Mark Martin: A passion for the health of animals

A new pet store has opened in Warner Robins and owner Mark Martin is making his passion known for the animals. Martin opened his franchise of Pet Supplies Plus earlier this month located on Russell Parkway.

The Michigan native, after he was born, grew up in Georgia until his teen years and then made his way back to the peach state when he opened his first store in Athens. Originally, Martin said he wanted to be a veterinarian but when applying for school, he couldn’t get in due to affirmative action.

“The University of Georgia and Michigan State were changing their standards, so if you were in the minority or a woman, it was different for a white male,” said Martin. “I couldn’t get in even though my scores were 80 percent higher than those in the vet program that year. I got frustrated and decided to become a house painter, and my parents were not real happy about paying for all my school.”

Within that year, the business Martin had been working for, the owner’s health had become bad. Martin then decided to start his own painting business. One day, he said he was painting a Pet Supplies Plus store and got to know the owner, and a few years later is when he got into the franchise.

“The paint business was really good to me. I had a lot of commercial work, but it was hard work and to tell the truth, my heart wasn’t fully invested,” said Martin. “I’ve always had a passion for animals and I wanted to get back to that. I also chose this franchise because they really care more about the health and well being of animals than profit.”

Warner Robins makes Martin’s sixth location and is soon to have a seventh in Macon. Martin said he also hopes within the next couple of years to open one in Perry. Martin also has his own animal rescue called DRAR (Disaster Response Animal Rescue). The name comes from when he started the rescue after hurricane Katrina.

“When I saw the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, I told my wife I don’t know what I can do, but I want to help,” said Martin. “I then loaded up my truck and headed for New Orleans. I spent nine weeks doing animal rescue. I became overwhelmed because I was coming across 80 animals a day but was only able to carry five at a time. So, my wife put out an announcement online and within the next couple of days, I had 100 volunteers helping me. Total we rescued over 15,000 animals and re-homed some of them as well. The rescue is now located in Athens, Georgia, and we do not take donations, it runs on the funds from adoption fees.”

Growing up, Martin’s family had a Clydesdale horse farm, and when he moved to Georgia in 2003, he brought the farm with him. He said he has 50 of them and one was featured with him in the 2017 Synovus Super Bowl commercial.

“It was one of those at the right place and right time opportunities,” said Martin. “But it was really cool and super grateful I got to do it. I can’t really drop the name, but our horses have also been leased to a manufacturer of a large beer brand in America. We kept the farm because Clydesdales are at risk of being endangered because they don’t serve the purpose they did 100 years ago, which was for farming. They are the most beautiful animals.”

“I want people to know I really do care and have a passion for animals,” he said. “I spend time in my stores educating our customers about the different food products, and most of them don’t realize what they had been feeding their animals. Most veterinarians have four hours of nutrition training; I have over 100 hours. We are the voice for animals and they depend on us.”

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