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Peninsula Humane Society·Burlingame, California
Veterinary Assistant
The Veterinary Assistant provides medical and humane care to sheltered animals, including assisting veterinarians with exams, surgeries, and emergency treatments. They are also responsible for maintaining medical records, sanitizing work areas, and educating the public during animal intake.
Job Title: Veterinary Assistant
Department: Veterinary Services
Reports To: Director, Veterinary Services
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
$25.00 per hour, depending on experience
Excellent benefits Package Available
To provide medical care as well as humane care and treatment to all sheltered animals in accordance with the policies and procedures established by PHS/SPCA. To ensure proper admitting, preparation, monitoring, recovery and discharge of animals in the spay/neuter clinic. Perform job duties within established protocols and procedures set by PHS/SPCA.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
Conduct assigned morning and evening rounds of all areas of the shelter to ensure the well being of all animals.
Prepare daily list of animals requiring vet exams.
Administer daily medical treatment to all sheltered animals as prescribed by staff veterinarians.
Assist veterinarian in examination and treatment of animals.
Assist veterinarian with emergency medical treatment as necessary.
Perform health checks of animals before they are placed for adoption.
Participate in the Screening Room/Receiving area activities including; scanning, banding, vaccinating and examining animals when necessary.
Assist in lab work and radiology requirements of shelter animals.
Assist with the training and supervision of vet department volunteers.
Must become familiar with proper processing of animals through the shelter, and the corresponding.
Provide humane care and treatment of all sheltered animals.
Certified in euthanasia within probationary period.
Euthanize and/or assist with euthanasia of animals as needed in accordance with PHS/SPCA policies and procedures.
Receive animals into the shelter and obtain thorough and complete information regarding the animal’s history.
Responsible for educating the public at the time of animal intake.
Maintain a clean and sanitary work area in all work spaces.
Spay/Neuter Clinic: Restrain dogs and cats for pre-surgical injections and IV inducing
Responsible for surgical preparation of patients including, sterilization, and administration of pre-surgical injections
Perform admitting and discharge duties for public and shelter animals
Assist with emergency medical practices as necessary
Maintain proper paperwork and medical records as required by law
Monitor animals under anesthesia
Maintain department equipment in good working order. Report items for repair/replacement as needed to appropriate supervisory staff
Perform general office duties
Must have a flexible schedule and the ability to work on weekends and/or holidays as needed
This job may supervise volunteers within the spay/neuter clinic area.
High school diploma or general education degree (GED); or six months to one year related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, shelter medical records and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before members of the pubic, volunteers, or employees of organization. Good oral and written communication skills.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
Knowledge of Chameleon database software or become proficient within the probationary period (first six months from hire date). Basic knowledge, or become proficient with Microsoft Office and computer keyboarding skills, and data entry.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to grab, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to sit. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50-75 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is routinely exposed to toxic or caustic chemicals; possible routine exposure to zoonotic diseases, aggressive and feral animals; routinely exposed to mechanical moving parts; outside weather conditions and risk of radiation.
The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.
This position has designated start times due to time sensitive duties, opening the shelter, offering services, etc.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcome a diverse pool of applicants.
Candidates must have a high school diploma or GED and at least six months to one year of related experience or training. The role requires the ability to lift up to 75 pounds and a flexible schedule that includes weekends and holidays.
Market context
Veterinary assistants in California are commonly needed to support clinical workflows, client education, and hospital safety in busy animal care settings. Competition can be strong because employers often look for dependable hands-on experience, strong communication, and the ability to work efficiently with patients and pet owners. Review the summarized requirements and benefits carefully, then compare them with your own experience before applying; this platform’s AI-summarized job details help save research time by pulling the key points from the original posting.