Job description
Parvo ICU Assistant
Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and best-loved nonprofits. The organization is the leader in the no kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a no-kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by the scrappiness of its grassroots, non-traditional community-based animal rescue work.
The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and teaches its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, AmPA! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) project, a collaborative movement of more than 10,000 animal welfare professionals working in nearly 1,900 organizations. HASS is the first-of-its-kind collective of shelters and animal welfare professionals coming together to build community-focused animal services that better meet the needs of people and pets by keeping human-animal families together and keeping pets unnecessarily out of shelters.
The first of its kind in the nation, Austin Pets Alive!’s Parvo Puppy ICU provides shelters an alternative to euthanasia for puppies that contract parvovirus. By placing puppies that contract parvo in quarantine, maintaining cross-contamination protocol, and providing consistent care and treatment to puppies that have contracted parvovirus, this ICU saves a highly adoptable segment of the euthanasia list: puppies! The Parvo ICU Assistant works in the Parvo Ward to provide paid staff coverage in support of the Parvo Volunteer teams. Responsibilities will include completing animal intake and discharges, medicating and caring for animals, maintaining ICU cleanliness, and keeping up with data entry.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Calculate medication dosages
- Intake and discharge patients, including bathing them out of the ward
- Administer medications orally, subcutaneously, and intravenously
- Place catheters and drawing blood
- Communicate verbally and in writing with volunteers, other programs, peers, and Managers
- Communicate with other shelters to approve/deny incoming parvo dogs
- Maintain parvo ward cleanliness and organization
OTHER FUNCTIONS:
- Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
- Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues
- Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
- Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
- Able to work in a high volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS & EXPECTATIONS:
- Knowledge of standard canine illnesses preferred
- Experience as a veterinary technician, or experience as an APA! Parvo or APA! Clinic Volunteer preferred
- Able to give injections SQ and IV. Ability to draw blood and place IV catheters is preferred
- Knowledge of basic medications, vaccines, drugs preferred
- Understand the current APA! medical protocols
- Must embody APA!'s Core Values of Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion
- Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
- Willing and committed to working well with volunteers and staff in all roles
- Commitment to providing quality care to the animals under our care
PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to routinely lift 40-50 pounds with or without reasonable accommodations
- Must have the ability to restrain animals of varying sizes and temperaments with or without reasonable accommodations
- Must have the ability to stand/bend/kneel for long periods of time while performing work requiring concentration and manual dexterity with or without reasonable accommodations
- Must be able to work around dogs with varying temperaments, including those that are diseased, injured, and/or potentially aggressive
- Must be comfortable working around unpleasant smells, loud noises, and a variety of standard cleaning supplies and chemicals
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Work is primarily performed in the Parvo ICU Ward, with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals
- Uses own transportation to travel and transport
- Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs
- Exposure to unpleasant odors and noises, bites, scratches and animal waste
- Possible exposure to contagious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people
LOCATION(S):
- APA! Main - Town Lake Animal Center 1156 West Cesar Chavez Austin, TX 78703
- May travel to offsite locations as needed
TIME COMMITMENT:
3 (10) hour shifts per week from 12pm-10pm or from 8am-6pm.
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: The Parvo ICU Assistant will be working with parvo volunteers and staff, APA! veterinarians, clinic staff, and members of other APA! Programs. This position reports directly to the Parvo ICU Manager.
BENEFITS: All employees are eligible for a fully subsidized veterinary and pet discount program and Employee Assistance Program. Employee’s will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life saving work.
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