Shelter Veterinary Assistant

Description

Location: Buncombe County Animal Shelter

Regular schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Pay: starting at $19.25/hour

 Help Animals Get the Medical Care They Need 

Every animal that enters our shelter deserves compassionate, high-quality care from the moment they arrive. As the only open-intake animal shelter in Buncombe County, Asheville Humane Society provides medical care to animals with a wide range of needs, histories, and medical conditions.

As a Shelter Veterinary Assistant, you'll play an important role in making sure animals receive the care they need to be healthy and ready for their next step. You'll perform intake examinations, provide vaccinations and preventatives, perform basic diagnostics, administer treatments and medications, and help identify medical concerns that require additional attention.

This position combines hands-on veterinary skills with animal handling, problem-solving, and teamwork. You'll work closely with our veterinarians and medical team as well as staff across Intake, Operations, Behavior, and Adoptions. Every day can look different—you might complete an intake examination, perform a fecal or cytology, assist with an emergency triage, prepare medications, or help a pre-adopted animal receive the medical care they need before going home.

If you have veterinary experience, enjoy shelter medicine, and are comfortable working with animals of all sizes and temperaments in a fast-paced environment, we'd love to meet you.

What You'll Do

As a member of the Medical Team, you'll work closely with veterinarians, veterinary staff, and other shelter departments to provide timely, compassionate medical care to animals in our care.

Responsibilities include:

• Perform thorough physical examinations on all animals at intake and identify, triage, and address medical concerns in accordance with Medical SOPs.
• Complete each animal's intake medical workup, including age-appropriate vaccinations, testing, and preventatives, in a timely manner.
• Perform and read in-house diagnostics, including fecal analysis and skin and ear cytology, and operate standard bloodwork equipment.
• Assist with emergency triage under the direction of the medical team and veterinarians.
• Make basic diagnostic and treatment decisions within established protocols.
• Accurately calculate medication dosages and prepare and fill medications.
• Promptly report serious or life-threatening conditions to the appropriate member of the medical team.
• Safely handle and restrain animals of all sizes and temperaments, including animals with unknown histories, using low-stress handling techniques.
• Apply infectious disease control practices and maintain clean, properly disinfected medical intake areas.
• Accurately enter and maintain medical documentation in a timely manner.
• Coordinate with the Intake, Operations, Behavior, and Adoptions teams to ensure animals receive complete medical care and progress toward adoption.
• Assist the Adoptions team with medical care for pre-adopted pets.
• Communicate medical information, including diagnostics and treatment plans, to non-medical staff, adopters, and members of the public.
• Train entry-level staff and volunteers on basic medical handling and procedures.
• Perform other duties that support the mission and daily operations of Asheville Humane Society as directed.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED.
• Previous experience working in a veterinary setting.
• Working knowledge of basic veterinary diagnostics and microscope skills, including fecal analysis, cytology, and bloodwork.
• Working knowledge of infectious disease control practices.
• Competency in safe, low-stress animal handling and restraint.
• Basic computer skills.
• Ability to obtain North Carolina Euthanasia by Injection (EBI) certification (training provided).
• Ability to obtain North Carolina State Certified Rabies Vaccinator status (training provided).

Preferred

• Previous experience as a veterinary assistant in a private practice or shelter medicine setting.
• Animal shelter medicine experience.
• Experience working with animals in a high-volume or open-intake shelter environment.

Physical Requirements

This position requires frequent standing, walking, stooping, bending, reaching, lifting, and handling animals throughout the day. Applicants should be able to safely lift items weighing up to 50 pounds to a height of 4 feet and safely handle and restrain dogs weighing up to 150 pounds.

The position involves working with animals of varying sizes, temperaments, and medical conditions in a shelter environment that may include cleaning products, animal dander, noise, and occasional exposure to bodily fluids.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Mental health benefits covered at 100% for in-network providers
• SIMPLE IRA with up to a 3% employer match
• 18 days of paid time off during the first year
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• 9 Paid Holidays
• Pet Bereavement
• Pet prescription discounts

Benefits begin after 60 days of employment.