Veterinary Assistant

Humane Society of Northeast Georgia; Gainesville (GA); On-site; USD 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Humane Society of Northeast Georgia is seeking a compassionate animal-care professional to assist veterinarians and veterinary technicians in Wellness Clinic and Spay/Neuter services. You will help with medications, vaccinations, and medical recordkeeping while maintaining a safe, humane environment for shelter animals.

The role requires strong communication with clients and staff, the ability to handle varied animal behavior, and reliable teamwork in a fast-paced clinic setting.

Qualifications

• High school or equivalent education; experience in a veterinary clinic preferred but not required.
• Able to work in busy environment; good communication; team player.
• Must be able to lift and handle animals and work with ASPCA-standard safety protocols.

Responsibilities

• Assist Veterinarians with Wellness Clinic and Spay/Neuter services.
• Administer medications and vaccines to animals; maintain medical records.
• Assist with animal intakes, adoptions, and post-operative care; ensure proper documentation.

Skills

Animal handling

Client communication

Teamwork

Calm under pressure

Veterinary clinic experience

Education

High school or equivalent education

Tools

MS Office

Pet Point

Job description

Basic DutiesThis role requires experience beyond grooming and pet-sitting; only candidates with relevant experience will be considered.

Basic DutiesThis role requires experience beyond grooming and pet-sitting; only candidates with relevant experience will be considered. Responsible for assisting the Veterinarians and Veterinary Technician(s) with providing Wellness Clinic and Spay/Neuter services to clients of the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia (HSNEGA) and providing Animal Care duties (medicating/treatments or Isolation Ward duties) as scheduled. This position requires the candidate to handle, on average, 40-50 dogs/cats or more per day.

Scope Of PositionWellness Clinic

• Safely and humanely administer medications (via injection and orally), vaccinations (via injection and orally), screening tests (via blood draw) and microchips to public, owned animals within the scope of HSNEGA’s standard operating procedures.
• Efficiently and kindly communicating with clients to obtain history, discuss wellness services, and care for their animal.
• Exceptional animal handling skills and confidence in the ability to handle aggressive animals safely.
• Maintain accurate and detailed medical records.
• Working knowledge of vaccinations, flea/heartworm prevention, and basic animal husbandry.

Animal Care

• Assist with animal intakes/surrenders in conjunction with the Animal Care and Enrichment (ACE) Manager on duty including administering vaccines, screening tests and other wellness services to intakes as needed.
• Assist with ensuring adoptable animals are being cared for, treated/medicated properly, and be constantly aware of the adoptable animals’ conditions. Communicate staff/volunteer concerns regarding specific animals to appropriate senior clinical staff.
• In conjunction with ACE Manager, assist with administering care to animals in restricted areas as needed. Assist with transportation to outside veterinarians if needed and ensure treatment plan for sick animals is followed as specified by the Medical Director.
• As needed/scheduled, conduct daily adoptable animal care including feeding and cleaning/sanitation of kennels/equipment in a humane, effective, efficient and safe way.
• Work with staff to ensure accurate records for all public animals as well as intakes/adoptable animals.

Surgery

• Assist the Veterinarian with intake exams and morning medical set up
• Patient Prep; helping induce, clipping for surgery, surgical scrubbing, and other preparations as needed for surgery.
• Recovery; Recovery of a large number of animals recovering from anesthesia simultaneously, administering vaccinations, pain medication, and other postoperative services.
• Working knowledge of sterile operating room procedures

Customer Service

• Greets persons entering HSNEGA with friendly disposition, direct persons to correct destination/staff, and accurately answers questions from public and customers.
• Fields general inquiries from the public, always maintaining a calm, courteous and respectful manner.
• Assists the public with Wellness Clinic services offered through the Healthy Pet Clinic including check in/out and counseling on services provided.
• Assists with taking spay/neuter appointments, processing deposits, entering appointments into IDEXX, and assisting with check in/out.

Patient Intake/Dismissal

• Checks in patients during morning intakes with the assistance of other team members including explaining the surgery process to pet owners, and collecting required paperwork and ensuring it is properly completed.
• Oversee/assist with completion of paperwork for each day’s clients/patients in conjunction with the CCSC and clinical staff.
• Assists with spay/neuter appointment setting and ensures correct record-keeping for all clients in IDEXX Neo.
• Participates in afternoon dismissal of patients with the assistance of other team members including explaining recovery instructions, collecting monies, and properly completing paperwork.
• Works closely with CCSC to ensure daily cash outs and money handling are done efficiently, honestly and on time. Adheres to all cash management Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Administrative

• Assists with compiling and maintaining accurate files on all animals.
• Processes Healthy Pet Clinic clients including scheduling, data entry, and general administrative process and flow through.
• Answers multi-line phone system promptly and professionally, routing calls to the appropriate personnel and providing general information to the public as needed.
• Checks organizational voice mail in a timely manner and distributes messages/forwarding calls as needed to the appropriate recipient.
• Enters and maintains proper documentation on all client and animal records. Provides accurate and thorough data entry and paperwork, including memos and addendums as needed.
• Checks daily for follow-ups on any pending issues.
• Assists with opening duties and closing duties, including daily financial reconciliation.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

• Performs in standard office, animal care, and kennel environments with exposure to hazardous chemicals and tolerates noxious odors and high noise levels with appropriate PPE.
• Safely lifts and carries up to 50 pounds repeatedly throughout the day with help.
• Works standing for 6 or more hours and to bends/kneels repeatedly to move through tightly cramped areas in various situations.
• By nature of the industry, consistently exposed to animals/animal allergens under conditions with limited alternatives available. There also may be occasional exposure to dead, sick, unruly, and/or dangerous animals in addition to exposure to parasites and infectious diseases.

Qualifications

• High school or equivalent education; experience in a veterinary clinic, veterinary hospital, and/or animal shelter or control facility preferred but not required.
• Acquire and possess a thorough understanding of - and dedication to - animal welfare issues
• Highly motivated with a professional attitude
• Good communications skills
• Must be able to work constructively within a team in a busy and intense environment.
• Must be able to respond quickly to a variety of medical situations and cope with urgent/frustrating situations and remain calm.
• Understand and support the values, philosophies, and policies of HSNEGA.
• Experience in dealing effectively and tactfully with the public, and ability to create a team environment/positive work culture and implement change when needed.
• Ability to work with different software programs including MS Office and Pet Point.
• Willing and able to obtain training/continuing education as needed.
• Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment in making decisions in accordance with organizational policies and procedures and to handle emergencies, think critically and act accordingly.
• Ability to work independently and confidently using superior discretion and judgment.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

• Must possess a valid and unrestricted driver’s license.

This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship Humane Society of Northeast Georgia 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. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.