Veterinary Assistant Experienced

Denney Veterinary Service; Brady Township (MI); On-site; USD 17,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

Denney Veterinary Service in Brady Township, MI seeks an empathetic veterinary assistant to support hospital care, feeding, medication administration, and client communication. The role includes handling admissions, maintaining clean facilities, and assisting veterinarians with procedures.

The position involves lifting up to 50 lbs, working in a fast-paced clinic, and participating in a graduated training program where starting wages depend on experience and progress through levels.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• Certificate from a veterinary assistant program preferred but not required.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.

Responsibilities

• Care of hospitalized animals, including cleaning, exercising, feeding, observation for illness, and laundry.
• Feed and medicate animals as prescribed by the attending doctor; record appetite and signs of illness.
• Release and discharge animals to owners with medications and belongings, per instructions.
• Receive animals for hospital care, ensuring proper identification, records, and cages.
• General clinic cleaning, including outdoor areas, and housekeeping duties.
• Restrain patients for procedures performed by technicians or doctors.
• Maintain a professional, cheerful attitude when interacting with pet owners.
• Stock hospital supplies and assist with ordering via the 'want list' workflow.
• Assist the receptionist by carrying food or retrieving supplies for clients and team.
• Fill prescriptions, prepare vaccines for appointments, and assist doctors during visits.
• Take complete medical histories from clients and relay to the doctors.
• Operate lab equipment, prepare samples for outside labs, and run in-house fecal tests.
• Take radiographs with proper positioning and prepare the surgical suite.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education

High School diploma

Veterinary assistant certificate (preferred)

Job description

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Care of hospitalized animals, including case cleaning, exercising, feeding, observation for signs of illness, laundry, and keeping animals clean
• Feeding and medicating animal as prescribed by the attending doctor, recording appetite +/- signs of illness.
• Release and discharge animal to their owners as directed by the doctor or licensed technician. Ensure that every animal released is clean and goes home with proper medication and belongings.
• Receive animals to be admitted for hospital care or treatment as directed by the doctor or LVT. Ensure that every animal has proper identification, cage cards, and medical records in the appropriate place.
• General cleaning of the clinic (public and employee areas), and cleaning of the outdoor areas to provide a clean and odor free environment. Housekeeping and laundry for all areas.
• Restrain patients for procedures performed by technicians or doctors.
• Maintaining a professional, cheerful, and helpful attitude when interacting with pet owners.
• Stocking of hospital supplies, adding items to the “want list” for ordering, rotating stock properly.
• Assist the receptionist, when necessary, carry food for clients and retrieving food or other supplies for team members and customers.
• Filling prescriptions, preparing vaccines for appointments, and assisting doctors during appointments.
• Taking complete medical history from clients and relaying information to the doctors.
• Correctly operate lab equipment without damaging equipment, preparing lab samples to go to outside lab, and running in house fecal examinations
• Taking radiographs properly with proper positioning
• Cleaning and preparation of surgical suite
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

High School diploma, certificate from a veterinary assistant program (not required)

PREFERRED SKILLS

Time management skills, good oral and written communication skills, appropriately handle and restrain animals, basic animal care, basic veterinary terminology, ability to recognize abnormal conditions, initiate to work effectively without direct supervision.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Ability to lift up to 50 lbs

We have a graduated level training program in place to insure all employees are trained and can pass a written test prior to graduating to the next training level. Pay and raises are dependent on the ability to learn, retain what you learn, and how hard you work and progress through the training program. Although previous experience may be factored in when giving you a starting wage, all new hires will begin on level 1 and work up through the levels. New hires without any experience in the vet clinic setting can expect to start out at minimum wage. The top of the wage range reflect senior training levels.