Kennel Assistant at Crossroads Animal Hospital

Crossroads Animal Hospital; Central (LA); On-site; USD 13,776 - 17,908; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits vary by status

Job summary

Crossroads Animal Hospital in Louisiana is seeking a Kennel Assistant to care for animals during grooming and boarding visits. You will clean, feed, monitor, and assist with daily tasks under supervision.

The role requires weekend and holiday availability, ability to lift up to 25 pounds, and prior veterinary experience preferred. The team emphasizes compassionate care and client communication while maintaining a clean, safe environment.

Qualifications

• Patience and compassion when interacting with clients and animals.
• Ability to collaborate with veterinarians and staff to deliver care.
• Clear and effective verbal and written communication with clients.
• Active listening to client needs and instructions.
• Focus on high client satisfaction and care quality.

Responsibilities

• Provides care for patients visiting for grooming or boarding.
• Admit patients with client instructions and contact details for pickup.
• Record feeding schedules, appearance, and behavior accurately.
• Observe general physical condition for illness signs.
• Properly restrain difficult patients when needed.
• Walk patients several times daily for exercise and elimination.
• Provide special foods and liquids as required.
• Ensure cages, toys, and personal property are stored and identified.
• Keep kennels clean and disinfected to prevent disease spread.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Patience & Compassion

Collaboration & Teamwork

Communicating

Active Listening

Client Satisfaction

Job description

Practice

Crossroads Animal Hospital is committed to the highest quality health care possible for our patients. We also offer the most caring and considerate treatment of their owners, our clients.

The sole reason for the existence of Crossroads Animal Hospital is to serve the needs of our clients and to help them maintain healthy pets. Every member of our staff is committed to providing the very finest professional, personable, courteous, and caring service in every way possible.

More about the Role

Reporting into the Practice Manager, the Kennel Assistant provides care to address the needs of patients that are visiting the practice for grooming and / or boarding. The Kennel Assistant ensures that the boarding area is clean and safe for all patients by cleaning cages, runs, and ward areas and washing laundry. The Kennel Assistant walks, feeds, and administers medication to patients (as needed and supervised by Doctor or Technician and based on confidence and experience).

Competencies

• Patience & Compassion: Remaining professional while still making Doctors, teammates, clients, and patients feel as comfortable as possible regardless of the situation or challenges presented.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: Carefully coordinating actions with practice team members. Quickly incorporating feedback to ensure positive results. Sharing ideas and being open to other’s ideas. Continually looking for ways to help others.
• Communicating: Conveying boarding outcomes to clients and teammates to ensure successful client care.
• Active Listening: Following the expressed wishes of clients.
• Client Satisfaction: Ensuring all activities and interactions result in the highest level of client satisfaction.

Essential Responsibilities

• Provides great care for patients visiting the practice for grooming and / or boarding.
• Ensures patients are admitted noting the client’s specific instructions to ensure a quality outcome including contact information and pick up time.
• Accurately and legibly records information related to the patient such as feeding schedules, appearance, and behavior during practice visit.
• Observes patient’s appearance and activity for general physical condition, obvious signs of illness, disease and discontent.
• Appropriately handles patients and as needed, properly restrains hard-to-control patients.
• Walks patients several times a day to provide exercise and time for elimination of bowels and bladder.
• Applies knowledge of normal food and liquid requirements and as required, provides special food and liquids.
• Ensures patients are clean and fresh smelling and have been checked by a Technician / Doctor prior to discharge; ensures patient has all personal property upon exit.
• Ensures cages and patients are properly numbered and identified and that personal property (toys, treats, blankets, leashes) are stored in the proper areas and identified.
• Regularly cleans, disinfects and maintain kennels, cages, runs and stalls as often as is necessary to ensure no cages or kennels are soiled and odors are not apparent. Performs general cleaning in other areas of the hospital to control the spread of disease. Washes and sterilizes water and food bowls.
• Launders and dries towels and blankets.
• Walks hospital grounds regularly and cleans any trash and stool material; empties trash throughout the practice and grounds.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Ability to work on weekends and holidays as required
• Previous veterinary experience preferred
• Ability to lift patients up to 25 pounds; ability to lift patients over 25 pounds with assistance
• Practices OSHA safety techniques including proper PPE

Benefits Offered

Benefits offered may vary depending on full or part time employment status according to company policy.

Pay Range

USD $10.00 - USD $13.00 /Hr.