Veterinary Office Assistant

Launch Your Career at the Front Desk of Animal Care

GET PROGRAM INFO TODAY

Next intake enrolling now. An advisor will reach out to answer your questions. No obligation.

Veterinary Office Assistant

Launch Your Career at the
Front Desk of Animal Care

GET PROGRAM INFO TODAY

Next intake enrolling now. An advisor will reach out to answer your questions. No obligation.


Course Duration
16 Weeks


Program Delivery
100% Online


FAQs
Answering your questions

Earn Your Veterinary Office Assistant Certificate

Turn your love of animals into a career. Our Veterinary Office Assistant Program trains you to manage front-desk operations, communicate with clients and veterinary teams, and support animal care — all through flexible, self-paced online learning, capped off with hands-on practicum experience.

Through comprehensive, career-focused training, you'll develop administrative skills, client communication techniques, and a foundational understanding of animal care. This program prepares you to manage front-office responsibilities, support veterinary teams, and provide compassionate service to pets and their owners.

This program covers the key veterinary office skills you'll need to get noticed and hired, including:

  • Veterinary medical terminology
  • Foundational animal anatomy and physiology
  • Client communication and front-desk customer service
  • Veterinary office and reception procedures, including SOAP notes
  • Safe animal handling and restraint, including Fear Free principles
  • Veterinary practice management software and Microsoft Office
  • Common veterinary diseases, vaccinations, and preventative care
  • Animal husbandry and welfare
  • Clinical nutrition
  • Introductory lab and diagnostic procedures
  • Veterinary ethics and confidentiality standards
  • Social media and marketing for veterinary practices
  • Employability skills and career preparation

Graduates are prepared for entry-level roles including:

  • Veterinary Office Assistant
  • Veterinary Receptionist
  • Animal Care Assistant
  • Client Services Representative
  • Pet Insurance Coordinator

Our Grads Power the

Arts & Tech Economy

CAT’s creative and technical programs connect directly to British Columbia’s $6 billion creative economy, which employs over 120,000 skilled arts and tech workers. Our 2D and 3D animation, filmmaking, graphic design, and audio engineering graduates have contributed to award-winning projects, including six Oscar winners and 40+ Emmy, BAFTA, and Game Award recipients like KPOP Demon Hunters, Game of Thrones, Fortnite, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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Start Your Career as a Veterinary Technician Assistant

Work in Animal Care

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01

Industry Connections

Learn from veterinary industry professionals as your instructors and mentors.

02

Let’s Get You Working!

A well-rounded, focused curriculum designed to get you career-ready as quickly as possible, capped with a supervised practicum.

03

Education at Your Fingertips

Earn your certificate online, at your own pace, from the comfort of your home.

04

Top Tech

Hands-on training in the software, terminology, and procedures used every day in veterinary practices.

