Clinical Exotic Pet Specialist

Pay: $30.00 per hour; with 5-Hour Minimum Weekly Baseline for ~$600 per month

Job description:

• Role: Clinical Exotic Pet Specialist
• Company: House of Guineas LLC
• Location: San Francisco & The Peninsula (In-Home Care)

• Position Type: Permanent Part-Time (5-Hour Minimum Weekly Baseline; ~$600 per month)
• Pay: $30.00/hour

• Core Schedule: Weekdays, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (Core hours, with occasional later afternoon or evening availability required as needed)

ABOUT US

House of Guineas LLC is a comprehensive, professional exotic pet company providing high-standard in-home care for a wide variety of small mammals, reptiles, and birds across San Francisco and the Peninsula. Founded with a background in exotic veterinary experience, our mission is to elevate the standard of pet sitting. We ensure our clients' unique pets receive professional care while their owners are away.

THE POSITION

We are seeking a dedicated and highly responsible Exotic Pet Care Specialist to take ownership of our weekly visits. This is a high-level caregiving role requiring an individual who can maintain a calm, professional demeanor during rare emergencies and act as a compassionate advocate for the animals in our care.

We value your clinical expertise and offer a reliable baseline of 5 hours per week, providing you with steady, predictable income.

HOW IT WORKS: BUSY VS. SLOW MONTHS

Our schedule naturally follows holiday and travel trends. You can count on your 10-hour baseline every single week, but your day-to-day focus will adapt to the season:

• Busy Months (Summer & Winter Holidays): You will be out in the field caring for pets, and identifying areas to improve their quality of life. When demand surges, your hours can scale past the 5-hour baseline, and you will earn time-and-a-half ($45.00/hr) on major holidays.

• Slow Months (Fall & Spring): When clients aren't traveling as much, your $150 weekly baseline remains secure. During these quieter periods, you will focus on optimizing and organizing pet care processes, writing educational articles, along with other relevant work.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Specialized Pet Care: Provide meticulous, highly observant care for small mammals (guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters), reptiles, and birds.

• Dietary Management: Manage complex, species-specific nutrition and fresh water. For our reptile clients, this requires the safe handling and provisioning of live or stored insects and small feeder mammals.

• Medical Administration: Confidently administer required medications, including oral, topical, and subcutaneous (SQ) injections as needed.

• Client Communication: Provide consistent, detailed photo and video updates to clients to ensure their complete peace of mind.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

• Emergency Response: Quickly identify and respond to "red flag" symptoms in exotic pets, including the swift and safe transportation of pets to veterinary hospitals.

• Clinical Liaison: Act as the vital communication link between hospital staff and the client. You must ensure the client is fully informed regarding the pet's state and that all veterinary instructions are clearly understood.

• Protocol & Advocacy: Navigate critical situations strictly through veterinary suggestion and explicit client consent, ensuring all medical decisions perfectly align with both professional advice and the owner's wishes.

• End-of-Life Advocacy: In rare and unfortunate circumstances, navigate humane euthanasia or end-of-life quality-of-care protocols with extreme compassion and professional grace, always following veterinary guidance and client authorization.

WHO YOU ARE

• Previous experience in a veterinary setting or advanced, hands-on handling of exotic pets is highly preferred. You are completely comfortable administering medications, spotting signs of illness, and handling feeder insects/animals.

• Reliability & High EQ: You possess high emotional intelligence, a deep sense of reliability, and the ability to remain decisive under pressure.

• Seeking Stability: You specifically want permanent, part-time hours.

• Reliable commute: You can reliability commute to and from San Francisco and along the peninsula and own an operable vehicle with a valid driver's license.

WHY WORK WITH US?

• Dependable Base Income: Enjoy a reliable $150 weekly floor, or ~$600 per month, even during the slow seasons.

• Proper Expense Reimbursement: Mileage and vehicle upkeep will be fully and accurately reimbursed for all business-related travel to ensure tax compliance and protect your take-home pay.

• A Supportive Team: Join an organized, passionate local business that values your clinical exotic animal experience and respects your time.

BENEFITS & PERKS

• 1-Hour Guaranteed Service Blocks: Every 30-minute drop-in visit is paid as a full 1-hour block. This ensures you are compensated for travel and post-visit charting.

• Administrative Pay: You receive one (1) guaranteed hour of pay per month at your standard rate, which is purely dedicated to asynchronous internal communication.

• Mileage Reimbursement: We reimburse site-to-site travel at the current IRS rate of $0.725 per mile.

• Tax-Compliant Reimbursements: Receive a $50.00 monthly reimbursement to support your use of a personal smartphone for GPS, pet photography, and client communication.

• You also receive a $15.00 monthly reimbursement to offset the cost of laundering for your company attire.

• Wellness Bonuses: During peak quarters, you may receive discretionary bonuses of up to $100.00 to be used toward massage therapy, healthcare premiums, or other wellness activities.

• Health & Security: We provide full Workers' Compensation coverage, San Francisco Paid Sick Leave.

• Team Pet Perks: Enjoy a 20% discount on House of Guineas drop-in visits for your personal pets. You also receive discounts on our patent-pending, all-in-one guinea pig liners.

TO APPLY

Please submit your resume and summary detailing your specific species experience, clinical background, and how this variable part-time schedule works well for your lifestyle to: houseofguineas@gmail.com

Further Question(s):

• Do you have an up to date driver's license and an operable vehicle?
• Where are you currently located, and are you comfortable commuting to/within SF and along peninsula?
• Why are you interested in this role?
• If accepted, when would you be available to start? When would you need to return to university at the end of summer and around January(if applicable)?