Animal Care Associate

San Diego Humane SocietySan Diego Humane SocietyOceanside, California, United States
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Posted

9/24/2026

Employment

Full time

Range

$20 - $22/hr

Work style

On-site

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AI summary

Core responsibilities

The Animal Care Associate is responsible for the daily husbandry, health monitoring, and enrichment of shelter animals. This includes feeding, cleaning, administering medications, and facilitating animal socialization and play groups.

Requirements overview

Candidates must have a high school diploma or equivalent. One year of experience working with animals in a shelter, kennel, or veterinary clinic is preferred.

Key skills

Animal husbandryAnimal health monitoringMedication administrationVaccinationAnimal groomingKennel cleaningAnimal enrichmentAnimal socializationDog trainingDog introductionsEuthanasiaRecord keepingAnimal behavior assessment

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Education requirements

high school

About San Diego Humane Society

Industry

Non-profit Organizations

Employees

536

Type

Nonprofit

Size

501-1,000 employees

San Diego Humane Society, an open-admission shelter, is creating a more humane world by inspiring compassion and advancing the welfare of animals and people. Our lifesaving safety net has helped San Diego become one of the largest cities in the U.S. to achieve zero euthanasia of healthy and treatable shelter animals. With campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and San Diego, we provide animal services for 13 cities within San Diego County. We not only care for more than 40,000 animals in our communities each year, but also share the expertise we gain through our innovative programs with shelters across the country so they can save more lives in their communities. Although we are committed to serving as a national leader in animal welfare, our top priority is meeting the needs of our San Diego community. We provide exceptional care for all animals through world-class veterinary medicine, shelter and most of all: love. San Diego Humane Society is looking for candidates who support our mission to create a more humane world by inspiring compassion. We thrive on a Culture of Care, offering competitive pay and benefits, and our benefits are designed to help staff to lead healthy, productive and rewarding lives, both at work and at home.

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Job categories

Social ServicesHealthcareEnvironmental & Sustainability

Description

Job Details: Job Location: Oceanside Campus - Oceanside, CA, Position Type: Full-Time, Salary Range: $20.00 - $22.25Hourly, Job Category: Animal Care , San Diego Humane Society is hiring Animal Care Associates for our Oceanside Animal Care team! How you’ll impact our mission: At San Diego Humane Society, we’re united by our mission to Inspire Compassion. The ideal candidate will be responsible for providing daily care and enrichment for our shelter animals, including feeding, cleaning, disinfecting, grooming, vaccinating, medicating, and possibly performing euthanasia. This role delivers service at the gold standard level in alignment with the SDHS Way, to meet the needs of animals and the people who love them by leading with compassion, finding creative solutions, providing personalized care and building connections. This role delivers service at the gold standard level in alignment with the SDHS Way, to meet the needs of animals and the people who love them by leading with compassion, finding creative solutions, providing personalized care and building connections. If you’re passionate about making an impact in the animal welfare movement, we’d love to talk to you. What’s in it for you? At SDHS, we’re proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and commit to being a place where every person – staff, volunteer, and guest – can feel a sense of belonging. We support and invest in employees through conscious delivery of benefits and a workplace environment based on our Core Values. As an employee you’ll enjoy: Competitive pay and paid time-off (including your Birthday Day Off!) Comprehensive benefits package, training and well-being programs 403(b) retirement plan with 5% match after 1 year Free pet adoptions, pet vaccines and spay/neuter services …and so much more! What you’ll do: Complete daily husbandry routines, including appropriate feeding and exercise, maintaining assigned area in a clean, organized and professional manner. Monitor the health of shelter animals; follow established procedures if symptoms of illness arise based on the degree of illness or injury. Administer daily medications, vaccinations and other treatments as appropriate. Monitor animals daily and record details of diet, physical condition, elimination and behavior. Provide kennel enrichment, training, and socializing of animals in conjunction with Behavior & Training, as time permits. Perform dog introductions and facilitate dog play groups with multiple dogs, following current protocols. What we’re looking for: High school graduate or equivalent required. One (1) year experience working with animals in a shelter, kennel, vet clinic or volunteer environment preferred. Working knowledge of animal breeds, general care, and behavior related information preferred. Location & Hours: Based at our Oceanside Campus. This position works 40 hours a week. At any given time, we may also be hiring for Animal Care Associates (Intercampus Floater) who support both the Oceanside Campus and the Escondido Campus as their secondary location. Employees in these positions alternate between locations based on staffing needs and may be eligible for mileage reimbursement when commuting to their secondary location. Pay: Starting range is between $20.00 - $22.25 per hour. The actual hourly rate is determined by your related education and experience. The listed hiring range for this position depicts the target range of pay rates for candidates. The maximum of the hiring range is reserved for candidates with the highest qualifications and relevant experience. Compensation for internal candidates may increase beyond the listed range based on performance over time. For all candidates, the actual starting pay rate is determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to your years of related education and experience, internal pay equity, and position location. To learn more about our benefits and perks, click here. Career Growth through Job Levels: Animal Care offers three job levels as you grow within your role. Growth is based on time worked in your SDHS Animal Care role and meeting other training and performance requirements – everyone can advance once they meet the requirements! Advancing levels is recognized through a title change and pay increase. Qualifications:

Requirements

  • •Animal husbandry
  • •Animal health monitoring
  • •Medication administration
  • •Vaccination
  • •Animal grooming
  • •Kennel cleaning
  • •Animal enrichment
  • •Animal socialization
  • •Dog training
  • •Dog introductions
  • •Euthanasia
  • •Record keeping
  • •Animal behavior assessment

Benefits

  • •Paid time-off
  • •Birthday day off
  • •Comprehensive benefits package
  • •Training programs
  • •Well-being programs
  • •403(b) retirement plan
  • •5% retirement match
  • •Free pet adoptions
  • •Free pet vaccines
  • •Free spay/neuter services

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