Associate Veterinarian – High-Volume Surgery & Shelter Medicine
Listed compensation
$50k-$65k
The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed
Ask the employer about nights and shift pattern and time off.
Job Description
Associate Veterinarian – High-Volume Surgery & Shelter Medicine
Brown Animal Hospital | Peoria, IL
Make a Difference Through Surgery. Support Your Community. Practice with Purpose.
Brown Animal Hospital is seeking a compassionate and skilled Associate Veterinarian to join our partnership with Peoria County Animal Protection Services (PCAPS). This unique opportunity is ideal for a veterinarian who enjoys high-volume spay and neuter surgery, values community outreach, and wants to make a meaningful impact on animal welfare while maintaining an excellent work-life balance.
Working alongside Brown Animal Hospital and PCAPS, you'll play a vital role in reducing pet overpopulation by performing high-quality, high-volume sterilization procedures while providing care for shelter animals in need.
About the Role
This position focuses primarily on high-volume spay and neuter surgery performed aboard the PCAPS mobile surgical unit.
Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
No Emergency or On-call Responsibilities
Each surgery day is dedicated to performing spay and neuter procedures. Once the surgery schedule is complete, you'll have the opportunity to evaluate and treat sick or injured shelter animals as needed, allowing you to combine surgery with meaningful shelter medicine.
This role offers a rewarding balance of surgical practice, community service, and predictable scheduling.
What You'll Do
- Perform high-quality, high-volume canine and feline spay/neuter surgeries
- Evaluate and treat shelter animals requiring medical care following the surgery schedule
- Maintain efficient surgical workflow while prioritizing patient safety
- Collaborate with the Brown Animal Hospital and PCAPS teams
- Support shelter initiatives focused on improving animal welfare throughout Peoria County
- Practice compassionate, high-quality veterinary medicine
- Core Competencies
- High-Volume Spay & Neuter Surgery
- Shelter Medicine
- Companion Animal Medicine
- Surgical Efficiency
- Patient Safety
- Clinical Decision-Making
- Animal Welfare
- Team Collaboration
- Time Management
- Compassionate Patient Care
- Community Outreach
What We Offer
- Competitive base salary
- Quarterly production with no negative accrual
- Sign-on bonus
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Generous PTO with rollover
- Paid parental leave
- Annual CE allowance plus CE days
- Professional development assistance
- Paid professional dues and PLIT
- Structured mentorship available
- 401(k) options
- Personal pet discounts
- Supportive and collaborative team culture
Qualifications
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree
- Illinois veterinary license (or ability to obtain)
- Experience in high-volume surgery and shelter medicine
- Strong surgical skills or a desire to further develop surgical proficiency
- Efficient, organized, and team-oriented
- Passion for community medicine and improving animal welfare
Why You'll Love This Role
This is an outstanding opportunity for a veterinarian who loves surgery and wants to make an immediate impact in the community. You'll enjoy a consistent weekday schedule, spend the majority of your time in surgery, and have the opportunity to improve the lives of countless shelter animals through your partnership with PCAPS.
If you're passionate about surgery, shelter medicine, and serving your community, we'd love to meet you.
Join Brown Animal Hospital and PCAPS to make a lasting difference—one surgery, one patient, and one family at a time.
This is a good-faith estimate based on the role's requirements at the time of posting. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
The Company offers a comprehensive benefits package that may include medical, dental, and vision benefits, vacation, sick leave, 401(k), and other benefits depending on role and location. A complete description of benefits available for this position will be provided during the hiring process.
Where required under applicable law, Company provides eligible employees with paid sick leave, health emergency leave, and other legally mandated benefits programs, all in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local law depending on the location of the practice you support.
- Illinois Pay Range
- $50,000—$65,000 USD
Brown Animal Hospital is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in the job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us.
Hiring decisions will be based on merit, qualifications and the legitimate needs of the business.
Candidate Privacy Notice
Key Responsibilities
Perform high-volume canine and feline spay and neuter surgeries on a mobile unit. Evaluate and treat sick or injured shelter animals while collaborating with the hospital and shelter teams.
Qualifications
- Education
- Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
- Experience
- 2+ years of experience
Veterinary Medicine Career Context
The cost-of-living index for Illinois is 100.0 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$58k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $58k in an average-cost state. 62.6% of Illinois clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).
Of the 50 active Veterinary Medicine listings this role was benchmarked against, 90% have no call, 48% require no weekends.
| Measure | This job | Market |
|---|---|---|
| Work-life score | 8.0 / 10 · top 25% in veterinary medicine | ranked against 3,083 Veterinary Medicine listingslisting-based score, 0–10 |
| Listed pay | $50k–$65k | Veterinary Medicine median $130k (middle half $123k–$170k)15 comparable listings, Nov 2026 |
| Cost-of-living adjusted pay | ~$58k in purchasing power | Illinois index 100.0 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024) |
| Veterinary Medicine listings in Illinois | 167 active | 3,421 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026 |
| Work setting | on-site | peers: 90% no call · 48% no weekends50 benchmarked listings |
| Sign-on & loan repayment | not stated | Illinois healthcare professional listings (all specialties): 33% state a sign-on bonus (median $50k) · 8% offer loan repayment219 active listings, Nov 2026 |
| New Veterinary Medicine listings | 1,251 in the last 30 days | 492 the 30 days before (+154%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026 |
| Veterinary Medicine pay trend | +3.7% vs prior quarter | —through Oct 2026 |
Work-Life Balance Analysis
WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Associate Veterinarian – High-Volume Surgery & Shelter Medicine at Brown Animal Hospital a 8.0 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as excellent. This places the position in the top 25% in Veterinary Medicine — ranked against 3,083 active Veterinary Medicine listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no on-call duties.
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