Foster Care Assistant

Humane Society of Huron Valley•Ann Arbor, MI

5h•$0 - $19•Onsite

About The Position

The Foster Care Assistant is under the Foster Care Manager and responsible for the medical care and support of animals in foster care. The Foster Care Assistant provides crucial support to the shelter veterinary team, Foster Care Veterinarian, and Foster Care Manager. This position has a wide range of responsibilities and requires someone who is self-motivated, flexible, and who enjoys a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

May be licensed by the state of Michigan, or considered a veterinary assistant as trained on the job by veterinarian(s) or experienced assistant(s)/technician(s).
Must be an energetic and caring individual with excellent communication and customer relations skills
Possess exceptional time management and organizational skills
Be detail oriented
Have the ability to multi-task
Be able to thrive in a high stress, fast-paced environment, and remain calm under stress.
Must be comfortable handling animals, including those with potentially zoonotic diseases, and a variety of species including, but not limited to, cats, dogs, small mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Must be comfortable working with both internal staff and with foster parents.

Responsibilities

Perform general kitten wellness evaluations, including weight checks, routine kitten vaccine boosters, FeLV testing, deworming, or other routine preventative measures necessary for otherwise healthy kittens while in foster care.
Schedule and coordinate foster pick-ups with foster parents; gathering supplies, including medications, as needed
Schedule and coordinate foster returns for kittens and puppies. Collaborating and coordinating with the Foster Dept as needed.
Assist with coordinating scheduling of sick animals in foster care to be seen through the shelter medicine team or at a foster clinic.
Closely follow written protocols to provide and schedule treatment for common non-emergent conditions in kittens.
Provide assistance to the veterinarians, including but not limited to: helping with well and sick-animal exams, vaccinations, routine blood testing, foster animal medical needs and routine foster animal medical care such as boosters and various tests.
Will hold primary responsibility over care of kittens in the Foster Nursery location during scheduled working hours. This includes daily weight checks, bottle or tube feedings, supplemental syringe feedings, or other necessary supportive or routine care.
Will be responsible for scheduling and coordinating appointments and transport for foster animals with outside specialists/hospitals as necessary.
Assist with medical follow-up/review utilizing shelter software reports.
At times may be required to be a liaison for the veterinary team, effectively communicating or relaying information between the veterinarian/team and other organizational departments.
Dispense prescribed and preventative medications to foster parents for their foster animals. Manage all medications in accordance with defined policies and procedures. Ensure medications are accurately filled and entered in our software.
As directed by the veterinarian, run bloodwork, fecal tests, perform radiographs, and other diagnostic tests. This may include setting up and evaluating in-house diagnostics such as urinalysis, fecal floats, ear cytologies, skin scrapes, and also preparing and submitting diagnostics to be sent to outside laboratories which may include packing samples and coordinating pick ups.
Will be responsible for scheduling and administering/performing routine preventative care for animals in foster.
Enter medical hold, stage and asilomar data promptly and accurately into shelter software.
Responsible for emergency Foster on-call rotation
Provide excellent customer service while talking with fosters regarding any questions or concern about behavioral, health, or surgery related issues.
Provide accurate instructions for animal care and medications.
Be the liaison between the adoption desk and the shelter veterinarian regarding basic medical history questions or explanations regarding animals in foster care.
May be required to counsel adopters about health or surgery related issues if involving an animal that is, or has been, cared for in a foster home as directed by the veterinarian, and provide accurate instructions for animal care and medications.
Assist veterinarian with risk assessment when known or possible disease outbreak is identified that may involve foster homes.
Work cooperatively with coworkers and foster volunteers to ensure a smooth flow of operations and to meet the highest standards of quality animal care.
Attend team and all-staff meetings.
Read email on a daily basis during normal scheduled working hours, and respond as appropriate.
Keep informed of and abide by HSHV policies and procedures.
Maintain and update animal medical records using shelter software.
Overtime may occasionally be required.
Weekend responsibilities will require the ability to work independently, prioritize required tasks, and make rational and responsible decisions. May need to communicate with management from other departments or contact the on-call veterinarian.
Other duties as assigned.