The newly opened Port City Animal Hospital is set to celebrate with the community during a grand opening reception and ribbon-cutting event on Saturday, Sept. 29. Pet owners and animal lovers alike can join Port City from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the animal hospital on 492 Jimmy DeLoach Parkway in Savannah. In addition to the ribbon cutting, the event will feature family friendly activities, such as face painting and a photo booth. Additionally, tours of the new facility will be available, and refreshments will be served.

To celebrate a new partnership with the nonprofit SD Gunner Fund, Port City Animal Hospital will also hold a raffle during the grand opening, with prizes ranging from $200 in free veterinary care, to gift cards and baskets of pet goodies. All raffle proceeds will benefit SD Gunner Fund, which helps local veterans and special-needs children with the financial aspect of securing service animals. In another facet of the new partnership, Port City Animal Hospital owner, Dr. Jeremy Faris, will be providing veterinary care to several of the service dogs SD Gunner trains.

Faris, who has been practicing in Savannah since 2012, said he’s looking forward to marking this special occasion with the community he has come to know and love, and he hopes to meet some new friends as well.

“This has been my vision since the very beginning of vet school – to offer vet medicine in my own way. I think our clients will come to find me as different from other veterinarians. Hopefully good different,” he said with a laugh. “I might be more straightforward, but I want pet owners to have all the information they need to make the best choices for their pets as well as their families.”

Faris grew up in the small town of Warren, Rhode Island. He earned his Bachelor's degree at Virginia Tech in 2005 and graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. He has been calling Savannah home ever since. He and his wife Janell have three children, Madeline, George and Hazel.