Veterinary Assistant Job Description [Updated 2025]

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A Veterinary Assistant, or a Veterinarian’s Assistant, helps Veterinarians by treating and caring for animals. Their duties include recording health information about animals, helping to administer treatments, and providing food and water to animals.

What does a Veterinary Assistant do?

Veterinary Assistants take care of animals by providing food and water, administering treatments, recording their health information, and providing advice to pet owners. Veterinary Assistants perform various tasks to allow Veterinarians to focus on the important tasks of diagnosing illness and choosing the best treatments for animals under their care. Other tasks a Veterinary Assistant performs include cleaning equipment, handling animals, giving medication, and weighing animals.

Hire your next Veterinary Assistant today.

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Hire your next Veterinary Assistant today.

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Veterinary Assistant Job Description Examples:

Example 1

Job description

Do you want to make a career in the veterinary care field? Here is the opportunity to work and thrive in a friendly, supportive environment where you can also express your skills and abilities to the fullest.

Our family-like workplace is built on respect, common goals, and communication. At Beacon Pet Hospital we are looking to hire individuals WHO:

Contribute to an engaging hospital environment and positive team dynamic.
Have exceptional interpersonal skills to educate clients.
Are highly motivated, confident, and positive.
Are reliable with excellent communication skills.

Experience: Experience in the veterinary field is an asset.

Education:Priority will be given to individuals with Diploma from a Medical Office Assistant Program *OR *a combination of experience as a Veterinary Receptionist and high school diploma.

Job duties: We strive to provide the highest quality medical and surgical care to our patients, with dedication, compassion, and respect towards the owners and their beloved family member. The job requires strong computer skills and entails various operations tasks from reception duties to animal restraint:

Greeting clients.
Multi-tasking between answering the phones and assisting clients at the front desk.
Interpreting medical concerns from clients and managing the appointments’ booking accordingly.
Occasionally, helping the veterinarian with the patient's restraint.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: $18.00-$22.00 per hour

Additional pay:

Bonus pay
Overtime pay

Benefits:

Company events
On-site parking
Paid time off
Store discount

Schedule:

8 hour shift

COVID-19 considerations:

Experience:

Front desk: 1 year service: 1 year (required)

Example 2

Offering Position: Part Time Veterinary Assistant/Receptionist

About Us:

We are a family-owned veterinary hospital looking to expand our business with more clientele and therefore opening up a position for an Animal Care Assistant/Veterinary Assistant to join us in this new chapter!

In this role, you will:

Answer calls and customer inquiries
Cash customers out
Schedule appointments and follow up calls
Document and file paperwork
Support staff in handling and restraining animals
Assist staff in cleaning (cages, exam rooms, and closing cleaning schedule)
Assist in dispensing medications
Respond to emails in a timely manner
Assist with patient surgery preparations
Assist with patient surgery cleanup

An ideal candidate:

Will have a working knowledge of Avimark
Will have 1-2 years experience working in a Veterinary clinic or as an Administration Assistant/ Receptionist.
Is attending a veterinary care program or has graduated from a veterinary assistant program
Be comfortable working with cats and dogs

Hours: To be discussed

Salary: Competitive wages

Benefits:

Discounted pet food, exams, and products for your pets
On-site parking

Schedule:

Flexible Shifts Monday - Friday
2-3 Mandatory Saturdays of the month. 9am-2pm Shift

Experience:

Veterinary Receptionist/Assistance Program: 1 year (required)
Customer Service: 1 year (preferred)

Job Type: Part-time

Expected hours: 15 – 30 per week

Benefits:

On-site parking

Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Weekends as needed

Experience:

Customer service: 1 year (preferred)
Veterinary Reception: 1 year Location: In person

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Veterinary Assistant duties and responsibilities

A Veterinary Assistant takes on many responsibilities to ensure they give the best support so Veterinarians get their job done efficiently. Specific duties and responsibilities of Veterinary Assistants include:

Feeding and providing water to animals at regular intervals throughout the day
Grooming and bathing animals
Sterilizing equipment and regularly cleaning examination areas
Handling and soothing animals during examinations, treatments, and vaccinations
Recording relevant information about animals, including weight and types of medication given
Advising owners of pets about caring for their animals at home

