Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Animal Care Attendant

💰 $15 - $22 / hour

Animal CareVeterinaryShelterKennel

🎯 Role Definition

The Animal Care Attendant is a frontline animal welfare professional responsible for daily hands-on care, basic medical support, behavior observation, sanitation of animal housing, and client-facing interactions within shelters, rescue organizations, veterinary clinics, boarding facilities, or humane societies. This role emphasizes animal handling, safety, enrichment, accurate record keeping, and teamwork to maintain high standards of animal health and welfare. Ideal candidates are reliable, compassionate, and experienced with routine kennel/shelter operations and basic medical administration.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Volunteer Kennel Assistant / Animal Shelter Volunteer
  • Pet Care Technician / Kennel Attendant (boarding facility)
  • Veterinary Assistant or Clinic Support Staff

Advancement To:

  • Lead Animal Care Attendant / Senior Kennel Supervisor
  • Adoption Coordinator or Intake Manager
  • Shelter Manager, Operations Supervisor, or Veterinary Technician (with further certification)

Lateral Moves:

  • Adoption Counselor / Customer Adoption Specialist
  • Foster & Volunteer Coordinator
  • Community Outreach or Education Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Provide humane, compassionate daily care for dogs, cats and other small animals including feeding, fresh water provision, exercise, enrichment, and socialization to promote adoptability and welfare.
  • Clean, disinfect, and maintain kennels, runs, cages, litter boxes, bedding and common areas following biosecurity and zoonotic disease prevention protocols to minimize disease transmission.
  • Monitor animals for signs of illness, injury or abnormal behavior; document observations and escalate medical concerns immediately to the veterinary or supervisory team.
  • Administer prescribed medications and treatments (oral, topical, subcutaneous) accurately and according to written medical directives; maintain medication logs and comply with controlled substance procedures when applicable.
  • Assist veterinary staff with animal intakes, triage, sample collection (e.g., fecal, urine), basic wound care, suture care, and post-operative recovery monitoring under supervision.
  • Perform daily health checks including temperature, pulse, respiration, hydration, appetite and elimination; enter clinical and behavioral notes into shelter management software and paper records.
  • Safely handle, restrain and transport animals for examinations, outings, transfers, and adoption appointments using appropriate restraint techniques and safety equipment.
  • Conduct intake assessments: document medical history, behavior, microchip scans, vaccinations, spay/neuter status, and create intake records to support care decisions and adoption readiness.
  • Implement individualized enrichment and socialization plans that reduce stress and encourage positive behaviors, using toys, walks, positive reinforcement, and scheduled human interaction.
  • Support adoption processes by preparing animals for meet-and-greets, providing accurate behavior and medical history to prospective adopters, and assisting with adoption paperwork and follow-up.
  • Manage daily exercise and walking schedules for dogs, ensuring safe leash handling, route planning, and sanitation of exercise areas to prevent escapes and cross-contamination.
  • Maintain accurate inventory of food, medical supplies, cleaning agents, and enrichment materials; rotate stock, label supplies and report reorder needs to management.
  • Conduct basic grooming tasks as appropriate — bathing, brushing, nail trims, ear cleaning — to maintain animal comfort and identify skin or coat issues requiring medical attention.
  • Facilitate safe transfer and transport of animals to/from foster homes, adoption events, veterinary clinics, or partner organizations, including completion of transport documentation and vehicle sanitation.
  • Participate in behavior observation and documentation to contribute to behavior modification plans, noting triggers, progress, and recommended interventions for trainer or behaviorist review.
  • Train and mentor volunteers and junior staff on safe handling, kennel cleaning protocols, enrichment delivery, and the use of shelter software and reporting procedures.
  • Maintain strict compliance with local, state and organizational regulations regarding animal welfare, quarantine, euthanasia policies, and controlled medication handling.
  • Support euthanasia and humane euthanasia procedures only when authorized and under trained supervision; prepare and handle remains respectfully and in accordance with facility policy.
  • Respond to emergencies (injury, escape, illness) with calm, documented procedures including basic first aid/CPR for animals and notification of veterinary staff and managers.
  • Prepare animals and facility spaces for public events, adoption fairs, and community outreach programs; ensure animals are presentation-ready and transport-ready.
  • Collect and process lost-and-found, stray intakes and owner surrenders, ensuring legal hold periods, owner reunification attempts, and appropriate recordkeeping.
  • Maintain and update behavioral, medical and intake databases daily to ensure accurate data for reporting, compliance, and adopter transparency.
  • Participate in staff meetings, training sessions and continuing education on topics such as zoonotic disease control, animal behavior, humane handling, and new shelter technologies.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist with community outreach and public education programs on responsible pet ownership, vaccination clinics, and microchipping events.
  • Support foster program coordination by screening foster candidates, preparing animals for fostering, and conducting check-ins with foster families.
  • Contribute to fundraising or adoption marketing by providing animal stories, photos, and behavioral summaries for website and social media postings.
  • Help maintain facility equipment (washers, dryers, pressure washers, HVAC vents) and report maintenance needs to building services.
  • Participate in quality improvement initiatives such as reducing intake-related stress, improving cleaning workflows, and optimizing feeding/enrichment schedules.
  • Coordinate with animal control, partner rescues, and municipal agencies to facilitate legal transfers, investigations, and compliance with municipal codes.
  • Assist with record audits, licensing documentation and compliance inspections, gathering required records and correcting data entry discrepancies.
  • Provide backup customer service at front desk and telephone triage during peak periods, including scheduling appointments and answering basic animal care questions.
  • Support grant reporting by providing operational metrics (intake, adoption, return-to-owner rates) and qualitative updates on program outcomes.
  • Participate in training to cross-cover related roles such as adoption interviewing, basic veterinary assisting, or animal behavior support.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Animal handling and humane restraint techniques for dogs, cats and small animals (rabbits, guinea pigs, etc.).
  • Basic animal first aid and CPR; ability to recognize and respond to common emergencies.
  • Medication administration: oral, topical, subcutaneous injections and accurate medication logging.
  • Kennel, run and caging sanitation protocols including disinfection, PPE use and zoonotic disease prevention.
  • Intake assessment skills: microchip scanning, vaccination verification, basic clinical observation and documentation.
  • Shelter management software and data entry (e.g., PetPoint, Shelterluv, Chameleon, Petfinder Pro or similar).
  • Basic grooming and hygiene care: bathing, brushing, nail trims and ear cleaning.
  • Safe animal transport procedures including crate/passenger safety, vehicle sanitation and transfer documentation.
  • Inventory management and supply ordering practices, with experience tracking controlled supplies where required.
  • Basic behavioral observation and reporting: identifying signs of fear, stress, aggression and socialization needs.
  • Familiarity with local/state animal welfare regulations, licensing and quarantine requirements.
  • Ability to operate common facility equipment (washers, dryers, floor scrubbers, pressure washers) safely.

