Field Veterinarian

The Field Veterinarian serves as a mobile veterinary subject-matter expert supporting animal welfare operations, partner agencies, emergency and temporary sheltering, field response, cruelty investigations, disaster preparedness and response, and community veterinary initiatives.

This is a remote, field-based position and is not assigned to the day-to-day operation of a single permanent animal shelter or veterinary clinic. When not traveling, deployed, or assigned to an organizational facility, the veterinarian generally works remotely. The veterinarian travels throughout the state and may be assigned to emergency or temporary animal shelters, community events, disaster-response operations, and any Operation Humane facilities based on operational need.

The veterinarian also serves as a field veterinary resource during cruelty and neglect investigations, large-scale seizures, natural disasters, and other emergency responses. Responsibilities may include lifesaving stabilization, triage, veterinary forensic examinations, documentation of medical findings, and consultation with animal-control, law-enforcement, emergency-management, and animal-welfare partners.

This position requires significant independence, professional judgment, flexibility, extensive travel, and the ability to provide veterinary services in traditional and non-traditional environments.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Serve as a veterinary subject-matter expert for internal teams, animal shelters, animal-control agencies, and other partner organizations.
• Collaborate with and serve as a professional resource to state and local jurisdictions in all aspects of animal cruelty investigations.
• Provide shelter medicine consultation consistent with current professional standards and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters.
• Assist shelters and partner agencies with developing, evaluating, and implementing practical veterinary policies and medical protocols; provide recommendations that recognize the resources, staffing, facility limitations, and operational realities of individual shelters and agencies.
• Perform scheduled or unscheduled veterinary rounds at emergency shelters and temporary animal shelters, as operationally necessary.
• Evaluate individual animals and shelter populations for medical, infectious-disease, and welfare concerns; review treatment plans, medical records, vaccination status, isolation or quarantine needs, and other veterinary considerations.
• Consult with animal-care, operations, and leadership personnel regarding emerging or ongoing medical concerns.
• Assist with continuity-of-care planning when animals move between facilities, foster environments, partner organizations, or other placements.
• Travel between multiple organizational facilities or operational locations as necessary to meet veterinary needs.
• Develop processes for veterinary triage, treatment, medication administration, vaccination, isolation, quarantine, infectious-disease management, medical documentation, escalation of care, and surgery afield.
• Support medical decision-making regarding transport, referral, hospitalization, continued treatment, quality of life, and humane outcomes.
• Assist with demobilization and continuity-of-care planning at the conclusion of emergency shelter operations.
• Perform field triage and stabilization of sick, injured, compromised, or distressed animals; administer lifesaving veterinary measures when appropriate and within the capabilities of the response environment.
• Assess animal health and welfare in field environments; determine need for additional treatment, transportation, hospitalization, specialized care, or other intervention.
• Participate in outreach programs targeting underserved communities or populations with limited access to veterinary services.
• Develop and deliver training for staff, volunteers, law enforcement, animal control officers, prosecutors and partner organizations on relevant emergency medical procedures within appropriate scopes of practice; Participate in emergency preparedness exercises, drills, trainings, and after-action reviews.
• Operate effectively in environments where clinical resources may be limited and conditions may change rapidly.
• Maintain accurate, thorough, and timely investigative records for all assigned cases.
• Provide expert testimony in court proceedings when requested, including testimony related to animal condition, investigative findings, and documentation methods.
• Maintain working knowledge of Georgia animal law, including cruelty statutes, animal seizure considerations, and related legal concepts.