Veterinary Assistant skills and qualifications

Successful Veterinary Assistants need a variety of soft skills and technical knowledge to excel in their jobs. Some of the most important skills and qualifications include:

Expert animal handling skills
Excellent communication skills
Strong time management skills and the ability to prioritize tasks depending on needs
Good organizational skills
Technical know-how in areas such as disinfection, administering medication, and using diagnostic equipment
Computer skills to maintain medical records about animals in veterinary software

Veterinary Assistant experience requirements

Veterinary Assistants usually need to demonstrate some experience in working with or caring for animals. The main experience requirement for entry-level Veterinary Assistants is volunteer work at an animal shelter or clinic. Some clinics and animals hospitals offer internships, which aim to give short, practical introductions to the veterinary field.

Veterinary Assistant education and training requirements

The minimum education Veterinary Assistants need is a high school diploma. You may ask candidates for specific certificates or training programs. For Veterinary Assistant roles dependent on specific software, you may ask candidates for a certificate that demonstrates proficiency using that software.

Veterinary Assistant salary expectations

According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a Veterinary Assistant is $37,000 per year. The salary a Veterinary Assistant earns depends on the company hiring, the job’s location, and the level of experience of candidates.

Job description samples for similar positions

If Veterinary Assistant isn’t the role you’re looking to write a job description for, some sample job descriptions for related roles include:

Veterinary Assistant job description FAQs

Both Veterinary Assistants and Veterinary Technicians support Veterinarians in taking care of animals. However, Veterinary Technicians need more qualifications, such as an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree, but a Veterinary Assistant may only have a high school diploma or certificate from a special training program. Veterinary Technicians often perform more advanced clinical duties, such as taking X-rays, preparing animals for surgery, drawing blood, and administering anesthesia, whereas Veterinary Assistants may perform basic tasks like bathing, exercising, and feeding animals.

Communication is vital for the role of Veterinary Assistant, so it’s important to make sure candidates highlight their communication skills. Previous experience in caring for animals is also important to look for, whether that experience was in the role of Veterinary Assistant or in a volunteer role at a shelter. Look for candidates who describe their love of animals and the pets they keep at home because this is a good sign of genuine passion for the job.

Good Veterinary Assistants need to bring a combination of compassion for animals and an ability to control their emotions while seeing animals in pain or discomfort. Compassion ensures Veterinary Assistants truly want to provide the best care for animals. Controlling emotions is important because an inevitable part of the job is to see some animals in pain. The most successful Veterinary Assistants control their reactions to these emotions and take the right actions to ensure animals get the best treatment under their care.

Another crucial quality of successful Veterinary Assistants is that they love working with people. Providing veterinary care is always a team effort, and it involves coordinated communication with Veterinarians, Veterinary Technicians, and administrative staff. Furthermore, Veterinary Assistants need to deal with the public, specifically pet owners, regularly. Communicating with pet owners requires honesty, empathy, and the ability to reassure or console distraught pet owners when their pet is ill or dying.

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Job Description Examples

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How to Write a Veterinary Assistant Job Description Sample

What does a Veterinary Assistant do?

Veterinary Assistant Job Description Examples:

Example 1

Example 2

Find your next great Veterinary Assistant on Indeed

Veterinary Assistant duties and responsibilities

Veterinary Assistant skills and qualifications

Veterinary Assistant experience requirements

Veterinary Assistant education and training requirements

Veterinary Assistant salary expectations

Job description samples for similar positions

Veterinary Assistant job description FAQs

Hire your next Veterinary Assistant today

Job Description Examples

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How to Write a Veterinary Assistant Job Description Sample

What does a Veterinary Assistant do?

Veterinary Assistant Job Description Examples:

Example 1

Example 2

Find your next great Veterinary Assistant on Indeed

Veterinary Assistant duties and responsibilities

Veterinary Assistant skills and qualifications

Veterinary Assistant experience requirements

Veterinary Assistant education and training requirements

Veterinary Assistant salary expectations

Job description samples for similar positions

Veterinary Assistant job description FAQs

Hire your next Veterinary Assistant today

Job Description Examples

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