Veterinary Assistant - Adoptions/Shelter

Helen Woodward Animal Center•Rancho Santa Fe, CA

3d•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

Ability to perform a full exam on an animal independently.
Ability to draw blood on cats and very young kittens.
Ability to control strong and unruly dogs and difficult cats.
Excellent customer service skills.
Ability to work closely with animal hair/dander.
Valid Driver's License.
Good driving record.
Must complete a Driver Information Form and provide a recent DMV Driving Record Report.

Nice To Haves

Some experience providing medical and surgical assistance in the animal field.
Animal handling experience in a kennel environment.

Responsibilities

Assist Veterinarians with medical prep, surgery and post-surgery animal care.
Provide food, grooming, assistance with hygiene, exercise, attention and love to animals.
Perform routine medical procedures (vaccines, fecal exams, medication administration, etc.).
Clean, wrap, and autoclave surgical packs for the Veterinary team.
Maintain medical paperwork.
Communicate and collaborate with other areas of Adoptions (foster and kennel staff) and different departments.
Gain experience with management of special care cases as directed by the Animal Health Manager.
Perform weekly health checks on all animals.
Keep rooms clean and organized.
Make well-reasoned judgment calls regarding animal's health status under pressure.
Explain intake decisions to rescue, shelter, and partner personnel.