Animal Services Officer

**The City of Elk Grove is now accepting applications for the position of** **ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER** The City of Elk Grove is seeking Animal Services Officers to join the Police Department at our state-of-the art Animal Shelter. The ideal candidate is a compassionate, self-motivated professional who thrives in a dynamic and community-oriented environment. They possess exceptional customer service skills, demonstrating patience, empathy, and professionalism while interacting with community members, coworkers, and partner agencies. This individual has a strong sense of personal accountability and can work independently with minimal supervision while exercising sound judgment, integrity, and professionalism. They are proactive in resolving issues, adaptable and resilient, remaining calm under pressure and making thoughtful decisions in emotionally challenging or rapidly changing situations. The ideal candidate is comfortable working outdoors in a variety of conditions, safely handling animals of all sizes and temperaments, and responding to situations involving injured, stray, neglected, or aggressive animals. We are looking for someone who values teamwork but is equally confident in taking initiative in the field. They can balance education with enforcement, communicate effectively during difficult conversations, and de-escalate conflict while maintaining a professional demeanor. They understand that the position requires flexibility to meet operational needs, including working irregular hours, weekends, holidays, overtime, split shifts, and on-call assignments, as needed. Strong report writing, attention to detail, and the ability to accurately interpret and apply animal control laws, ordinances, and policies are essential. Above all, the ideal candidate is passionate about public service and animal welfare. They are committed to protecting the health and safety of both the community and its animals through compassionate care, education, enforcement, and collaborative problem-solving. Successful candidates understand that this role requires equal parts compassion, enforcement, and problem-solving, and they are comfortable making difficult decisions while treating both people and animals with dignity and respect. [**Learn more about the City of Elk Grove’s state-of-the-art Animal Shelter.**](https://www.elkgrovecity.org/departments-and-divisions/animal-services) **Tentative Recruitment Timeline (subject to change)** *Filing Deadline: August 5, 2026, by 11:59 pm* *Oral Board Interviews: August 20, 2026 (virtual)Selection Interviews: August 25, 2026 (in person)* The City offers a competitive salary and generous benefit package including CalPERS retirement benefits, a deferred compensation match and more. Why work for the City of Elk Grove? [Elk Grove Jobs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-RhMKgW4M&t=5s) **Community Profile** Elk Grove is a vibrant, family-friendly community of approximately 178,124 people in the Sacramento, California region, located 14 miles south of the State Capital and 60 miles east of the Bay Area. Elk Grove is a young, ethnically diverse, modern city that was incorporated in 2000. Elk Grove has low crime, excellent schools, over 100 community parks and 28 miles of trails, plentiful dining and shopping options, numerous annual events and festivals, and over 270 sunny days per year. *The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.* **DESCRIPTION:**The incumbent will perform a variety of duties involved in the enforcement of various City and state animal related ordinances, regulations, and laws governing the care and keeping of livestock and domestic animals in the City; investigate complaints regarding nuisance, stray, uncontrolled, dangerous or diseased animals and issue appropriate citations;…