Medical Terminology
Build a comprehensive understanding of veterinary medical terminology, including prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Learn to interpret and use medical language related to animal anatomy, diseases, treatments, and procedures, and to accurately document patient information.
Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
Gain a foundational understanding of the anatomy and physiology of common domestic animals, covering the musculoskeletal, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, integumentary, cardiovascular, endocrine/lymphatic, reproductive, and nervous systems.
Communication in the Clinic
Develop the professional communication skills essential to a veterinary clinic — verbal, written, and non-verbal — with an emphasis on active listening, empathy, confidentiality, and handling sensitive conversations with clients.
Veterinary Office Procedures
Learn the practical skills for daily clinic operations, including patient admission and discharge, records management, and client follow-up — plus the empathy and professionalism required to support clients through sensitive situations like euthanasia and grief.
eterinary Reception and Administrative Procedures
Master front-desk operations: providing accurate information on services and fees, processing payments, scheduling appointments, completing end-of-day tasks, and creating and interpreting SOAP notes.
Animal Handling and Restraint
Learn techniques for safely handling and restraining a variety of species, including how to read animal body language and recognize signs of stress or fear to keep animals and handlers safe.
Veterinary Software Technology
Get hands-on experience with industry-standard veterinary software for patient records, scheduling, billing, and inventory, along with an introduction to Microsoft Word and Excel for veterinary administrative tasks.
Veterinary Diseases and Conditions
Build foundational knowledge of the immune system, infectious diseases, and vaccinations in small animals, including modes of transmission, symptoms, treatments, and dog and cat vaccine protocols.
Client Education and Preventative Care
Learn strategies for communicating health information, explaining treatment plans, and supporting pet owners in preventative healthcare decisions, including vaccinations, parasite prevention, and wellness programs.
Animal Husbandry and Welfare
Explore the standards required to maintain clean, comfortable, species-appropriate environments for hospitalized patients, grounded in the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare.
Fear Free
Learn Fear Free practices that prioritize animals' emotional well-being, including low-stress handling and calming techniques. Students graduate with their Fear Free Certification.
Clinical Nutrition
Continue building anatomy and physiology knowledge with a focus on the cardiovascular, endocrine/lymphatic, and reproductive systems and their associated medical conditions.
Introduction to Lab Procedures
Learn the fundamentals of veterinary lab work: common diagnostic tests, sample collection and storage, lab safety, quality control, and infection prevention protocols.
Veterinary Ethics
Examine the ethical principles and professional responsibilities of veterinary practice, including client confidentiality, informed consent, animal welfare, and navigating ethical dilemmas.
Social Media and Marketing for Veterinary Practices
Learn how to create engaging content, manage social platforms, and build ethical marketing campaigns that grow client engagement and support veterinary business goals.
Employability Skills and Career Preparation
Prepare for the job search with resume and cover letter writing, interview prep, professional online presence, and an understanding of employer expectations in veterinary settings.
VOA Practicum
Apply everything you've learned in a supervised placement at a professional veterinary clinic or animal care setting — gaining real exposure to client service, administrative procedures, patient intake, and clinic workflows.

Course Descriptions

Course Descriptions

Here’s How You’ll Build Your Animal Care Skills

Quarter 1
In the first term of the Veterinary Technician Assistant program, students will gain a foundational understanding of animal anatomy and physiology, which will continue to be built upon throughout the program. Students will explore various domestic canine and feline breeds including their history, traits, and coat colours and patterns. Through a number of dedicated units, students will also have the opportunity to learn about various large animals and livestock such as: equine, bovine, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. Quarter one also introduces units on exotic animals including avian, rabbits, reptiles, and other small mammals. Students will begin to learn the vital, front-end responsibilities in a clinic such as appointment booking, invoicing, client interactions, and medical record keeping as well as a familiarity with two commonly used veterinary software programs. Lastly, students will also receive a foundation in veterinary medical terminology throughout the first Quarter.
Quarter 2
Quarter two will continue students’ understanding of anatomy and physiology, including the function of the nervous, digestive, respiratory, and urinary systems in animals. Students will learn about the various canine and feline infectious diseases, treatment, and prevention including vaccine schedules. Various internal and external parasites affecting canines and felines will be covered, along with commonly used products in the veterinary clinic. In the second Quarter, students will get a chance to learn about and perform various diagnostic tests such as urinalysis, fecal floatation, and blood smears. The procedure and importance of taking vital signs and how to properly handle and restrain animals in the clinic setting be introduced. Students will learn life stage dietary requirements of small animals, assisted feeding techniques, nutritional management of diseases as well as familiarize themselves with the veterinary-exclusive diets found in a clinic. Quarter two will also cover the basics of canine and feline animal behaviour as well as an introduction to various training techniques.
Quarter 3
In the final Quarter of Veterinary Technician Assistant, students will gain an advanced experience in veterinary hospital practices, explore various avenues in the animal welfare sector and build upon anatomy and physiology knowledge from the previous two Quarters. Animal welfare topics will include animals in captive settings (zoos and shelters) standards of care for livestock production animals, and an exploration of current animal welfare concerns. Students will receive in-depth training in diagnostic imaging including radiography, CT, MRI, and ultrasound scans. Students will be introduced to toxicology including commonly ingested toxins and applicable treatment methods including commonly used pharmacological protocols. An understanding of the fundamentals of dental procedures along with an introduction to surgical procedures will also be covered. Students will learn the identification and treatment of periodontal disease along with other canine and feline oral conditions. Students will explore commonly performed surgeries, instruments used in a clinic setting, aseptic techniques, sterilization, and foundations of anesthesia monitoring. Rounding out the final Quarter is a focus on practical experience including job shadow opportunities where students can apply their education and skills in a clinical environment.

