonal skills when communicating in person and by phone with clients, staff, and volunteers.
Attention to detail and ability to process paperwork accurately and efficiently.
Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
Humane attitude toward animals.
Ability to manage the emotional aspects of end-of-life services and humane euthanasia and support staff in high-emotion circumstances.
Ability to accept, support, and represent KHS core values, programs, policies, and procedures.
Basic computer knowledge.
Support use of approved AI tools when they can improve efficiency and reduce routine or administrative work while meeting quality, accuracy, confidentiality, and professional standards.
Ability to lift or otherwise move large animals up to 50 pounds; full range of motion, including stooping, bending, and reaching.
Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and willingness to drive KHS vehicles.
Background check required.

Nice To Haves

General dog and cat knowledge.

Responsibilities

Provide daily care, cleanliness, and enrichment to animals and maintain common areas.
Clean and sanitize assigned animal and common areas using disease-control protocols, including spot cleaning during the work schedule.
Provide animals with appropriate housing, bedding, food, and water.
Provide daily enrichment and mental stimulation, including toys, food enrichment, walks for adult dogs, social interaction, and appropriate interaction with other animals.
Provide basic grooming services to shelter animals as needed.
Help maintain a clean and uncluttered shelter by sweeping, taking out trash, washing windows, doing laundry and dishes, and performing related tasks.
Follow and maintain knowledge of organization, cleaning, sanitation, and safety practices, including proper PPE use and knowledge of common shelter diseases and illnesses.
Unpack, sort, and organize donations as needed; help maintain supply inventory and communicate supply needs to the appropriate manager.
Patrol shelter grounds daily and pick up trash and fecal material.
Monitor animal health and behavior, identify concerns, report them to appropriate staff, and record observations in Petpoint.
Provide professional and compassionate customer service to visitors, callers, volunteers, donors, and coworkers.
Assist as needed or directed with foster, setup, behavior, and other critical shelter operations.
Use shelter and employee communication systems to maintain accurate animal inventory, write behavior and other memos, and keep up with staff communications.
Work with and supervise volunteers to support a safe, clean, organized, and pleasant experience for animals and people.
Communicate unusual activities, significant problems, or concerns to the supervisor on duty.
Transport animals, supplies, donations, and mail to and from KHS locations and other assigned destinations; serve as a backup for transport duties as needed.
Clean, sanitize, and disinfect transport crates and vehicles after use, maintaining a clean and odor-free vehicle.
Perform other duties as assigned.