Shelter Medicine Veterinarian (Relief)

PAWS Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EAP through BCBS

Paid time off

Job summary

PAWS Chicago in Chicago, IL seeks a Relief Shelter Medicine Veterinarian to provide comprehensive medical care for animals in the shelter and foster programs seven days a week.

Working with an experienced medical team, you will deliver individualized care, manage emergencies, infectious diseases, neonates, and coordinate with surgical services.

This flexible, as-needed role offers opportunities to impact thousands of lives through evidence-based shelter medicine and adoption-ready outcomes.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent.
• Current Illinois veterinary license or ability to obtain licensure.
• Minimum one year of shelter medicine experience or equivalent experience in emergency, general practice, or high-volume clinical medicine.
• Excellent diagnostic, clinical reasoning, and medical decision-making skills.
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment while maintaining exceptional standards of patient care.
• Passion for animal welfare and the No Kill movement.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to multidisciplinary care.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive medical care for shelter and foster animals.
• Diagnose and treat a wide range of medical conditions, from routine illnesses to medically complex and critically ill patients.
• Provide emergency assessment, stabilization, and intensive medical care as needed.
• Manage infectious diseases, including canine parvovirus, feline panleukopenia, upper respiratory disease, dermatologic disease, and gastrointestinal illness.
• Examine hospitalized patients and adjust treatment plans based on patient response.
• Administer vaccines and preventive medical care according to shelter protocols.
• Perform minor surgical and sedated procedures, including wound management, laceration repair, abscess treatment, and other medical interventions.
• Coordinate advanced surgical cases with PAWS Chicago's surgical team.
• Participate in daily medical rounds with veterinary technicians and animal care staff.
• Apply evidence-based shelter medicine principles to protect both individual patient welfare and overall population health.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of medical protocols and shelter medicine best practices.

Skills

Diagnostic reasoning

Communication

Collaboration

Clinical decision-making

Emergency care

Education

DVM or equivalent

Job description

• Shifts scheduled based on organizational need


• Opportunities available weekdays, weekends and holidays

Brief Description

Flexible, As-Needed Coverage

Schedule

• Relief/As-Needed


• Shifts scheduled based on organizational need


• Opportunities available weekdays, weekends and holidays

Where exceptional medicine meets extraordinary impact.

At PAWS Chicago, shelter medicine is far more than routine wellness care—it's advanced, fast-paced, lifesaving medicine practiced every day.

As one of the nation's leading comprehensive animal welfare organizations, PAWS Chicago is committed to building a No Kill Chicago through innovation, collaboration, and exceptional veterinary care. Our medical team treats thousands of homeless and at-risk animals each year, achieving an industry-leading 97.83% Save Rate while caring for some of the region's most medically vulnerable patients.

Our veterinarians diagnose and treat everything from severe trauma, neonatal illness, and complex infectious disease to chronic medical conditions requiring long-term management. We are recognized for treating—and saving—patients with diseases many shelters once considered untreatable, including canine parvovirus and feline panleukopenia, through evidence-based protocols, dedicated isolation facilities, and an experienced multidisciplinary team.

Shelter medicine offers a depth and breadth of clinical experience unlike any other veterinary discipline. In a single shift, you may stabilize an emergency patient, manage a litter of critically ill neonatal kittens, develop treatment plans for infectious disease, collaborate on behavioral care, oversee recovery of postoperative patients, and help prepare healthy animals for adoption.

If you're looking for a position where every day challenges you clinically, develops your medical expertise, and allows you to save lives on a remarkable scale, we'd love to meet you.

Position Summary

The Relief Shelter Medicine Veterinarian provides comprehensive medical care for animals in PAWS Chicago's shelter and foster programs, ensuring continuity of care seven days a week.

Working alongside an experienced medical and animal care team, this veterinarian delivers individualized patient care while supporting the health of the shelter population as a whole. This role combines emergency medicine, internal medicine, infectious disease management and collaborative case management in a leading shelter medicine program.

