Description/Special Instructions

Learn more about the City of Elk Grove Animal Shelter

Tentative Recruitment Timeline:
Application Deadline: 11:59pm on December 18, 2022
Selection Interview: December 28, 2022

Why work for the City of Elk Grove? Proud Heritage. Bright Future.

Community Profile
Elk Grove is a vibrant, family-friendly community of approximately 178,124 people in the Sacramento, California region, located 14 miles south of the State Capital and 60 miles east of the Bay Area. Elk Grove is a young, ethnically diverse, modern city that was incorporated in 2000. Elk Grove has low crime, excellent schools, over 100 community parks and 28 miles of trails, plentiful dining and shopping options, numerous annual events and festivals, and over 270 sunny days per year.

Representative Duties

The incumbent will perform duties in support of the City's Animal Shelter including the care and socialization of housed animals; maintains records regarding animal well-being; assists the public with claiming lost animals and adoptions; and performs related duties as assigned.

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  Provides food and water for each animal; observes food consumption to ensure animals' overall health; observes animals' behavior and physical appearance; reports illness/injuries to supervisory personnel.
• Properly cleans and disinfects cages and kennels; exercises animals; replaces bedding, toys, and litter pans; maintains a clean and safe environment at all times.
• Maintains records regarding animal behavior and health; reports minor and serious concerns to supervisor for further action.
• Accepts animals into shelter and handles adoptions of animals and release of impounded animals to owners.
• Monitors inventory and restocks supplies.
• Maintains records on pick-up and release dates, quarantines, adoptions, disposals, and the status of the animals maintained at the shelter.
• Collects fees and issues receipts for adoptions, the sale of dog licenses and spay/neutering certificates.
• Answers inquiries from the public, both over the counter and by telephone, on laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to animal control and the animal shelter.
• Assists with the euthanasia of animals, in accordance with established laws and departmental policy; disposes of euthanized animals in accordance with established departmental procedure.
• Provides information and assists members of the public, including individuals who may be angry, hostile, or distraught, in search of lost or adoptable pets according to established laws and departmental procedures.
• Builds and maintains positive working relationships with co-workers, other City employees, and the public using principles of good customer service.
• Performs related duties as required.

Qualifications

• Safe and humane animal handling principles and practices.
• Methods for caring for and feeding domestic animals.
• Practices, methods, and materials used in cleaning animal facilities.
• Physical and behavioral characteristics of various animal species.
• Basic symptoms of common animal diseases.
• Methods and techniques used in customer service and public relations.
• Principles and procedures of record keeping.
• Office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and applicable software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.
• Occupational hazards and standard safety practices.

• Independently handle and care for animals housed in the City's Animal Shelter.
• Recognize symptoms of common animal health concerns and disease.
• Read, write, and speak English at a level necessary for satisfactory job performance.
• Work safely with aggressive animals and hazardous chemicals.
• Learn to euthanize animals in a humane manner.
• Learn to operate the equipment used in handling various types of animals.
• Operate office equipment including computers and supporting word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
• Plan and organize work to meet changing priorities and deadlines.
• Effectively represent the City to outside individuals and agencies to accomplish the goals and objectives of the unit.
• Work cooperatively with other departments, City officials, and outside agencies.
• Respond tactfully, clearly, concisely, and appropriately to inquiries from the public, City staff, or other agencies on sensitive issues in area of responsibility.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Education and Experience Guidelines - Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Education/Training:
Equivalent to completion of the twelfth grade.

Experience:
Six months of experience involving the handling and care of a large number of animals in an animal care/protection agency, humane society, veterinarian office, or law enforcement agency.

License or Certificate:
Possession of an appropriate, valid driver's license.

Other Requirements:
This position is within the Police Department and will be subject to an extensive background check.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The conditions herein 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 job functions.

Environment: Indoor and outdoor environment; travel from site to site; when visiting sites the incumbent may be required to walk on uneven and slippery surfaces, be exposed noise dust, inclement weather conditions, and potentially hostile environments; incumbents may be required to work extended hours including evenings and weekends.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting and in a field environment; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to walk on uneven terrain, loose soil, and sloped surfaces; to lift, carry, push, restrain, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; to travel to other locations; to operate equipment and vehicle; and to verbally communicate to exchange information.

Vision: See in the normal visual range with or without correction.

Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction