Veterinary Kennel Technician

  • Full-time

Company Description

Animal Care Associates is a full-service animal hospital and boarding facility that has been treating pets in the Charleston, WV area since 1984. We set a standard for excellent veterinary care that is unsurpassed. In fact, we are the only veterinarians in the Charleston area accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. We offer a variety of services including wellness exams, surgery, in-house diagnostics, dentistry, digital radiography, ultrasound, laser therapy, and much more.

At our practice, we treat more than just cats and dogs. We are a leading veterinary care provider in the area for birds we well as exotic and pocket pets. We see uncommon companion animals like birds, lizards, snakes, sugar gliders, and hedgehogs as well as more common pocket pets like rabbits, hamsters, and ferrets. 

In West Virginia you have the opportunity to enjoy numerous activities. Our state offers: hiking, scenic bike trails, white water rafting, skiing, and beautiful state and national parks for exploring. If you are into fine arts, there are symphony and ballets for your viewing pleasure.

Come check out our practice at: https://www.acawv.com/.

Job Description

Job duties include, but are not limited to:

The kennel tech is responsible for the care, feeding, medicating and cleaning of our patients in hospital, and our clients in the boarding facility. This job involves cleaning, laundry, bathing, feeding, walking dogs, and medicating. You are responsible for restocking hospital supplies, helping with post-operative patients, assisting doctors and assistants with animal restraint and exams. You will be responsible for proper recordkeeping of medications, special foods, appetite, behavior and any issue that may arise while the animal is in our care. You will be trained to clean and sterilize surgical instruments. 

Qualifications

We are looking for someone with:

  • Knowledge of cleaning and disinfecting methods.
  • Proper methods of animal restraint.
  • Ability to use cleaning materials and equipment with skill and efficiency. 
  • Perform moderately heavy physical labor (large dogs, bags of litter, pet foods, etc).
  • Ability to sympathetically and patiently attend to sick, scared and injured animals. 
  • Ability to learn to administer medications and to recognize abnormal conditions.
  • Understand and carry out oral and written directions.
  • Maintain cooperative relationships with those contacted in the course of the job. 

SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS
+ Ability to sit or stand and work at a computer for long periods of time.
+ Ability to be confident around animals (i.e., dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, etc. Candidate to confirm species treated with practice leadership for additional clarity.)
+ Client needs and work volume may occasionally require more than 40 hours per week to complete essential duties of this job. This position may require special working hours, including working weekends, evenings and/or holidays.
+ Must have mental capacity and processes for reasoning, remembering, mathematics and language ability (reading, writing, and speaking the English language) to perform the duties proficiently.
+ The noise level in the work environment is moderately high. Ear plugs will be available upon request. 
+ Job requires sufficient ambulatory skills in order to perform required duties while working.
+ Ability to sit, stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and climb as well as manipulate (lift, carry, move) up to 50 pounds.
+ Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm-hand-finger dexterity with the ability to grasp, and visual acuity to use a keyboard and operate other equipment as required.
+ Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
+ Hospital teammates are routinely exposed to a variety of animals that may bite, kick or scratch, and on occasion, may be exposed to anesthesia, radiation, biological or zoonotic hazards and/or medication/controlled substances.

Additional Information

We offer our staff:

  • Comprehensive Benefits (health, dental, vision, liability, 401k & 401K matching program, life & supplemental insurance, HSA, & FSA) 
  • Employee Assistance Program 
  • Paid Vacation and Sick Time for ALL Employees 
  • Paid Bereavement Program 
  • Paid Parental Leave Program  
  • Competitive Compensation  
  • Continuing Education Allowance (applies to licensed/registered/certified roles)
  • Tuition Assistance Program 
  • Access to a CVA/CVT/CVPM Partnership through Penn Foster 
  • Career Development Opportunities 
  • Referral Bonus Program for most positions! 
  • Additional Benefits May Also Be Available (i.e. Personal Pet Discounts, Holiday Pay, Uniform Allowance, Bonuses etc) 
  • Hiring eligibility may be contingent to a candidate authorizing and completing a satisfactory background check. 

 

*Note – some benefits may only be available to or vary slightly for full time employment status vs part time status.

WE ARE A DRUG-FREE, SMOKE-FREE, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

Company Policy & Federal & State Laws Forbid Discrimination Because of Age, Color, Race, Religion, Sex, Disability, Sexual Orientation or National Origin