Animal Control Kennel Medical Assistant

City of Richmond, Virginia; Chamberlayne (VA); On-site; USD 43,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Virginia Retirement System (VRS)

Language Incentive

Referral Bonus

Tuition Assistance Program

Job summary

The City of Richmond, Virginia's Animal Care and Control seeks a dynamic Animal Control Medical Kennel Assistant to provide high‑quality daily care for animals and assist the medical team with basic treatments and observations. The role supports disease control, sanitation, and safe enclosure management in a busy shelter environment.

This essential position offers exposure to veterinary care tasks, teamwork with a committed staff, and opportunities for professional growth through training and

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• No work experience required.
• Experience working with animals preferred.

Responsibilities

• Clean animals, bays, and cages.
• Distribute food and water to animals.
• Assist in administering medications or vaccinations.
• Ensure safety and security of animals.
• Complete paperwork for incoming/outgoing animals.
• Maintain inventory of supplies.
• Report abnormalities or injuries to veterinary staff.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Skills

Animal care

Communication

Customer service

Teamwork

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Shelterbuddy

Job description

Are you Richmond R.E.A.D.Y ? R espect. E quity. A ccountability. D iversity… YOU !!!

About

This is an EXCITING time to Join the City of Richmond! We are committed to nurturing talent, fostering growth opportunities, and building strong connections within our workforce. As we continue to make strides to becoming the employer of choice, we are thrilled about the below employee benefit enhancements:

• Virginia Retirement System (VRS)
• Language Incentive
• Referral Bonus
• T uition Assistance Program

Description

The anticipated hiring range is $42,900 - $50,030.

The City of Richmond's Animal Care and Control seeks a dynamic, enthusiastic, and hardworking person to join its team as an Animal Control Medical Kennel Assistant. The incumbent is responsible for high-quality daily care and husbandry for animals housed in the facility while assisting the medical team with basic treatments, clinical observations, and disease control. This role ensures that all patient enclosures are sanitary and safe, closely monitors medical or recovering animals for changes in clinical status, and assists the veterinary team with handling, feeding, and medical prep.

The Selected Candidate Will Join a Dynamic Team Of Individuals Focused On Providing Excellent, Prompt, And Accurate Services To Both External And Internal Customers While Achieving The Following Mission

To provide and maintain a healthy, safe environment for all animals in the kennel facility for the City of Richmond.

Richmond Animal Care and Control is committed to becoming an employer of choice AND we are dedicated to the growth of our workforce. We value our employees and seek to attract and retain the best. We are also committed to individual professional growth! The selected candidate will have the opportunity to attend applicable training and educational workshops.

Duties include but are not limited to

• Cleaning the animals, the bay area, and cages
• Distributing food and water to the animals
• Assisting in administering medication or vaccination to the animals
• Ensuring the safety and security of the animals housed
• Completing required paperwork on incoming and outgoing animals
• Maintaining inventory of the required supplies
• Report any abnormalities, injuries, signs of illness, or distress immediately to the veterinary technician or veterinarian on duty.
• Performing other related duties as assigned

This position is considered an Essential Personnel, which means that the incumbent is required to work when the City is closed due to public emergencies, critical or hazardous conditions or inclement weather. This individual may be required to work weekends and holidays, as needed.

Qualifications, Special Certifications And Licenses

• High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent
• No work experience required
• Experience working with animals preferred

LICENSING, CERTIFICATIONS, And OTHER SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• None required

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

TYPICAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: These are a representative sample; position assignments may vary.

Knowledge (some Combination Of The Following)

• Distinguishing common intestinal parasites
• Symptoms of common viruses
• Behaviors and body language of animals
• Good knowledge of caring for dogs and cats and basic knowledge of caring for farm animals, birds, etc.
• Electronic databases and related software applications such as the shelter intake system, Shelterbuddy
• First aid
• Animal CPR
• Proper animal handling
• Various animal shelter equipment and machines such as catch-poles, hide gloves, muzzles, flat leashes, power washers, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, etc.

Skills (some Combination Of The Following)

• Assisting in the adoption process
• Feeding, watering, and walking animals
• Caring and handling both healthy and unhealthy animals with a variety of temperaments
• Cleaning
• Communicating with kennel staff and citizens
• Assisting with the euthanasia of animals
• Judging if an animal is aggressive, timid, scared, etc.
• Performing basic animal medical duties such as giving vaccinations, fluids and medications; drawing blood; replacing bandages, etc.
• Performing various maintenance tasks such as fixing a broken dog cage
• Using animal care and control equipment such as a catch-pole on a dog
• Customer service

Abilities (some Combination Of The Following)

• Communicate
• Lift heavy objects
• Maintain professional composure during emotional situations
• Stand for long hours

Americans With Disabilities Act Requirements

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

Working conditions may include exposure to travel to other locations within the City of Richmond as well as outside of the City of Richmond; exposure to hazardous physical conditions such as mechanical parts, electrical currents, vibrations, etc.; atmospheric conditions such as fumes, odors, dusts, gases, animal dander, and poor ventilation; inadequate lighting; intense noise; and environmental hazards such as disruptive people, imminent danger, and a threatening environment.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

Due to the nature of work assignments, incumbents must be able to perform detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks, with frequent interruptions and under time constraint. The essential duties of this classification may require the ability to regularly balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, stand, walk, push, pull, lift, finger, grasp, feel, talk, hear, and perform repetitive motions; frequently see and crawl; and occasionally climb. The working conditions may include environmental hazards. The working conditions may include environmental hazards. In terms of the physical strength to perform the essential duties, this classification is considered to be very heavy work, exerting in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally, in excess of 50 pounds of force frequently, and in excess of 20 pounds force constantly to move objects.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The City of Richmond provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
The City of Richmond is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, the City of Richmond will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations. If you require reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to participate in the job application and/or the interview process, please contact Veronica Kenner, by email at [e-mail].
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
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