Drs. Vernard Hodges and Terrence Ferguson are working harder than ever, but both were all smiles as they sat down to chat about their show, “Critter Fixers: Country Vets.”
“We watched it for the first time just like everybody else did,” Ferguson said, “and if we weren’t together, we’d call each other” to see if the other vet saw a segment.
“It’s a really cool experience, how they take an ordinary day, what we do every day, and make it interesting,” Ferguson said.
Apparently, Nat Geo Wild made their jobs very interesting, because it’s giving the Middle Georgia veterinarians an eight-part second season premiering in spring 2021.
During their first season, Hodges and Ferguson took their audience along as they treated not only dogs and cats, but also alpacas and camels, something they said they never expected when they opened Critter Fixer Veterinary Hospital in Bonaire in 1999.
“But you know how it is once you get outside 285,” Hodges said. “Anything goes.”
Although the pair say they are working harder than they expected at this point in their careers, they are enjoying connecting with their viewers.
Just recently, Hodges said, a Girl Scout in Huntsville, Alabama, emailed to ask if she could hang out at the vet hospital.
“She needed to get her Girl Scout badge, and she needed something for animals,” Hodges said. “So they drove 5½ hours just to see it.”
One thing they haven’t gotten used to, they said, is how people — especially kids — look at them now.
“The kids see you on TV, and they just look at you and stare,” Hodges said.
“Yeah, I’m just an ordinary person,” Ferguson chimes in.
But that’s not the best part, they said.
“Being with my son,” Hodges said. Sixteen-year-old Vernard joined his dad on a few calls during season one.
“He was able to get in and see what his dad does. That was my favorite part,” Hodges said, adding we might see the father and son team up on Season 2 as well.
For Ferguson, the best part of making a TV show has been hanging out with Hodges all day. When they aren’t filming, he said, the two are in and out of their two hospitals (the second location is in Byron).
“When we’re together it adds to the appreciation of where we were when we first started out and where we are now. And just being thankful we have each other,” he said.
The two met in college. They attended Fort Valley State University and Tuskegee School of Veterinary Medicine together, then opened Critter Fixer in 1999.
At this point in their careers they’ve hired other veterinarians to work at the hospital and were planning to come in only two or three days a week, giving them time to explore other interests.
And then National Geographic called.
“Now we’re almost working harder than day one,” Ferguson said.
“I don’t begrudge it at all,” Hodges added. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity and platform.”
It isn’t always easy, though, Hodges said. “Sometimes when you have a bad outcome, and there’s a camera there, that’s hard. But that’s what we signed up for, so you deal with it. For me that’s the hardest part, because I do hurt. And when you’re feeling that pain, and there’s a camera in your face... that’s hard.”
But both doctors appreciate the platform they’ve been given not only to educate the public, but also to inspire the next generation.
“Only 1.6% of veterinarians are African American,” Hodges said in January just before the first season started.
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 before Season 1.
There are definitely two young people who have been inspired: Vernard Hodges II and Nicole Ferguson.
Hodges senior said his son has known since he was 7 or 8 that he wanted to be a vet. Ferguson’s daughter, Nicole, never showed a real interest until the pandemic hit and she began coming to the hospital.
“She always said she wanted to be a dentist,” Ferguson said. “But the other day, after working in the clinic for a while, she said, 'I’m really thinking seriously I might want to be a veterinarian.
"I told her, ‘OK, baby, whatever you want to do,’ " he continued, "but inside I was like, ‘I got her. I think I got her.' "
Nicole Ferguson is a freshman in college now, so “we’ll see how it goes,” Dr. Ferguson said.
As for Ferguson’s son, he has other priorities right now. Terrence Ferguson II — one of the AJC’s Super 11 — will be an offensive lineman for Alabama next year, having picked the Crimson Tide over its SEC rivals.
Ferguson isn’t relying solely on the TV show to inspire kids, though. He has written a children’s book, “C is for Critter Fixer,” that is loosely based on his experience.
“I grew up as being Terry, not Terrence, and I wanted to be a veterinarian since I was a little boy,” Ferguson said. "Growing up not seeing someone who looked like you doing what you want to do can be a little challenging at times.
“So I wanted to write this book to encourage little Terrys that it doesn’t really matter if you don’t see that example you still can become. It’s kind of an inspiration to young kids that if there’s something you want to do, strive to do, you know? Just go do it.”
As time ran out and the doctors needed to get back to shooting, they expressed their thanks to their home state for all the support they’ve received.
“Getting support from Canada and everywhere is fantastic,” Hodges said, “but it’s nothing like having the people around you support you. The state of Georgia has been amazing, and it’s just a good feeling.”
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