Smallscreen News
The Vets: TV’s Pet Care Program seeking owner
By April MacIntyre Sep 28, 2012, 14:59 GMT
There\'s a new pet pilot that is seeking adoption from a network: The Vets: TV’s Most Comprehensive Pet Care Program.
There's a new pet pilot that is seeking adoption from a network: The Vets: TV’s Most Comprehensive Pet Care Program.
What do you get when you mix “Katie,” “Dr. Oz,” and “The Doctors” with fur, feathers, a hard shell and sometimes foul breath?
It’s The Vets, a new television information series that focuses on all aspects of pet care for all kinds of pets. A pilot for the program was recently completed. The show was created by Steven Sager of NJ-based Saddle River Productions, the long-format content division of Stonegate Communications. Sager also serves as executive producer.
Premise
The series features a panel of four nationally recognized and well-respected veterinarians from across the country, as well as specialists in different fields of pet care. Viewers can engage with The Vets to ask questions and drive the program’s topics through social media including Facebook, Skype and Instagram, and through a live, in-studio audience. The show will also take viewers into celebrities’ homes to meet their pets and learn how they care for them.
“It’s no secret that for most of us, pets are our children,” said Sager. “The Vets is an A-to-Z pet care primer. The series will cover a wide variety of issues and different domesticated and non-domesticated animals. Viewers will be able to interact with our hosts, read their blogs, watch videos and ask questions. Some could be chosen to ask their question during one of the shows. While we have some of the country’s top veterinarians on our team sharing their incredible knowledge, this series does not replace pets’ visits to the veterinarian. It was created to complement them.”
The series is seeking sponsors to share their brand with a highly sought after audience: devoted “parents” who are expected to spend $52-billion on their pets this year.
Sponsored sets and segments will be available to cover the broad range of pet topics such as health care, supplements, nutrition, training, treats, grooming, and so forth.
The Vets™ is looking for a domestic and international distributor, and ready for a 2013 launch. In the meantime, individual segments can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheVetsTVShowed at with new segments added weekly..
The veterinarians are Dr. Ernie Ward: North Carolina-based Dr. Ward has been featured on the “Today Show,” Animal Planet, NBC Nightly News, Nightline, and CNN, and has appeared numerous times on the “Rachael Ray Show” since 2007. He is the author of and contributor to over 55 veterinary journal articles in the US, Europe and Asia, and has published three veterinary books, two training videos and the dog obesity and nutrition book Chow Hounds (2010). He is also a veterinary expert and contributor for Vetstreet and a Pet Expert on WebMD.
Dr. Ward has also been featured in many magazines including Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, Men’s Health, Prevention, Reader’s Digest, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Dog Fancy, Cat Fancy, The Bark, Fetch!, and newspapers including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Dr. Jeff Werber: Based in Los Angeles, Dr. Werber is veterinarian to the stars, caring for the pets of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities including Britney Spears, Julia Roberts, Ben Affleck, Eddie Murphy, Paula Abdul, Rod Stewart, Mark Wahlberg, Patrick Dempsey, Mandy Moore, and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
He is a highly sought after and frequent guest on numerous national news programs, sharing his expertise on CBS’ “The Early Show” and “Sunday Morning,” “CNN Sunday Morning,” Fox News Channel and “The Rachael Ray Show.” This Emmy®-award winning veterinarian also hosted the wildly popular “Petcetera” on Animal Planet Network.
Dr. Ruth MacPete: Based in San Diego, Dr. MacPete has appeared on the nationally syndicated show “The Doctors,” numerous times on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, KUSI, CTN, and UCSD-TV, and radio stations throughout the country. She continues to practice at several animal shelters in the San Diego area. In addition, she is a published author, having written for Bark magazine, Kittens USA, Pet Business, San Diego Pets, and Great Scots Magazine, as well as several newspapers. For the last three years, she has written the monthly column entitled Health & Care News for Cat Fancy magazine.
She has been the media host at several veterinary conventions around the country, bringing conference news to all attendees, and has been instrumental in several national pet health campaigns focused on topics such as dog heart health, feline diabetes, parasite control and feline wellness.
Dr. Justine Lee: Dr. Lee is one of the approximate 500 board-certified veterinary specialists worldwide in emergency and critical care, and is and is currently the Associate Director of Veterinary Services for Pet Poison Helpline in Minnesota. She has been published in numerous veterinary journals, including the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, the Journal of Veterinary Emergency Critical Care, and the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Dr. Lee is one of the editors and primary authors of The Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Small Animal Toxicology textbook.
She is also the author of two humorous pet reference books entitled It's a Dog's Life... But It's Your Carpet and It's a Cat's World... You Just Live In It. She has also been published in several veterinary textbooks, and has been aired on radio and television to promote preventive medicine, animal health and the overall well-being of pets. Dr. Lee is a contributing author for various breed newsletters, Prevention magazine and is a blogger for “The Daily Vet” on PetMD.
