Veterinary Assistant - Adoptions/Shelter

Helen Woodward Animal CenterRancho Santa Fe, CA
Onsite

About The Position

As a Veterinary Assistant within the Adoptions department at the Helen Woodward Animal Center, you will gain priceless experience and make a positive difference in the lives of our adoptable pets while assisting Veterinarians with medical prep, surgery and post-surgery animal care. Our Veterinary Assistant team also nurtures the well being of every animal in our care by providing food, grooming, assistance with hygiene, exercise, attention and love. As a Veterinary Assistant, you will gain valuable skills such as the ability to perform routine medical procedures (vaccines, fecal exams, medication administration, etc.), cleaning/wrapping/autoclaving surgical packs for the Veterinary team, maintaining medical paperwork and developing professional communication skills as you communicate and collaborate with the other areas of Adoptions, such as foster and kennel staff, as well as the different departments around the Center. You will be given opportunities to gain experience with management of special care cases as directed by the Animal Health Manager and opportunities for advancement along the way. In addition you will do weekly health checks on all animals, keep rooms clean and organized and be able to make well reasoned judgement calls regarding animal's health status while under pressure and explain intake decisions to rescue, shelter and partner personnel. To earn valuable experience as a Veterinary Assistant in a state of the art hospital within a world renowned organization, apply today!

Requirements

  • Some experience providing medical and surgical assistance in the animal field
  • Must be able to perform a full exam on an animal independently
  • Must be able to draw blood on cats and very young kittens
  • Must be able to control strong and unruly dogs and difficult cats
  • Must have excellent customer service skills
  • Must be able to work closely with animal hair/dander
  • Must possess a valid Driver's License
  • Must have a good driving record
  • Applicant must complete a Driver Information Form and provide a recent DMV Driving Record Report to be kept on file

Nice To Haves

  • Animal handling experience in a kennel environment

Responsibilities

  • Assisting Veterinarians with medical prep, surgery and post-surgery animal care
  • Nurturing the well being of every animal in our care by providing food, grooming, assistance with hygiene, exercise, attention and love
  • Performing routine medical procedures (vaccines, fecal exams, medication administration, etc.)
  • Cleaning/wrapping/autoclaving surgical packs for the Veterinary team
  • Maintaining medical paperwork
  • Communicating and collaborating with the other areas of Adoptions, such as foster and kennel staff, as well as the different departments around the Center
  • Gaining experience with management of special care cases as directed by the Animal Health Manager
  • Doing weekly health checks on all animals
  • Keeping rooms clean and organized
  • Making well reasoned judgement calls regarding animal's health status while under pressure
  • Explaining intake decisions to rescue, shelter and partner personnel
  • Performing driving duties

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What This Job Offers

Job Type

Part-time

Career Level

Entry Level

Education Level

No Education Listed

Number of Employees

11-50 employees

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