Overnight Veterinary Technician

APA! BACKGROUND

Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and best-loved nonprofits. The organization is the leader in the no-kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at‑risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a no‑kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals.

The organization is distinguished by the scrappiness of its grassroots, non‑traditional, community‑based animal rescue work.

The APA! Medical Clinic works on the cutting edge of shelter medicine, treating the most critical and vulnerable animals that other shelters and even some private clinics don't have the resources to help. Our veterinary technicians are crucial to the success of our lifesaving programs, providing hands‑on care and treatment to the 10,000+ animals who come through our doors every year.

This position is responsible for the late night/overnight treatment and care to all hospitalized animals under the care of the APA! medical clinic, as well as providing emergency on‑call services to APA! fosters, adopters, and animal care teams. This position also helps monitor the TLAC campus for safety and emergency concerns, including extreme weather‑related incidents. The overnight support technician is an independent role that will work closely with the veterinary staff, animal program teams, fosters, and adopters.

APA! is a volunteer‑powered organization, so every staff member is expected to work alongside and support volunteers. The [Job Title] collaborates closely with volunteers to complete day‑to‑day tasks, helps create a positive and inclusive environment, and actively contributes to a culture of shared effort and mutual respect. This position may involve shift flexibility, weekend hours, and responsiveness during times of high need or MOD coverage.

Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day‑to‑day workflow.

• Maintain proper care of all hospitalized animals during the overnight shift, including identifying, monitoring, and documenting symptoms of illness and changes, as well as providing scheduled treatments.
• Comfortable working independently and has strong veterinary technician decision-making skills.
• Request and administer all prescribed medications appropriately and within acceptable time frames, as directed by clinic protocols, veterinarians, and clinic leadership.
• Place IV catheters and administer medications IV, SQ, PO, and IM
• Follow medical protocols and have a deep understanding of common veterinary technician tasks, responsibilities, and terminology.
• Understand the technician/veterinarian relationship, including professional communication.
• Answer the clinic emergency phone line and provide instructions as needed to foster and adopters while maintaining excellent customer service.
• Use and troubleshoot IV pumps and other veterinary equipment.
• Triage and react accordingly to urgent, critical, and contagious animals.
• Report declining patients and emergency needs to the veterinary staff immediately.
• Able to humanely euthanize patients as directed by the veterinarian.
• Dispense storm medications when storms occur overnight.
• Provide Clinic Adoption and Foster Case Management Coordinators with updates as needed, including notification of potential new medical cases needing attention
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of all APA! medical protocols and procedures
• Maintain a safe, clean, and sanitary work environment
• Provide excellent customer service to all clients and stakeholders
• Send a detailed EOD report at the end of your shift
• Duties may differ slightly from this Job Description; all duties are outlined by the Clinic Manager Team, Veterinarian, or another…