Animal Health Technician

Williamson County•Georgetown: 1855 S/E Inner Loop, TX

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Responsible for providing paraprofessional health care to animals within the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, by administering medical care to the animals and supporting the Animal Care and Animal Behavior teams. This role involves direct animal care, medical procedures, volunteer supervision, record keeping, and customer service.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent
Licensed Veterinary Technician / Certified Vet Assistant OR one (1) year of experience as a veterinary technician/assistant in a shelter/animal hospital setting
One (1) year of customer service and professional communication experience
Knowledge of animal health and well-being, including nutritional needs, common animal diseases and behavioral issues, proper and safe handling, and restraints, caring for sick/injured/fractious animals, and pharmaceuticals commonly used in treatment of animal conditions
Prior experience identifying signs and symptoms of animal illnesses, injuries, and behavioral issues, drawing blood from animals, performing injections, administering medications, and performing basic veterinary testing procedures
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, computers, phone/iPad software and applications such as instant messaging (IM), email, FaceTime, PetPoint, etc.
Valid driver’s license (Required within thirty (30) days of employment)
Euthanasia certification (Required within 120 days (4 months) of employment)

Nice To Haves

Associates degree in a related field
Two (2) years of animal welfare experience
Advanced knowledge of dog and cat body language cues
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Certified Vet Assistant

Responsibilities

Provides health care to all shelter animals including vaccinating, de-worming, weighing, photographing, performing diagnostic tests (i.e., fecal testing, blood tests), venipuncture, placing catheters, and administering medications.
Provides medication to sick and injured animals, monitors rabies quarantine animals, and euthanizes animals as necessary.
Collects blood, urine, fecal, and skin samples.
Leads, trains, directs, and provides feedback on daily tasks of Volunteers and Community Service workers, and assists as needed.
Administers health checks of all animals, verifying animal locations, administering needed medications, and documenting any concerns for follow-up.
Assists veterinarian with examinations and medical procedures, including spay/neuter surgeries, microchipping, and performs medical treatments as directed.
Performs radiographs at the shelter, with proficiency in correct positioning, based on protocols written by shelter veterinarian.
Prepares animals for surgery, administers medication, monitors animal vitals through the surgery and recovery process, and sanitizes surgical instruments.
Cleans and sanitizes the surgery room, recovery kennels, and tech rooms.
Assists with emergency procedures such as CPR, IV catheter placement and drug administration, and placement on endotracheal tubes under supervision of shelter veterinarian.
Monitors animal vitals through the surgery and recovery process, and provides post-op care, such as wound cleaning and bandaging.
Counsels fosters/adopters on medical treatments or medical needs of shelter animals.
Utilizes shelter software to maintain information about animals, including medical histories.
Logs medications, including controlled substances, in required logs and records.
Determines disposition on all animals, handles fractious animals, and assigns handling difficulty levels based on behavior and medical conditions.
Assists in determining which animals may need outside veterinarian care.
Identifies animals that are candidates for outside rescue organizations or foster care.
Follows all medical protocols and procedures as written by veterinarian.
Transports animals to other facilities as needed.
Follows all safety measures and policies, including proper animal restraints and reading animal behavioral cues, and promptly reports any safety incidents to leadership.
Performs clerical and customer service duties related to the intake and processing of animals for impoundment, adoption, and redemption.
Monitors and maintains the tech email, determining which medical protocol to follow when symptoms or incidents are reported, including determining how urgent the medical issue may be and the best course of action to take.
Ensures building security upon opening and closing, and maintains accurate inventory of medical supplies, re-stocking as necessary.
Serves as animal services supervisor for weekend coverage.
Performs special duties as assigned.