Dr. Jeff and Dr. Petra of ‘Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet’ Are Married Animal Rescuers

Dr. Jeff and wife Dr. Petra are back for a new season of Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet on Animal Planet, with new episodes airing Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET. — and plenty of heart-warming stories in store!

Take the episode airing tonight, Saturday, May 14, for example. In “Old Dog, New Hope,” Dr. Jeff and his colleagues embark — or should we say “em-bark” — to find a Pomeranian named Ginger a forever home. Meanwhile, a dog with a habit of ingesting household objects has to go under the knife, and a gecko named Jimmy gives the vets a surprise.

With Season 8 underway, here’s more information on Dr. Jeff, his relationship, his reality show, and his veterinarian practice!

As of the current season of Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet, Dr. Jeff and Dr. Petra are indeed still married, as Animal Planet noted in a March 24 press release. In this eighth season of the docuseries, the married couple and their vet tech Hector head to an old Colorado mining town called Leadville to open a new clinic in an abandoned restaurant and “provide desperately needed vet care to an underserved mountain community,” the network adds.

But Dr. Jeff isn’t giving up his practice in Denver, of course. Back in the Mile High City, his colleague Dr. Baier treats a sneezing parrot, and his daughter Melody realizes that her rescue dog Freya has a mass. Meanwhile, Dr. Petra swings into action when clinic receptionist Jerri’s new puppy falls ill.

According to the release, this season of Dr. Jeff Rocky Mountain Vet also features a raccoon injured by an illegal trap, a goose injured by a fishhook, a puppy that requires reconstructive surgery, a Labrador Retriever that got hurt trying to protect its owner, and a Yorkshire Terrier that’s having difficulty walking.

“On a growing mission to make vet care affordable for everyone, the Planned Pethood International staff tackles unusual cases — and extraordinary new projects — to help more pets and owners than ever before,” Animal Planet adds. “From baffling ailments to bizarre mishaps, every beloved pet gets the care it needs, at a fraction of the cost quoted elsewhere.”

Dr. Jeff worked an animal control officer during his training at Colorado State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, according to his bio, and he witnessed pet abuse and neglect while on the job. So, in 1990 — the year after he graduated — Dr. Jeff opened Planned Pethood’s clinic in Wheat Ridge, Colo., with a mission to reduce pet overpopulation and to provide pets and their owners with affordable care.

That Denver-area clinic gave rise to Planned Pethood International, through which Dr. Jeff has opened veterinary hospitals in Bratislava, Slovakia, and in Merida, Mexico, and the profits from those locations go toward trading new veterinarians and building new clinics. And over an-18-year span, Dr. Jeff sterilized more than 160,000 animals and trained more than 300 veterinarians. Sounds paws-itively impressive!