Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant

Humane Society of Southern Arizona; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 35,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Humane Society of Southern Arizona is looking for a Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant to support medical care for shelter animals and to work in the spay/neuter clinic as needed.

The role requires strong animal restraint, nursing care, and the ability to communicate with clients, volunteers, and staff. Work includes clinical duties, record-keeping, and potential on-site vaccines and procedures.

Qualifications

• Minimum two years’ experience as a Veterinary Assistant or Technician.
• High School graduate or equivalent.
• Proficiency in proper animal restraint and handling.
• Experience with client communication and education.
• Basic understanding of veterinary software programs.
• Typing, computer and general office work experience.

Responsibilities

• Accurately fill and label medications and treatment sheets; document treatments.
• Assist in euthanasia when required.
• Restrain animals and update records as requested by the veterinarian.
• Maintain cleanliness and stocking of treatment room, clinic and units.
• Triage emergencies and coordinate with on-call veterinarian.
• Obtain samples and perform in-house or reference lab testing as needed.
• Administer daily medications and patient care across shelter units.
• Communicate clearly with fosters, owners and volunteers about care instructions.
• Perform radiography and anesthesia protocols with supervision.

Skills

Animal restraint

Client communication

Medical records

Venipuncture

Nursing care

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Veterinary technician credential (preferred)

Tools

IDEXX in-house suite

Veterinary software programs

Job description

Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant

EOE Statement It is the policy of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, Inc. to provide all persons with equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information, or any other factor protected by law.

Category Animal Care

Description

Job Purpose:

The Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant assists in the medical care of shelter animals being treated at HSSA, and splits their time working as a technician or assistant in the spay/neuter clinic.

Our Three Pillars

Lifesaving Programs: Our dedication to ensuring every pet finds a loving home drives us to continually enhance shelter processes and expand adoption efforts, ensuring no animal is left behind.

Animal Care and Well-being: We uphold a commitment to the highest standards of care for every animal, providing essential medical attention and enriching activities. Your support makes a lasting difference in the well‑being of the pets in our care.

Community Engagement and Support: We continuously strengthen programs such as our pet pantry and build meaningful partnerships to keep pets and families together, working to reduce the need for shelter intervention.

Essential Functions:

• Accurately fill and label medications and treatment sheets. Document treatments for shelter animals accurately and label prescriptions correctly.
• Assist with euthanasia of shelter or publically owned pets as required
• Be available during the day to help restrain animals, update records, change prescriptions, or perform other tasks as requested by the veterinarian or supervisor.
• Assist in maintaining the cleanliness and stocking of the treatment room, shelter pharmacy, clinic and SCU Units at all times.
• Triage and assess emergencies at the shelter when the vet is not physically available. Assist with contacting the on call veterinarian for coordinating treatment and/or transport.
• Obtain samples (blood, urine, feces, swabs, hair) and submit for reference lab testing or perform in house testing on IDEXX in house suite, microscopy (fecals, fungal cultures).
• Administer daily medications, patient care, and other necessary treatments to shelter animals, animals in the Feline and Canine Second Chance Units, foster animals on site, or in other areas of the shelter as needed.
• Daily walk-through of shelter and monitoring for disease and/or post-operative incision problems, assist in managing vet boards and emergencies
• Comfortable and knowledgeable in communicating information and relaying instructions to fosters, owners and volunteers working with animals requiring veterinary care with excellent customer service
• Apply protocol treatment to more common shelter conditions such as CIRD, diarrhea, dermatophytosis, URI
• May drive company vehicle in performance of company duties.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Perform digital radiography unassisted and be familiar with correct positioning, exposure settings, and operation of the processing machine.
• Perform injectable anesthesia protocols, intubation, and anesthetic monitoring. Successfully recover anesthetic patients and recognize when patient needs assistance.
• Assist with Vaccine Clinics (including off-site events) which includes the preparation of vaccines, obtaining weight, TPR of patient and providing animal restraint during the vaccination process.
• Prepare and maintains the highest standard of medical record keeping of all surgical records as well as daily usage of narcotics and other controlled substances in the appropriate forms under the supervision of the Veterinarian.
• May assist in the training of fellow technicians/volunteers.
• Represent HSSA in a professional and positive manner
• Maintain controlled log books and assist in audit when necessary
• Assist with intake or other departments of the shelter or clinic when required

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions or qualifications associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change, for example, emergencies, changes in personnel, workload, rush jobs, or technological breakdowns in departments.

