Shelter Medicine Veterinarian; Relief

• Shifts scheduled based on organizational need
• Opportunities available weekdays, weekends and holidays

• Relief/As-Needed
• Shifts scheduled based on organizational need
• Opportunities available weekdays, weekends and holidays

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.

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.

• 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…