Position Overview:

The Shelter Veterinarian ensures optimal veterinary care for all animals under the Humane Society's care, balancing gold-standard practices with cost-effective and practical solutions. This role requires proficiency in surgery, diagnostics, and a strong understanding of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) guidelines. The Shelter Veterinarian is responsible for providing medical care, including daily rounds, surgeries, dentals, examinations, heartworm treatments, triage, and diagnostics. Additionally, the position involves working with municipal shelters, rescue partners, and other agencies to support animal welfare.

Responsibilities:

Provide Comprehensive Care: Oversee medical evaluations, diagnostics, and treatment plans for shelter animals.

• Daily Health Monitoring: Monitor the day-to-day health of all animals in the shelter following established protocols.
• Support Foster Families: Provide guidance and support for foster animals and their families.
• Surgical and Medical Procedures: Perform spay/neuter surgeries, dental procedures, and any other necessary surgeries.
• Staff and Volunteer Education: Offer educational information regarding medical conditions to staff and volunteers to assist with adoption counseling.
• ASV Guidelines: Maintain the shelter’s practices in line with ASV guidelines for standards of care.
• Protocol Adherence: Follow all established medical protocols and procedures.
• Record Keeping: Ensure accurate, up-to-date medical records for each animal using shelter software.
• Collaborative Environment: Foster an environment of communication and collaboration among staff and volunteers following the HSSC Workplace Culture agreement.
• Population Health: Consider the health of the entire shelter population when diagnosing and treating diseases.
• Enhance Animal Welfare: Strive to improve the quality of life for each animal and reduce the time between intake and adoption.
• Rescue and Transfer Support: Provide medical and surgical services to rescue and transfer partners.
• Training: Conduct staff and volunteer training sessions as needed.
• Other Duties: Perform any other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule:

HSSC strives to offer veterinarians flexibility in their schedules, subject to staffing needs. The ideal candidate will work a minimum of 32 hours per week, with specific days determined upon hiring. After-hours and on-call duties are minimal. Salary will be adjusted based on the work schedule.

Benefits Available to You and Your Family:

• Medical Insurance: We offer four medical plans from which to choose and pay for the majority of the cost of your coverage, including 100% of the employee cost for the first plan option.
• Dental Insurance: Our dental plans offer in and out of network coverage and covers services such as cleanings, fillings, root canals, extractions, crowns, orthodontia, and more.
• Vision Insurance: Not seeing 20/20? Our vision plan can help pay for the cost of glasses, contacts, and routine eye exams.
• Life and AD&D Insurance: We cover all employees with term life insurance and matching accidental death & dismemberment.
• Disability Insurance: Short and Long-Term disability insurance is available to provide financial protection in the event you can't work due to an illness or injury.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan: Our retirement plan gives you the opportunity to save and grow your retirement savings tax free. Select from fund options that help reach your retirement goals.
• FSA: Take control of your healthcare expenses with a Flexible Spending Account (FSA)! An FSA allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses—helping you save money and reduce taxable income. 
• Accident Insurance: We offer an indemnity plan that provides you and your family with a schedule of benefits for treatment of common accidents, on or off the job. These benefits can help with the unexpected out-of-pocket medical and non-medical expenses associated with an accident.
• Cancer Insurance: This helps offset the out-of-pocket medical and indirect non-medical expenses related to cancer that most medical plans don't cover. 
• Critical Illness Insurance: This pays a lump-sum benefit if you are diagnosed with a critical illness such as a heart attack, stroke or cancer.
• Hospital Indemnity Insurance: This indemnity plan is designed to pay you directly when you need it most. The funds can be used to help pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses like deductibles and co-insurance for non-medical expenses such as house payments, food and the light bill. 

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Education and Licensing: DVM degree (or equivalent) with active Florida state licensure.
• Computer Skills: Proficient in computer use and capable of learning shelter software (e.g., ShelterLuv) for population management.
• ASV Guidelines: Familiarity with Association of Shelter Veterinarians guidelines for standards of care.
• Fear Free Certification: Must hold a Fear Free Shelter Certification or be willing to acquire it.
• Communication Skills: Strong interpersonal communication skills with staff, volunteers, and community members.
• Commitment to Animal Welfare: A passion for providing high-quality care and improving animal welfare in the community.
• Surgical Skills: Proficient in basic elective surgeries on cats and dogs of all sizes/ages, including in-heat spays, pregnant spays, and mass removals.
• Dental Procedures: Preference for candidates with experience or willingness to perform basic dental procedures and tooth extractions.
• Comfort with Challenging Animals: Ability to work with fractious, feral, and fearful animals.
• Volunteer Support: Foster a culture of volunteerism, recognizing the importance of volunteers in all aspects of the organization.
• Bias-Free Client Experience: Adhere to HSSC Client Experience Guidelines, ensuring an inclusive, bias-free environment.
• Problem-Solving: Ability to think critically and support transfer partners and other animal welfare organizations with creative solutions.
• Collaboration and Networking: Work closely with fellow veterinarians and veterinary specialists to share expertise, best practice and ensure consistent, high quality care for all animals in the shelter.
• Professional Networking: Build relationships with other veterinary professionals, local clinics, and animal welfare organizations to stay informed of the latest developments in veterinary care and shelter management.

Physical Requirements:

• Surgical and Animal Care: Ability to perform surgeries and provide medical care in an environment with both cats and dogs.
• Physical Demands: The role requires moderate to significant physical exertion, including bending, stooping, kneeling, reaching, lifting up to 50 pounds, and prolonged periods of standing, walking, and sitting.
• Environmental Conditions: Ability to work in conditions with temperature fluctuations and noise.