How to hire a kennel assistant

Kennel assistant hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring kennel assistants in the United States:

HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
The median cost to hire a kennel assistant is $1,633.
Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per kennel assistant on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
There are currently 60,994 kennel assistants in the US and 111,321 job openings.
Myrtle Beach, SC, has the highest demand for kennel assistants, with 7 job openings.
Greensboro, NC has the highest concentration of kennel assistants.

How to hire a kennel assistant, step by step

To hire a kennel assistant, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a kennel assistant:

Here's a step-by-step kennel assistant hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a kennel assistant job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new kennel assistant
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a kennel assistant do?

A kennel assistant is an individual who takes responsibility in the daily care of animals like cats and dogs at boarding kennels or veterinary clinics. Primarily, kennel assistants provide care to pets that includes feeding and grooming. They collect and maintain any information involving the pets. It is their job to administer pet's medications under the supervision of vet technicians or veterinarians. The skills necessary for this job include patience, customer service, animal care, teamwork, and communication.

Learn more about the specifics of what a kennel assistant does

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Identify your hiring needs

Before you start hiring a kennel assistant, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

A kennel assistant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, kennel assistants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

The following list breaks down different types of kennel assistants and their corresponding salaries.

Type of Kennel Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
Kennel Assistant	Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers look after animals in laboratories, animal hospitals, and clinics. They care for the animals by performing routine tasks under the supervision of scientists, veterinarians, and veterinary technologists and technicians.	$9-16
Laboratory Animal Caretaker	A laboratory animal caretaker is in charge of monitoring and taking care of animals in a research facility or similar setting, ensuring to handle them properly and humanely. Their responsibilities include feeding the animals, examining them for any diseases or injuries, gathering and preparing samples, and maintaining the cleanliness of work areas... Show more	$9-17
Kennel Technician	Kennel technicians are employees who work in animal boarding houses, veterinary clinics, and shelters. Primarily, they take care of and maintain animals living in a kennel... Show more	$9-16

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- PET
- Patients
- Animal Hospital
- Cleanliness
- Facility Laundry
- Animal Handling
- Exam Rooms
- Scheduling Appointments
- Medical Care
- Administer Medications
- Front Desk
- Animal Restraint
- Clean Cages
- General Care
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Manage, and safely operate the MWD explosive program.
- Assist veterinarian in day-to-day animal hospital activities including processing lab work administering medication, performing x-rays, feeding and cleaning patients.
- Insert iv needles into animals to obtain blood samples.
- Keep current all facilities licenses necessary for the euthanasia of animals.
- Maintain sow rotation to ensure insemination dates are correct with farrow dates.
- Job responsibilities also include cleaning kennels, walking dogs, and mowing the shelter's lawn.
More kennel assistant duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in the kennel assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. A kennel assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

For example, the average salary for a kennel assistant in Georgia may be lower than in North Dakota, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level kennel assistant. Additionally, a kennel assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

Average kennel assistant salary

$12.59hourly

$26,180 yearly

Entry-level kennel assistant salary

$20,000 yearly salary

Updated December 21, 2025

Average kennel assistant salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$31,537	$15
2	Massachusetts	$31,253	$15
3	Oregon	$29,375	$14
4	Pennsylvania	$29,361	$14
5	Washington	$28,435	$14
6	Illinois	$28,434	$14
7	Michigan	$28,240	$14
8	Colorado	$27,926	$13
9	Virginia	$27,198	$13
10	Arizona	$26,729	$13
11	Missouri	$26,674	$13
12	Nevada	$26,038	$13
13	Indiana	$24,736	$12
14	North Carolina	$24,012	$12
15	Florida	$23,734	$11
16	Texas	$23,276	$11
17	Ohio	$23,098	$11
18	Alabama	$23,038	$11
19	Georgia	$22,711	$11
20	Kansas	$22,082	$11

Average kennel assistant salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Target	$32,715	$15.73
2	Ethos Veterinary Health	$30,612	$14.72	50
3	Helen Woodward Animal Center	$30,295	$14.56
4	VetCor	$29,161	$14.02	66
5	Metro Nashville	$28,100	$13.51
6	Livingston County	$27,985	$13.45
7	National Veterinary Associates	$27,755	$13.34	71
8	DoveLewis	$27,528	$13.23	3
9	VCA Animal Hospitals	$26,916	$12.94	528
10	BluePearl Vet	$26,612	$12.79
11	Camp Bow Wow	$26,449	$12.72	4
12	Celeste Industries	$26,062	$12.53
13	Charlotte Country Club	$25,890	$12.45
14	SPCA of Wake County	$25,252	$12.14	2

Writing a kennel assistant job description
A good kennel assistant job description should include a few things:
- Summary of the role
- List of responsibilities
- Required skills and experience
Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a kennel assistant job description:
Kennel assistant job description example
Why PESCM: We have a family-oriented approach to our hospital and recognize the importance of collaboration and foster a culture that is indicative of this. Management has been with the practice for over 16-years and maintains a relationship with every staff member, operating with an open-door approach to the team. We are all in this together!

PESCM is known for our great nursing staff, fabulous doctors and management team, thoughtful benefits and perks, and upbeat morale…all while doing what we all love to do! PESCM celebrates core values such as respect, kindness, trust, appreciation, compassion, and dedication.

Responsibilities:
- Maintain a safe and clean work environment by keeping floors clean and free of clutter
- Laundry and dishes
- Provide veterinary husbandry such as clean and proper bedding, cage turnover
- Kitchen and bathroom upkeep/maintenance
- Assist with any hospital maintence as directed
- Assist with restocking the hospital with necessary supplies
- Helping to maintain the order list
- Putting away the orders every week
About You:
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Ability to be on your feet and to lift up to 50 pounds
- Honesty, integrity and a desire to learn and have fun!
- Positive outlook and ability to work well in a collaborative environment.
Benefits of working with us:

We offer desirable alternative work schedules, a competitive bay area wage and comprehensive benefits plan to include medical/dental, 401k, paid time off, scrub allowance, generous Pet Benefit Plan, Continued Education opportunities, and Commuter benefit, as most of our staff travel from outside of Marin County, often passing other specialty practices!

PESCM is an Equal Opportunity Employer. PESCM does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, merit, and business need.

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Post your job
To find kennel assistants for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any kennel assistants they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level kennel assistants with the right educational background.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
Post your job online:
- Post your kennel assistant job on Zippia to find and attract quality kennel assistant candidates.
- Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
Your first interview with kennel assistant candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.
You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new kennel assistant
Once you have selected a candidate for the kennel assistant position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.
It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
To prepare for the new kennel assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a kennel assistant?

Before you start to hire kennel assistants, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire kennel assistants pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $26,180 per year for a kennel assistant, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for kennel assistants in the US typically range between $9 and $16 an hour.

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Updated December 21, 2025

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How to hire a kennel assistant