"I became a vet because it was the only thing I ever wanted to do. There isn't a type of animal I haven't looked in the eyes and wondered how it was feeling." - Dr. Jan Pol

AMERICA'S FAVORITE VETERINARIAN IS BACK WITH A WORLD PREMIERE SPECIAL ABOUT HIS INSPIRING PERSONAL STORY

Nat Geo WILD's The Incredible Dr. Pol Reveals Amusing and Poignant Tales From His Four Decades as a Vet in Rural America and Beyond

Incredible! The Story of Dr. Pol Premieres Saturday, Jan. 10 at 10 PM ET/PT Following the Season Premiere at 9 PM ET/PT On Nat Geo WILD

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 16, 2014) A young man from the Netherlands falls in love and moves to the United States - the country of opportunity. He lives the American dream by raising a family and starting his own veterinary business in central Michigan, which over the years has become a thriving practice. Little did he know that, at the age of 70, he would become a global television star. He's our No. 1 man, and now we're revealing what makes him The Incredible Dr. Pol.

Nat Geo WILD cameras have followed Dr. Pol for five years, shadowing him as he saves lives, births baby animals large and small and cares for thousands of species throughout rural Michigan. Now for the first time, he shares his personal story about how a Dutch farm boy grew up to become a world-famous veterinarian, in a new world premiere bio special, Incredible! The Story of Dr. Pol, premiering Saturday, Jan. 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Nat Geo WILD. (For more information, visit www.natgeowild.com/drpol and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/NGC_PR.)

We go back to his childhood in the Netherlands during World War II, and hear about his move to the American Midwest to follow his dream of becoming a veterinarian. We learn how he met and fell in love with his wife of 50 years, and talk to the people in his community who count on him to keep their animals healthy, day and night, rain or shine. By his estimate, his practice has treated more than half a million animals and counting. We bring you the best of those stories.

"Diane came out of the crowd, first thing I say, 'man, she's tall.' We got along fine, it seemed like Diane and I had the same interests an awful lot. We love the beach, we love to go swimming, so we had a lot of hobbies that were together," says Dr. Pol.

He also shares his life-changing moments, including the joy of delivering a litter of piglets on his family's farm when he was 12 years old and how that started his journey of working with animals. This is the personal history of a man who has become perhaps the hardest working, most empathetic, no-nonsense vet who isn't afraid to make the difficult decisions in order to do what's best for his patients and their hard-working owners.

"Be honest with your clients. That was always first. Work hard, and if you don't know what the problem is, don't be afraid to admit it," says Pol in the special.

He's got wit, brains and a heart of gold. Dr. Pol's passion and love for animals is clear as we take a walk down memory lane to uncover the good doctor's past.

The new year will also ring in the new season of The Incredible Dr. Pol, premiering Saturday, Jan. 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. We'll learn more about his love of his vintage cars and follow along as he treats rural Michigan's finest furry friends, including horses, pigs, cows, sheep, alpacas, cats and dogs. This season, watch Dr. Pol treat a goat for pneumonia, a horse unable to keep his meal down and a pig in desperate need of stitches. It's another busy time at the clinic, as the animals need care and attention to keep farmers' businesses thriving.

The Incredible Dr. Pol is produced by National Geographic Television for Nat Geo WILD. For National Geographic Television, executive producer is Ted Duvall and co-executive producer is Andrea Schwartzberg. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Jenny Apostol and executive vice president and general manager is Geoff Daniels.

# # #

About Nat Geo WILD

For more than 30 years, National Geographic has been the leader in wildlife programming. The networks Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo WILD HD, launched in 2010, offer intimate encounters with nature's ferocious fighters and gentle creatures of land, sea and air that draw upon the cutting-edge work of the many explorers, filmmakers and scientists of the National Geographic Society. Part of the National Geographic Channels US, based in Washington, D.C., the networks are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks. In 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) debuted, and 10 years later, Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with Nat Geo WILD currently available in over 58 million U.S. homes. Globally, Nat Geo WILD is available in more than 144 million homes in 140 countries and 28 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeowild.com.