Volunteer Veterinary Assistant

Purpose:
Provide preventative and emergency care to the zoo’s large variety of animals.

Location:
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

Time Commitment:
2 months, 15 hours/wk

Level of Spanish Needed:
Basic

English Level Needed:
Good

Skills/Qualifications:
Previous experience providing medical attention to animals in a veterinary clinic or zoo
Ability to handle animals
Ability to work independently
Attention to detail
Creativity

Responsibilities:
While Divertigranja has a veterinarian on call for emergencies or difficult situations, the staff needs an assistant who sees the animals on a daily basis to provide routine medical care. This could include administering vaccines, anti-parasite medication and other medications both hypodermically or orally and dressing the occasional wounds.

The veterinary assistant must also be on hand to assist when an animal is expected to give birth, and check all animals frequently for visual signs of illness or stress and make recommendations to project staff on how to improve the living conditions of the animals. Additionally, this volunteer may be asked to do library/internet research on various topics related to the care of animals. The volunteer’s secondary focus is to occasionally assist with the care of the animals, which may include feeding, cleaning of cages, and occasional reparations.