WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Dr. Clarrissa Porter is excited about Saturday and the grand opening of a new animal hospital in Houston County.
"Chill bumps, butterflies. I'm pinching myself all the time," she said with a big smile.
Porter is tail-wagging happy because she owns 25% of a new business opening up at Pet Smart in Warner Robins.
She is partnering with Petsmart and two celebrity veterinarians: Dr. Terrance Ferguson and Dr. Vernard Hodges from Critter Fixers.
"The great thing is we're giving ownership to doctors that never otherwise would have it, Hodges said.
Maybe you've seen Dr. Vernard Hodges and Dr. Terrence Ferguson on the Nat Geo show "Critter Fixers."
They've had a lot of success, even visiting the White House.
Their mission is always to try to pay it forward.
"Less than 2% of veterinarians are of color, black — and less are business owners, so Pet Smart has this model that allows us to help other veterinarians, "Dr. Ferguson said.
Here's how it works: The Critter Fixer guys put up most of the money.
The new veterinarian does have some skin in the game, and if everything goes well enough, they can own the business outright down the road.
This allows more veterinarians to have representation out front in the veterinary world as opposed to an associate," Porter said.
Ferguson thinks that the model will make a huge difference.
"It's kind of a no-brainer the model is fantastic", Ferguson said. "And it's a lot less expensive this way than doing a brick and mortar where you're buying a building, you're buying land."
This is the second store the guys have opened. They plan to open thirty more down the road all over the country.
"Because when we leave here, we want this world to be a little better than we came," Ferguson said.