Jacinta McCarty
Story City,US
Summary
Solid background caring for diverse animals. Devoted to maintaining health and well-being. Meets diverse needs by closely observing animals and coordinating with owners or supervisors to optimize plans.
Overview
38
38
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Animal Caretaker Supervisor
USDA ARS NADC
Ames, United States
12.2013 - Current
- Work in the small animal vivarium, providing care for mice, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, rabbits, poultry, ferrets, pigs, and aquatic species.
- Facility includes Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) and Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) biologic agents including Select Agents and toxins
- Feed, water, and monitor animal health daily.
- Clean and disinfect animal cages, and change bedding according to the facility's SOPs.
- Complete a daily animal census and monitored room temperature and humidity.
- Responsible for creating traceable, accurate animal records.
- Observe animals for signs of distress and disease, document animal health, and report illness and adverse reactions to veterinarians and investigators.
- Assist with animal restraint for inoculation and blood collection.
- Euthanize small animals via various methods.
- Perform blood and tissue collection and treatment of diseases.
- Care for animals housed in fish tanks, multiple caged racks, individual ventilated cages, and isolation cages
- Clean and disinfect animal rooms, cages, racks, and fish tanks.
- Supervise animal care staff of six full-time and four part-time employees.
- Manage scheduling for staff, ensuring adequate daily and weekend coverage for animal rooms and projects.
- Monitor employee productivity levels on a regular basis to identify areas of improvement.
- Train new employees on animal care, cage changing, disinfection, and euthanasia.
- Conduct weekly meetings with team members to discuss upcoming tasks and project deadlines.
- Maintain accurate records of employee performance, attendance, leave requests, and disciplinary actions.
- Evaluate employee performance through periodic reviews and documented results, accordingly.
- Recruit, hire, train, mentor, coach, evaluate, and terminate staff as necessary.
- Ensure thorough decontamination of animal rooms.
- Order vivarium supplies, feed, and enrichment from warehouse and outside vendors.
- Order animal caging, parts, and equipment.
- Approve animal orders according to available space and cages.
- Receive animal shipments, print cage cards, transfer rooms and protocols, and stop census on the online census database.
- Place work orders with facilities engineers for equipment repair.
- Collaborate with other departments to coordinate workflow processes between teams.
Animal Caretaker
USDA ARS NADC
Ames, United States
08.2008 - 12.2013
- Worked in the small animal vivarium providing care for mice, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, rabbits, poultry, and fish
- Facility included Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) and Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) biologic agents including Select Agents and toxins
- Fed, watered, and monitored animal health daily
- Cleaned and disinfected animal cages and changed bedding according to the facility's SOPs
- Completed a daily animal census and monitored room temperature and humidity
- Responsible for creating traceable, accurate animal records
- Received animal shipments and recorded animal movements and deaths
- Observed animals for signs of distress and disease, documented animal health, and reported illness and adverse reactions
- Assisted with animal restraint for inoculation and blood collection
- Euthanized animals via various methods
- Performed blood and tissue collection and treatment of diseases
- Cared for animals housed in fish tanks, multiple caged racks, individual ventilated cages, and isolation cages
- Cleaned and disinfected animal rooms, cages, racks, and fish tanks
- Worked a regular rotation of weekends, ensuring completion of all animal chores and overseeing part-time employees.
- Served as acting supervisor for the Vivarium during supervisor's absence
Animal Caretaker
USDA ARS NADC
Ames, United States
08.2007 - 08.2008
- Worked in a small animal barrier facility with a breeding colony for mice used in TSE research.
- Set up breeding pairs of mice, weaned, sexed and euthanized mice as needed
- Autoclaved caging, scrubs and equipment
- Used anesthesia vaporizer for sedating mice
- Set up excel spreadsheets to input weaning and euthanasia data daily to keep more current and correct animal census and usage data in the building
- Gained experience caring for and observing reindeer, white-tailed deer, and raccoons.
