Animal Health Technician

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides health care to all shelter animals including vaccinating, de‑worming, weighing, photographing, performing diagnostic tests (i.e., fecal testing, blood tests), venipuncture, placing catheters, and administering medications
• Provides medication to sick and injured animals, monitors rabies quarantine animals, euthanizes animals as necessary
• Collects blood, urine, fecal, and skin samples
• Leads, trains, directs, and provides feedback on daily tasks of volunteers and community service workers, and assists as needed
• Administers health checks of all animals, verifies animal locations, administers needed medications, and documents any concerns for follow‑up
• Assists veterinarian with examinations and medical procedures, including spay/neuter surgeries, microchipping, and performs medical treatments as directed
• Performs radiographs at the shelter, with proficiency in correct positioning, based on protocols written by shelter veterinarian
• Prepares animals for surgery, administers medication, monitors animal vitals through the surgery and recovery process, and sanitizes surgical instruments
• Cleans and sanitizes the surgery room, recovery kennels, and tech rooms
• Assists with emergency procedures such as CPR, IV catheter placement and drug administration, and placement on endotracheal tubes under supervision of shelter veterinarian
• Monitors animal vitals through the surgery and recovery process, and provides post‑op care, such as wound cleaning and bandaging
• Counsels fosters/adopters on medical treatments or medical needs of shelter animals
• Utilizes shelter software to maintain information about animals, including medical histories
• Logs medications, including controlled substances, in required logs and records
• Determines disposition on all animals, handles fractious animals, and assigns handling difficulty levels based on behavior and medical conditions
• Assists in determining which animals may need outside veterinarian care
• Identifies animals that are candidates for outside rescue organizations or foster care
• Follows all medical protocols and procedures as written by veterinarian
• Transports animals to other facilities as needed
• Follows all safety measures and policies, including proper animal restraints and reading animal behavioral cues, and promptly reports any safety incidents to leadership
• Performs clerical and customer service duties related to the intake and processing of animals for impoundment, adoption, and redemption
• Monitors and maintains the tech email, determining which medical protocol to follow when symptoms or incidents are reported, including determining how urgent the medical issue may be and the best course of action to take
• Ensures building security upon opening and closing, and maintains accurate inventory of medical supplies, re‑stocking as necessary
• Serves as animal services supervisor for weekend coverage
• Performs special duties as assigned

• Reports directly to – Animal Health Supervisor
• Direct Reports – No

• Position involves prolonged standing, walking, twisting, bending, stooping, kneeling, reaching, pushing, pulling, and other fine motor repetitive motions
• Position requires grasping, repetitive hand movement, and fine motor coordination
• Position involves lifting and carrying of animals and equipment weighing up to fifty (50) pounds, or up to one hundred (100) pounds with assistance, and exertion of up to twenty‑five (25) pounds of force to move objects
• Position involves hearing and/or seeing alert cues regarding animal and staff security
• Position involves maintaining composure in a high‑stress environment

• Work tasks are conducted indoors and frequently outdoors
• May work outside in inclement weather, including extreme heat, cold and wet conditions
• Frequent handling of animals, including contact with waste and blood
• Exposure to unpleasant smells and a noisy and wet environment associated with a shelter
• Frequent exposure to animals that are agitated or injured that may attempt to bite or scratch
• Position involves working in a high‑volume, fast‑paced environment
• Position involves working with distressed individuals

• Flexib…