Ashlyn Gilbert

Background

About Ashlyn Gilbert

I am a Senior at Oregon State University, from which I will be graduating in 2024 with a Bachelors degree in Zoology and and minor in Chemistry. Through my schooling I have learned skills that are important to a career in zoology or animal care. This includes basic concepts like ecology, evolution, biology, and chemistry. I have also gained valuable research and laboratory skills that can be applied in field or lab research. While in college I have worked a variety of jobs including as a server, bartender, and a library technician. Currently I am working as an admissions technician at the Oregon Humane Society. I began training in February of 2024, and was promoted to a level 2 tech in June. My job as an admission technician combines the roles of an animal care worker and a social worker. The purpose of our department is to manage and oversee all owner surrenders and transfers of animals from various shelters into ours. As a level 1 technician I worked at the reception desk learned basic reception duties. These include how to use shelter specific software like ShelterBuddy, using typical software like Microsoft/Outlook and how to review animal behavior with owners before scheduling intake appointments. Gentle questioning, empathy, and detail orientation are important skills when scheduling clients. Balancing the emotions of a client while still getting enough information to guarantee the safety of shelter workers and the animal is a very delicate task. Another important aspect of reception is social work. Members of the community come to us for assistance with rehoming, finding affordable vet care, and supplies for their pets. Many of these people are often in crisis and can have varying mental states and cognitive abilities. As a level 2 technician I work in our cat exam room. It is my responsibility to do physical and behavioral exams on all new cats who come into the shelter. I assign them a behavior level based on a corporate behavior asilomar. This includes vaccinating, checking for common ailments and illnesses, cleaning out ear mites, and taking adoption photos. I am in charge of balancing kennel space for all cats in care, as well as setting up cats in their respective kennels. I am looking forward to my eventual training to become a level 3 tech, which will allow me to work in both my previous positions as well as in dog exam. I am excited about learning new skills and continuing my career in animal care.