Position Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum two years’ experience as a Veterinary Assistant or Technician
• High School graduate or equivalent.
• Any combination of training and experience which demonstrates expertise and the knowledge and skills necessary for this position.
• Proficiency in proper animal restraint.
• Experience with client communication and education.
• Basic understanding or the ability to learn veterinary software programs.
• Typing, computer and general office work experience.
• Experienced or educated in laboratory procedures such as proper blood and specimen handling
• Venipuncture
• Excellence in nursing care

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous work in emergency or urgent care preferred
• Previous work in shelter medical capacity preferred
• Credentialing as a certified veterinary technician

Performance Factors and Skills:

• Communication and Contact: The Veterinary Services Technician/assistant communicates effectively both verbally and in writing with superiors, colleagues, and individuals inside and outside of HSSA. Has tact and above-average communication and customer service skills and must be able to convey a positive and professional image to individuals inside and outside of HSSA.

• Attendance and Dependability: The Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant can be depended on to report to work at the scheduled time and is seldom absent from work and can be depended upon to complete work in a timely, accurate, and thorough manner and is conscientious about assignments. The SMT must be self-motivated, reliable, and able to complete job duties with minimal direct supervision. The SMT must be flexible to schedule changes and re-prioritizing quickly when needed.

• Relationships with Others: The Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant communicates effectively and relates well with others including superiors, colleagues, volunteers and individuals inside and outside of HSSA. The Veterinary Services Technician is expected to help other staff members with cleaning, patient care, or other animal care related duties during down time without supervision.

• Clinical Experience: The Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant must have commitment to humane and ethical animal care and training practices. Along with strong technical skills and nursing care abilities, they exhibit exemplary knowledge of communicable diseases, biosecurity and mitigating disease risk, especially with venerable populations. This position requires a lot of independent work and they must be a self-directed worker, use sound clinical judgement and communicate concerns or considerations outside of what has been discussed or planned.

Working Conditions:

• Work is performed at an animal shelter. Potential exposure to zoonotic diseases, dangerous and fractious animals, high noise levels, hazardous chemicals, and sharp objects. Field conditions may be encountered. Able to lift up to 50 lbs., long periods of standing, bending, stooping, reaching and working outdoors in differing climates and animal handling and restraint in animal shelter setting. Potential exposure of infectious diseases to owned animals. Able to handle all sizes and activity levels of animals.
• Holiday and weekend work is required. Because of the integral part of this position, the SMT must provide at least 2 hours’ notice prior to calling out to make necessary staff scheduling changes to accommodate for absences.

Full-Time/Part-Time Full-Time

Temporary

Position Veterinary Services Technician/Assistant

Close Date

Number of Openings 1

Exempt/Non-Exempt Non-Exempt

Hiring Manager(s) Karyn Carlson

Location Humane Society of Southern AZ

About the Organization The Humane Society of Southern Arizona (HSSA), founded in 1944, is a private, independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization with the mission of acting with compassion and responsible stewardship through innovative programs that serve pets and the people who love them. HSSA is the largest charitable animal welfare and protection agency in Southern Arizona with 100+ employees and 1300 volunteers. In 2018, HSSA moved into a new state-of the art animal shelter and spay/neuter clinic.

Vision: A community in which all pets are cared for and loved

As staff of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, we pledge to be committed to our team as we are to the organizations mission. We will foster a compassionate environment for each other, our volunteers, and the human and animal clients we serve; empowering one another with knowledge, empathy, encouragement and recognition. We aim to eliminate negativity, support positive and effective communication, promote individual and organizational growth, and work as a cohesive team at all times regardless of tenure, position or department.

HSSA values and and champions diversity and inclusion. these values are part of who we are. Together we will continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices of our HSSA team and teh communities we serve.

This position is currently accepting applications.