Support Staff

A love of animals as a child leads many people to pursue a career in the veterinary profession. One of the most common starting positions is that of the kennel caretaker or veterinary assistant. Many members of the world of veterinary related employment got their start in this position!

The job of kennel caretaker or veterinary assistant requires a large amount of dedication and commitment, as well as a love of animals. The job can provide a huge amount of job satisfaction and happiness. It is a wonderful feeling every time you open the kennel door to a happy and healthy dog that you have helped. It feels great to really make a difference!

General Duties include:

• Cleaning- This includes daily cleaning of the kennel area, examination rooms, treatment area, and other patient care areas. This is a very important job in our hospital to decrease the chance of any spread of disease between animals. A clean area also helps to keep all of the pets happy and healthy.

• Daily care of patients- This includes food and water for all patients. Dogs are walked outside several times a day and litter boxes are kept cleaned regularly for cats. The kennel caretakers also schedule playtimes for the pets who are living in our rescue and need daily exercise and socialization.Assisting Doctors and veterinary technicians- The veterinary assistants help with diagnostics and treatments for all of our hospitalized patients.

• Medications/medical observations- The kennel caretakers give daily medications to patients who are hospitalized in our general kennel area. They are also another set of eyes for the veterinarians and notice changes in behavior, eating, and appearance that needs to be brought to the doctors attention.

• Rescue- The kennel caretakers work with all of the homeless pets on a daily basis and get to know their personalities very well. This allows us to be able to place them in the forever home that is most suitable to their special needs!

The daily functions of the hospital could not happen without their help! We appreciate everything that they do to take care of our wonderful patients!

 

Lauren has been with The Pet Doctor for 3 years. She works with several local rescue organizations and dedicates her time to fostering pets and helping find forever homes for homeless cats and dogs. She has an interest in dog training and is working toward learning more about animal behavior.