This relief role offers flexible scheduling to support the Shelter Medicine team during vacations, medical leaves, high-volume periods, and special initiatives. Shifts are available Monday through Sunday and are scheduled in advance whenever possible. Candidates may work occasional or recurring shifts based on mutual availability and organizational needs.

What You'll Do

Deliver Exceptional Patient Care

• Perform comprehensive physical examinations for shelter and foster animals.


• Diagnose and treat a wide range of medical conditions, from routine illnesses to medically complex and critically ill patients.


• Provide emergency assessment, stabilization, and intensive medical care as needed.


• Manage infectious diseases, including canine parvovirus, feline panleukopenia, upper respiratory disease, dermatologic disease, gastrointestinal illness, and other common shelter conditions.


• Examine hospitalized patients and adjust treatment plans based on patient response.


• Administer vaccines and preventive medical care according to shelter protocols.


• Perform minor surgical and sedated procedures, including wound management, laceration repair, abscess treatment, and other medical interventions.


• Coordinate advanced surgical cases with PAWS Chicago's surgical team.


• Participate in daily medical rounds with veterinary technicians and animal care staff.


• Apply evidence-based shelter medicine principles to protect both individual patient welfare and overall population health.


• Contribute to continuous improvement of medical protocols and shelter medicine best practices.

Advance the PAWS Chicago Mission

• Deliver compassionate, high-quality veterinary care that gives every healthy and treatable animal the opportunity to find a loving home.


• Serve as a collaborative partner across departments, helping create positive outcomes for animals, adopters, foster volunteers, and the community.


• Uphold PAWS Chicago's commitment to innovation, transparency, and excellence in animal welfare.

What You'll Bring

Required Qualifications

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or equivalent).


• Current Illinois veterinary license or ability to obtain licensure.


• Minimum one year of shelter medicine experience or equivalent experience in emergency, general practice, or high-volume clinical medicine.


• Excellent diagnostic, clinical reasoning, and medical decision-making skills.


• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment while maintaining exceptional standards of patient care.


• Passion for animal welfare and the No Kill movement.


• Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to multidisciplinary care.

Why Shelter Medicine at PAWS Chicago?

Few veterinary careers offer the opportunity to develop such a broad and sophisticated clinical skill set while making an immediate difference in so many lives.

At PAWS Chicago, You'll Practice Medicine That Includes

• Emergency and critical care


• Internal medicine


• Infectious disease management


• Neonatal and pediatric medicine


• Preventive medicine


• Diagnostic imaging and laboratory interpretation


• Wound management and minor surgery

Every day presents new medical challenges, new opportunities to learn, and new lives to save.

You'll work alongside one of the Midwest's most experienced shelter medicine teams, supported by dedicated veterinary technicians, behavior experts, and one of the nation's premier high-volume spay/neuter programs.

Most importantly, you'll experience the extraordinary reward of watching critically ill and injured animals recover, heal, and ultimately leave the shelter with the families they've been waiting for.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, crouch, and reach throughout a 10-hour shift.


• Ability to safely lift up to 25 pounds occasionally and 10 pounds frequently.


• Ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced clinical environment while maintaining excellent attention to detail.

Our Values

At PAWS Chicago, Our Work Is Guided By

• Respect: Every life has value.


• Community: We save more lives together.


• Innovation: We continually advance shelter medicine and animal welfare.


• Proactivity: We prepare, adapt, and solve challenges before they become crises.


• Transparency: We measure and share our results because every life counts.


• Education: We empower people to become part of the solution.


• Sustainability: We build programs that create lasting impact.


• Compassion: We care deeply—for animals, for one another, and for the communities we serve.

Our Benefits

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through Blue Cross Blue Shield.


• Paid time off, including vacation and sick days.

Join a team where exceptional medicine saves lives every day—and where your expertise will directly shape the future of animal welfare.