Department Head

Kate Robertson

Born and raised in Guelph Ontario, Kate has always had a passion for working with animals. She attended Sheridan College obtaining a certificate in Animal Care in 2005 where she was a recipient of the Sheridan scholar award for her academic achievements.

Her career began in 2005 at a 24/7 Emergency Clinic that specialized in avian, exotics, and small animals as a Veterinary Assistant. From there she settled into a high-volume Veterinary Clinic, which featured seven doctors and treated both companion animals and large animals (horses, livestock, and even zoo animals!) Shortly after moving to Kelowna in 2009, Kate began working at the KLO Veterinary Clinic as a Veterinary Assistant while joining College for Arts and Technology as a part time instructor in 2011. Kate took time off in 2013 to grow her family and rejoined the VHA program in 2018, becoming lead instructor before moving into her current role as Department head in 2021. Kate is continually advancing her skills; her latest achievement is the completion of the Advanced Level of the Animal Welfare Certificate Program at Thompson Rivers University. Kate completed this program with outstanding grades, receiving an A+ mark.

She lives in Kelowna with her husband, 3 boys who keep her busy, and a loyal yellow Labrador retriever named Jersey. In her spare time, she volunteers for Alleycats Cat Rescue, and enjoys cheering her boys on from the sidelines of their various sporting activities.

What our grads are saying...

FAQs

Let's Get you answers

Do I need prior experience with animals before applying?
No previous animal care experience is required. You'll build hands-on veterinary office skills — from medical terminology to client communication — through instruction from professionals working in the animal care industry.
Is CAT's Veterinary Office Assistant Program accredited?
Yes. All College for Arts and Technology programs are backed by a designation through the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit and British Columbia's Education Quality Assurance Program. See our Designation page for details.
How long is the program and what's the schedule like?
The program totals 320 hours of instruction, delivered 100% online and fully asynchronous — meaning there's no live video lecture requirement, so you can move through coursework on your own schedule.
Do you offer job placements or a practicum?
Yes. The program concludes with a supervised VOA Practicum in a real veterinary clinic or animal care setting, where you'll apply your training to daily clinic operations, client service, and administrative work. Our Student Services team also shares job opportunities and connections with graduates.
What equipment will I need for this program?
A laptop or desktop (PC or Mac) with a microphone, speakers, and camera, plus a high-speed internet connection suitable for video streaming. Chromebooks, netbooks, phones, iPads, and tablets are not suitable substitutes.
What jobs can I get after graduating?
Graduates are prepared for entry-level roles such as Veterinary Office Assistant, Veterinary Receptionist, Animal Care Assistant, Client Services Representative, and Pet Insurance Coordinator.
What are the admission requirements?
Applicants must be 19 years of age or older, or hold a secondary school graduation certificate (or equivalent), and be a Canadian citizen, landed immigrant, or international student with a valid Student Visa. A typed essay and proof of English language proficiency (through prior education or an accepted test such as IELTS, TOEFL, CELPIP, or Duolingo) are also required. Speak with a Program Advisor for full details.
Is this program eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)?
College for Arts and Technology is a Designated Learning Institution (DLI). Please confirm current PGWP eligibility directly with IRCC, as final eligibility determinations are made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Experience the CAT Difference

Why the Best Choose Us

We understand that choosing a post-secondary school is a big decision that usually involves input from some of the most important people in your life. Tuition considerations, support after graduation and key industry connections – these are all part of choosing the best acting school for you. Here are a few reasons why you’ll be happy you chose College for Arts and Technology:

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Hands-on, employment-focused education.

Employment-focused programs delivering the soft skills you need for lasting career success and hands-on experience with the latest, industry-standard techniques. Your acting career starts here!

More one-on-one time with your Instructors and mentors.

Small class sizes mean you get more facetime and critical feedback from your education team, to achieve real growth and success.

Personalized support from start to finish.

Financial guidance? We’ve got you covered. Career advice after graduation? We wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re more than a student number to us. We create a personalized experience that you won’t get anywhere else.

Quality you can fact-check.

College for Arts and Technology holds a full designation through Education Quality Assurance and the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit. You’ll only get the best at College for Arts and Technology.

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