Georgia veterinarians’ show now will premiere March 7 on Nat Geo Wild

“Critter Fixers: Country Vets” has a premiere date.

The show, which will star Drs. Vernard Hodges and Terrence Ferguson, will air March 7 on Nat Geo Wild. The network originally announced “Critter Fixers” would premiere Feb. 23, but Hodges said in an Instagram post it was given a better night and will follow “Calling Dr. Pol,” the channel’s No. 1 show.

In a Monday Instagram post, Hodges said the lifelong friends and now business partners will present the show at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles this week.

When National Geographic called in 2018 and asked Hodges if he’d be interested in doing a television show, Hodges said he thought it was a prank.

But four phone calls and four months later, he and Ferguson, his partner at Critter Fixer Veterinary Hospital, were shooting a pilot.

Both men say they developed a love of animals growing up in rural Georgia — Hodges in Fort Valley and Ferguson in Talbotton.

“We met in college,” Hodges said. “It’s been a heck of a ride.”

They attended Fort Valley State University and Tuskegee School of Veterinary Medicine together, then opened Critter Fixer.

Their show, which will be called “Critter Fixers,” will take viewers along as Hodges and Ferguson treat critters not only at their hospital but also in the field.

“We’ll go behind the scenes, and we’ll explain everything we do,” Hodges said.

What sets Hodges and Ferguson apart from most other vet shows is that they're African American. Animal Planet also has a show featuring African American vets, called "The Vet Life."

“Only 1.6% of veterinarians are African American,” Hodges said.

Representation was “very important, and the production company, Nat Geo, has been great,” he said.

"I definitely hope we can encourage young men or young women if they are African American that this is something they can accomplish if that is their dream," Ferguson told the Macon Telegraph.

“We’re just two country boys trying to make our way,” Hodges said. “But it’s not about where you start; it’s where you end up.”

He knows a thing or two about that. Hodges grew up poor and even failed the ninth grade. But now he’s worth millions.