Animal Caretaker
USDA APHIS NVSL
Ames, United States
12.2005 - 08.2007
- Worked in small animal facility providing daily care for mice, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, rabbits, chickens, and cats
- Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) small animals with rotations in the large animal and high security (BSL3) sections of the laboratory
- Daily feeding, watering, and monitoring animal health
- Changed animal cages and bedding according to the facility's SOPs
- Completed a daily animal census of assigned rooms
- Room temperatures monitored based on the species present
- Created traceable, accurate animal records
- Observed animals for signs of distress and disease, documented animal health, and reported illness and adverse reactions
- Assisted with animal restraint for inoculation and blood collection
- Euthanized animals via various methods
- Performed blood and tissue collection and treatment of diseases
- Cared for animals housed in open pens, multiple caged racks, and isolation cages
- Cleaned and disinfected animal pens, cages, racks, and rooms
- Worked a regular rotation of weekend hours and ensured completion of all animal chores and oversaw part-time employees
- Served as acting supervisor for the Small Animal Wing during supervisor's absence.
Animal Caretaker
USDA APHIS NVSL
Ames, United States
04.1989 - 08.1991
- Worked in a small animal facility with BSL2 agents, providing care for mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, cats, dogs, and mink
- Daily duties included cleaning cages, animal rooms, and supporting areas
- Fed and watered animals and took a daily animal census
- Restrained animals to assist with inoculation and blood collection
- Euthanized animals according to the facility's Animal Care Program
- Maintained accurate animal records
- Observed animals for signs of distress and disease, documented animal health, and reported adverse or unexpected reactions
- Became proficient at knowing the personalities and behavior of individual animals and became a certified Laboratory Animal Technician
- Assisted the supervisor in the formulation of a measurement equation for staff productivity based on animal population and user fees
- Wrote a report entitled 'Intra specific Paired Housing of NZW Rabbits', which was presented to the NVSL Animal Care and Use Committee.
Animal Caretaker
Lovelace Biomedical
ABQ, United States
06.1986 - 08.1986
- Fed, watered, and observed animals (large and small) and cleaned cages and pens
- Worked mainly with ~100 beagles per day at this facility housing 500 dogs.
- Administered routine veterinary medications and vaccinations
- Documented work and animal observations
- Followed daily written instructions directing transport of dogs for testing or veterinary care
- Notified investigators of observed illness.
Education
Bachelor's Degree - Animal Ecology
Iowa State University
IA, United States12.1988
Some College Coursework Completed - Non-degree/Ag Special
Iowa State University
IA, United StatesSkills
- Animal Care and Handling
- Animal Health Monitoring
- Animal Restraint
- Animal Record Keeping
- Animal Welfare Compliance
- Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) and Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) Procedures
- Blood and Tissue Collection
- Cleaning and Disinfection of Animal Facilities
- Euthanasia Methods
- Laboratory Animal Technician Certification
- Laboratory Animal Facility Management
- Laboratory Animal Behavior Observation
- Laboratory Animal Disease Treatment
- Laboratory Animal Census
- Laboratory Animal Record Keeping
- Laboratory Animal Restraint
- Laboratory Animal Facility Cleaning and Maintenance
- Laboratory Animal Facility Safety Procedures
- Laboratory Animal Facility Equipment Operation
- Laboratory Animal Facility Supervision
Country of citizenship
United States
Job type
Full-Time
Desired locations
United States
Evening phone
515-450-6990
Day phone
515-450-6990
Certification
- Laboratory Animal Technician, May 1990, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS)
- Medication Manager, January 2003, DMACC
Coursework
- Spring 2009 Micro 201 Intro Microbiology
- Fall 2010 Micro 302 Biol Microorganisms
- Spring 2011 Chem 331 Organic Chemistry I
- Fall 2011 Chem 332 Organic Chemistry II
- Spring 2012 BBMB 301 Biochemistry
Availability
Permanent, Term
Timeline
Animal Caretaker Supervisor
USDA ARS NADC
12.2013 - Current
Animal Caretaker
USDA ARS NADC
08.2008 - 12.2013
Animal Caretaker
USDA ARS NADC
08.2007 - 08.2008
Animal Caretaker
USDA APHIS NVSL
12.2005 - 08.2007
Animal Caretaker
USDA APHIS NVSL
04.1989 - 08.1991
Animal Caretaker
Lovelace Biomedical
06.1986 - 08.1986
Bachelor's Degree - Animal Ecology
Iowa State University
Some College Coursework Completed - Non-degree/Ag Special
Iowa State University
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