Kennel Assistant

National Veterinary Associates, Inc.; Troutville (VA); On-site; USD 17,000 - 21,000; Full time

Job summary

Botetourt Veterinary Hospital is seeking a Kennel Attendant to care for boarding and hospitalized patients with kindness and patience. You will ensure comfort, feed and clean, report patient status, and maintain cleanliness throughout the hospital.

Responsibilities include monitoring animals, following instructions, and assisting with grooming and administrative tasks as needed. This is a year-round on-site role requiring professionalism and empathy.

Qualifications

• Kennel Attendants must be patient and possess problem-solving skills.
• Must be able to carefully follow instructions and be familiar with identifying potential illnesses and injuries.

Responsibilities

• Walks through the kennel areas checking each animal for abnormal activity and reports to supervisors.
• Recognizes emergency situations and enlists the aid of doctors and assistants.
• Keeps logs for eating, drinking, fecal, urine and medical information.
• Feeds and waters animals according to schedules.
• Cleans and disinfects cages, litter boxes, bowls and runs; maintains cleanliness of kennels.
• Records and labels all belongings and assists with transporting animals as needed.
• Walks dogs using proper control techniques to ensure safety of dogs and staff.
• Grooms patients (bathing, brushing) as scheduled and records services in Cornerstone.
• Works year-round; may work without air conditioning or heat for periods of time.
• Restraints animals as needed for safety; maintains kennel equipment and overall hospital cleanliness.
• Assists with reservations, check-ins/outs, and general facility upkeep.
• Other duties may arise based on hospital needs.

Job description

Hospital Name: Botetourt Veterinary Hospital

Job Type: Support Staff

Description & Requirements

Job Description

• Our boarding patients are entrusted to us by their owners and it is the expectation every patient is treated with kindness and patience. We take pride in the care that we give to the patients that stay with us; we do everything in our power to ensure their stay is safe and comfortable and instill that confidence in our clients.
• Kennel Attendants interact multiple times throughout the day with our boarding patients and sometimes hospitalized patients to ensure patients are kept as comfortable as possible and have access to appropriate food, water and bedding. BVH Kennel attendants most often work with dogs and cats, but may also occasionally find themselves in contact with other domestic animals and are in charge of the general upkeep of animals in their care and must provide individualized attention to them so they stay healthy and happy.
• Kennel attendants must be patient and possess problem-solving skills. Kennel attendants may come in contact with sick or injured animals, so they must be able to carefully follow instructions and be familiar with identifying potential illnesses and injuries. General duties include keeping cages clean and sanitized; walking, feeding and picking up after the patients; and reporting on the patient's condition to the Kennel Manager and/or Veterinary Medical staff.
• As a member of our team, Kennel Attendants should have a firm belief in our quality of care and be able to communicate this sense with assurance and confidence to our clients. Kennel Attendants must know and understand our services and products to be able to communicate with staff any suspected deviations from our quality of care. Integrity and professionalism are required and show clients the value of our service.

Job Duties

1. Walks through the kennel areas checking each animal individually for any abnormal activity such as vomiting, diarrhea, or blood in the cage or run. Reports all abnormal activity to supervisors, doctors and assistants.

2. Recognizes emergency situations, enlisting the aid of doctors and/or assistants.

3. Marks logs correctly for eating, drinking, fecal and urine production and other medical information.

4. Feeds and waters animals according to schedules.

5. Cleans and disinfects cat litter boxes, cages, runs and yards as needed using hoses and spray bottles of disinfectant. Cleans and disinfects all food and water bowls.

6. Picks up soiled bedding and moves it to the laundry area.

7. Places clean bedding in run with animals when appropriate.

8. Operates washer and dryer to clean kennel bedding and hospital laundry.

9. Records and labels all belongings.

10. Walks dogs using proper control techniques to ensure the safety of the dog, other boarders and all staff.

11. Grooms Patients (bathing, brushing, etc.) as scheduled prior to pick up, using proper control techniques. Also records all services provided in Cornerstone and enters charges.

12. Works outside all year-round; part of the job requires working without the aid of air conditioning or heat for periods of time.

13. Restrains animals as needed for proper control with attention to safety to the animal and all staff, clients, and other patients.

14. Maintains kennel related equipment, including fans used for drying.

15. Helps maintain cleanliness of the entire hospital, specifically all kennel areas are to be vacuumed and mopped.

16. Assists other staff to maintain the cleanliness and sanitation of the entire facility, including the interior and exterior of the property.

17. Reviews incoming/outgoing boarding reservations to anticipate boarding locations are appropriate and accommodating for other potential incoming patients.

18. Assist with checking in and checking out of dropped-off patients, including proper tracking of all belongings, labeling patients, etc.

19. Other duties may arise based on the needs of the hospital and patient/boarder care.

Special Requirements

*Baths

Do any baths that may be on the schedule for the day

*Check with the KS/SL to make sure nothing else needs to be done before giving bath (ex: exam, vaccines, bloodwork, NT, anal sac expression etc.)

Make a bath note for the patient

There is a bath note guide in a blue binder in the kennel office

Put the bath charge in the PVL (Patient Visit List)

Click on the first white line

Bath While Boarding: Choose the bath w/ boarding special

Drop-off Bath: The bath you choose will be based off the patient's weight. Choose the bath weight range that includes their weight.

Click Perform, then click OK

*Dishes

Boarders that have left

Surgeries that have left

Drop offs' that have left

*Sweep

*Trash

Cat Room, Radiology, Dr. Offices, Break Room

*Start mopping by 5:45

In order: Cat Room, Radiology, then Upstairs Big Kennel

*Surgery Patients-

Some pets board overnight prior to their scheduled procedure the next day. They typically need to have food and water pulled so that they do not eat or drink overnight. Check with the KS/SL to see if there are any such surgery patients and what should happen with their food/water.