Community Veterinary Assistant

Animal Care Centers of NYC; New York (NY); On-site; USD 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401K

Paid time off

Job summary

Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) operates the Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Veterinary Center in Queens. The Veterinary Assistant joins a dedicated team providing urgent and accessible care for shelter pets, working with veterinarians and support staff in a high-demand urban setting.

Schedule begins Monday–Friday 9:00–5:30 with potential future changes. ACC emphasizes compassionate, high-quality care and offers training, PSLF loan forgiveness eligibility, PTO, health benefits, and retirement

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• At least 12 months of experience in a veterinary setting.
• Ability to lift a minimum of 50 lbs.
• Calm under pressure and good with people and animals.

Responsibilities

• Safely restrain animals for examinations, diagnostics, and treatments.
• Assist with patient care before, during, and after exams, surgeries, and procedures.
• Assist with patient intake, discharge, and client communication when needed.
• Stock supplies, prepare exam and treatment rooms, and ensure equipment is ready for use.
• Enter medical notes in the practice management software (Day Smart).

Skills

People skills

Animal handling

Physical stamina

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Day Smart

Job description

The working schedule for this position isMonday-Friday 9-5:30 to start, may change in the future.

Who We Are

ACC is one of the nation’s largest open-admission animal shelters, whose mission is to End Animal Homelessness in NYC. We touch the lives of nearly 20,000 animals each year. ACC is more than an animal shelter; we are a resource to the community. The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Veterinary Center is one of those resources that provides urgent and secondary care to clients that come to us by referral. It’s not just a veterinary center– it’s a new model for accessible care in New York City.

Summary

ACC’s new Queens veterinary center was built with one goal: to keep pets and families together, even when urgent care seems out of reach. Many of our clients are referred by private practices when the cost of treatment is simply too high or by our own shelter’s Admissions Department at the point of surrender. Our job is to step in—not with shortcuts, but with high-quality, compassionate care made possible through public and private support.

The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Veterinary Center is not a wellness center. We focus on treatable, urgent conditions with a good prognosis—things like urinary blockages, pyometra, foreign bodies, and advanced dental disease. These are the kinds of cases where cost is often the barrier, not medical possibility.

The hospital is part of a brand-new 50,000 sq ft shelter facility in Ridgewood, Queens. It includes a fully equipped 4,000 sq ft clinic space with a surgical suite, dental suite with x-rays, ultrasound, in-house lab, and grooming.

As a Veterinary Assistant, you’ll be part of a committed team—working alongside veterinarians, veterinary nurses, client service representatives, a groomer, and a social worker. This is hands‑on work in a setting where access to care is everything. You won’t have to sell services or upsell procedures—you’ll just help deliver the kind of care every animal deserves.

Required Qualifications:

• High school diploma or GED required.
• At least 12 months of experience in a veterinary setting required.
• Works well with people and animals, and calm under pressure.
• Must be able to lift a minimum of 50lbs.

Essential Job Functions:

• Safely and humanely restrain animals for examinations, diagnostics, and treatments.
• Assist with patient care before, during, and after exams, surgeries, and procedures.
• Assist with patient intake, discharge, and client communication when needed.

Other Responsibilities:

• Administer oral and topical medications as directed by veterinarians.
• Monitor and report on the condition of hospitalized patients.
• Collaborate with team members to keep the clinic running smoothly and safely.
• Stock supplies, prepare exam and treatment rooms, and ensure equipment is ready for use.
• Maintain clean and organized treatment, surgical, and recovery areas.
• Accurately enter medical notes and treatment data in our practice management software (Day Smart).
• Fear Free Certification within 30 days of hire.
• Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Veterinary assistant certification a plus.
• Dependable, detail-oriented, and enjoy being part of a mission‑driven team.

The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Veterinary Center operates in the same building as our animal shelters but in a dedicated wing of the building. At ACC it's all hands‑on deck, we work together as a team. As a busy veterinary center in one of the biggest cities in the world it can get noisy inside. Employees should have the ability to remain calm yet professional in stressful situations involving animals of various temperaments and/or clients. Working in a veterinary center will include exposure to fur, odors, potential zoonotic diseases and other airborne particles in abundance.

Reports To:

Veterinary Practice Manager

Overtime:

This position is non-union and is eligible for overtime.

• Because ACC is a nonprofit, employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness, cancellation, and/or consolidation under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF).
• Created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, PSLF allows borrowers who work full time for nonprofits and government agencies to have their outstanding debt forgiven tax-free on Federal Direct Loans, after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan.
• ACC values work/life balance and offers a generous paid-time-off (PTO) package that includes vacation time, birthdays off, personal days and sick pay.
• We also value physical and mental health by offering a great open access Cigna medical, dental and vision insurance at a low premium to our employees as well as 401K and Pension, Life Insurance.
• We also have on‑the‑job training for 2-4 weeks, periodic all staff trainings to include safety, DEI, cross training, and other growth opportunities.

Please use this link for more details on our benefits package.