Overview

CARE STL is committed to the well-being of our city’s pets and the people who love them. We prioritize compassionate, fear-free animal care and empathetic, non-judgmental community support. Our values reflect the strength of our staff, leadership, and the community we serve. All employees are expected to uphold CARE’s core values in their daily tasks, client interactions, and animal care.​

 

We are currently hiring for Animal Caregivers, Adoption & Foster Coordinators, and a Return to Home Coordinator.

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Animal Caregiver (Full-Time & Part-Time)

Do you love animals and enjoy staying active? CARE STL is looking for compassionate, dependable Animal Caregivers to provide daily care for dogs while helping create a clean, safe, and enriching environment.

What You'll Do:

• Feed and provide fresh water to shelter animals

• Clean and disinfect kennels and animal housing

• Walk and exercise dogs

• Monitor animal health and behavior and report concerns

• Provide enrichment and comfort to animals in our care

• Assist volunteers and visitors when needed

• Help maintain a clean, organized shelter

• Support intake and daily shelter operations​

We're Looking For Someone Who:​

• Is dependable and works well as part of a team

• Can work in a fast-paced environment

• Is comfortable working with dogs of all sizes and temperaments

• Can lift up to 50 pounds and remain active throughout the shift

• Is available to work weekends and holidays as needed

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Adoption & Foster Coordinator (Full-Time & Part-Time)

At CARE STL, every adoption and every foster home changes a life. We're looking for a compassionate, organized, and people-oriented Adoption & Foster Coordinators to help connect homeless pets with fosters and loving families. If you enjoy customer service and thrive in a fast-paced environment - we'd love to meet you.

What You'll Do:

As an Adoption & Foster Coordinator, you'll help guide pets and people through some of life's biggest moments. Every day is different, but your responsibilities may include:

• Helping adopters find the right pet for their family

• Supporting foster families and coordinating foster placements

• Responding to adoption, foster, and lost pet inquiries by phone, email, and in person

• Facilitating meet-and-greets between adopters and animals

• Providing guidance and resources to community members

• Processing adoptions, foster placements, and other shelter services

• Maintaining accurate animal records in the shelter database

• Monitoring shelter capacity and assisting with daily reports

• Working alongside teammates to support lifesaving efforts throughout the shelter

• Assisting with daily animal care, including walking dogs, feeding animals, cleaning kennels, and providing enrichment

We're Looking For Someone Who:

• Loves helping people

• Provides exceptional customer service with empathy and professionalism

• Communicates clearly in person, over the phone, and through email

• Enjoys working as part of a collaborative team

• Is organized and comfortable multitasking in a busy environment

• Can safely handle dogs and cats of various sizes and temperaments

• Is able to lift up to 50 pounds and remain active throughout the workday

• Is available to work weekends

• Is committed to learning and becoming Fear Free Shelter Certified during onboarding

• Spanish-speaking applicants are encouraged to apply.

Preferred Qualifications:

• High school diploma or equivalent

• One year of experience in a customer service environment is preferred

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Return To Home Coordinator (Full-Time)

Every day, lost pets arrive at CARE STL hoping to find their way back home. As our Return to Home Coordinator, you'll play one of the most rewarding roles in animal welfare—reuniting families. You'll combine detective work, customer service, and animal care to help lost pets return to the people who love them. If you're organized, compassionate, enjoy solving problems, and want to make a meaningful difference every day, we'd love to meet you.

What You'll Do:

As the Return to Home Coordinator, you'll help reunite pets and families by:

• Contacting owners of lost pets using microchips, shelter records, and community resources

• Creating daily Lost Pet Bulletins and sharing them with the public through email and social media

• Searching lost pet reports and online resources to identify possible matches

• Assisting pet owners through the return-to-home process with compassion and professionalism

• Maintaining accurate records in the shelter database and ensuring newly arrived animals are entered promptly

• Working closely with shelter, clinic, and animal care teams to support successful reunifications

• Answering phone calls and emails from community members about lost pets and other shelter services

• Providing basic daily care for shelter animals, including walking, feeding, cleaning, and enrichment

We're Looking For Someone Who:

• Loves helping both people and animals

• Has outstanding customer service and communication skills

• Is organized, detail-oriented, and enjoys problem-solving

• Works well independently and as part of a collaborative team

• Is comfortable learning computer systems and maintaining accurate records

• Can safely handle dogs and cats of various sizes and temperaments

• Can lift up to 50 pounds and remain active throughout the workday

• Is available to work weekends

• Is committed to lifesaving work and becoming Fear Free Shelter Certified during onboarding

• Spanish-speaking applicants are encouraged to apply.

Preferred Qualifications:

• High school diploma or equivalent

• One year of experience working with animals or in a customer service role is preferred

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Every successful reunion is life-changing—not only for the pet but for the family waiting at home.

When you join CARE STL, you'll become part of a mission-driven team committed to compassionate animal care, community service, and helping every pet have the best possible outcome.

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Veterinary Assistant (Full-Time)

We’re looking for a compassionate, dependable Veterinary Assistant to join our shelter clinic team.

This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys working with animals, thrives in a busy environment, and wants their work to make a difference every day. Our Veterinary Assistants are an important part of the medical team, helping provide daily patient care, supporting surgery and medical procedures, and ensuring animals receive safe, compassionate care throughout their time with us.

What You'll Do:

As a Veterinary Assistant, you'll work alongside our veterinary and shelter teams to:

• Provide daily care for clinic patients, including feeding, walking, cleaning, and administering medications

• Administer medications and vaccines to shelter animals as directed

• Assist with shelter medical rounds

• Receive animals for surgery, medical appointments, and other clinic services

• Prepare patients, medications, equipment, and surgical areas for procedures

• Assist with sedation and surgical preparation

• Monitor patients during procedures and assist with post-surgical recovery

• Help coordinate an efficient and organized surgery flow

• Restrain and handle animals safely using compassionate, Fear Free techniques

• Fill and prepare medications as directed

• Accurately document controlled substances and other required medical information

• Assist with laboratory procedures

• Communicate professionally and compassionately with fosters, adopters, pet owners, staff, and community partners

• Provide discharge instructions and assist with the discharge of surgical and medical patients

• Receive emergency and injured animals brought in by Animal Control

• Clean, sterilize, and wrap surgical instruments and packs

• Maintain a clean, organized, and well-stocked clinic environment

We're Looking For Someone Who Is:

• Compassionate and committed to animal welfare

• Comfortable handling dogs and cats with different medical and behavioral needs

• Able to remain calm and focused in a busy shelter clinic

• Dependable, organized, and attentive to detail

• Comfortable working as part of a collaborative team

• Able to communicate respectfully and professionally with staff and members of the public

• Willing to learn and follow established medical, safety, and animal-handling procedures

• Comfortable with the physical demands of shelter and veterinary work

 

Experience is preferred.

 

Shelter medicine is fast-paced, challenging, and incredibly rewarding. You'll have the opportunity to help animals through everything from routine vaccinations and preventative care to surgery, illness, injury, and recovery. If you're looking for a veterinary role where your work directly improves the lives of animals and the community we serve, we'd love to hear from you.

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