Animal Care Specialist (Hourly)

About the role

This position involves routine animal shelter/kennel maintenance and operations work, high-level public interaction, and a variety of duties including animal care, public support, and administrative tasks.

Responsibilities

• Receive, handle, and kennel animals of all species, including those of unknown temperament, aggressive, sick, and injured animals.
• Update computer files when receiving, treating, moving, or dispositioning animals.
• Keep accurate records and logs.
• Maintain the shelter and premises in a sanitary condition and good repair.
• Clean kennels and department vehicles.
• Care for and feed impounded animals.
• Assist in the procurement of animal food and supplies.
• Identify sex, age, and breed of animals in the facility.
• Complete and maintain simple records.
• Prepare reports as needed.
• Assist animal shelter patrons by answering questions regarding impounded animals.
• Aid in the adoption process by assisting with adoptions and providing information.
• Back-up public counter support and perform other related duties as assigned.
• May be required to work a flexible schedule, including weekends and holidays.

Requirements

• Any combination of education and/or experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities.
• A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be one year of experience working with animals in an animal care facility, veterinary hospital/mobile veterinary clinic, or boarding kennel and training equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade supplemented by specialized training in animal care.
• Euthanasia certificate is highly desirable.

Skills

• Knowledge of animal breeds, characteristics, and diseases.
• Animal care, feeding, and handling methods and techniques.
• Applicable laws, codes, ordinances, and regulations.
• English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Computer equipment and software applications related to assignment.
• Clear and concise communication, both orally and in writing.
• Tactful and effective communication with various cultural and ethnic groups.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

• Continuous walking, standing, bending, crouching, stooping, sitting for varying periods of time.
• Use hands and fingers to grasp and use various types of animal restraints and capture equipment and tools.
• Must be able to perform euthanasia on animals.
• Make repetitive hand and body motions.
• Twist and reach below and above shoulder.
• Communicate over a radio, telephone, or in person.
• Respond to inquiries.
• Use a computer keyboard.
• Ability to lift with assistance and carry injured or dead animal weighing up to 125 lbs.
• See in the normal vision range with or without correction.
• Hear in the normal range with or without correction.
• Frequent exposure to loud animal noises, odors, pet dander, diseases, and dangerous animals.
• Daily contact with a variety of domestic and wild animals that can result in exposure to potentially hazardous or volatile situations.
• Exposure to cleaning chemicals used daily to disinfect kennel areas along with exposure to animal body fluids in caring for animal needs.