Soft Skills

  • Strong empathy and compassion for animals combined with professional detachment in stressful situations.
  • Excellent verbal communication for interactions with adopters, owners, veterinarians and team members.
  • Attention to detail for accurate health monitoring, medication administration and record keeping.
  • Teamwork and collaboration — ability to coordinate with volunteers, veterinary staff and management.
  • Time management and prioritization to balance cleaning, feeding, enrichment and medical tasks.
  • Problem solving and critical thinking in fast-paced, unpredictable environments.
  • Customer service orientation and ability to educate the public about animal care and shelter policies.
  • Resilience and stress tolerance when working with sick, injured or behaviorally challenged animals.
  • Leadership and mentoring ability for training volunteers and new staff.
  • Flexibility and adaptability to changing schedules, emergency calls and event-driven workloads.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree or certificate in Animal Science, Veterinary Technology, Animal Behavior, Zoonotic Biology, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Animal Science
  • Veterinary Technology / Veterinary Assisting
  • Animal Behavior / Companion Animal Studies
  • Biology or Zoology
  • Shelter Management / Animal Welfare Studies

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 0–3 years direct animal care experience for entry-level roles; 1–3 years preferred for medium-to-large facilities.

Preferred:

  • 1–2 years working in an animal shelter, rescue, boarding kennel, or veterinary clinic.
  • Certifications such as Pet First Aid & CPR, Fear Free® handling, or state/local animal control training are a plus.
  • Experience with shelter software (Shelterluv, PetPoint) and adoption workflows preferred.
  • Valid driver's license and clean driving record for transport duties where applicable.
Explore More Careers