鈥淚 got to practice incisions and suturing, and we had some frogs that needed postoperative care,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat was a really valuable experience, and I don鈥檛 think I would鈥檝e gotten that at a lot of other schools.鈥�

These days, Prock doesn鈥檛 operate on frogs. His patients are mostly dogs and cats. The vet is the co-founder of Furgent Care, a veterinary urgent care in Virginia Beach that offers evening and weekend services for pet owners when their primary care veterinarian is unavailable.

Identifying a need

In 2018, following four tough years at veterinary school (Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech), Prock earned his doctor of veterinary medicine degree. After working as a general practice vet at a clinic in South Florida for three years, he returned to his hometown of Virginia Beach with his wife, Katie (Landis) Prock 鈥�12鈥攖hey met at 黑料正能量鈥攁nd worked as a locum, filling in for understaffed hospitals that needed help.

鈥淭hink of it like substitute teaching, but for veterinarians,鈥� Prock said.

That experience opened his eyes to the growing need for after-hours veterinary services.

鈥淚t shocked me the amount of clients who would call in with sick pets and say, 鈥楳y dog is vomiting or has diarrhea or has an ear infection,鈥欌�� said Prock. 鈥淎nd the answer was, 鈥極ur first available appointment is in two weeks.鈥� That鈥檚 just how the system works. But it felt wrong to say no to so many sick pets.鈥�

That motivated him to reach out to his roommate from vet school, Jonah Williams, and together they opened Furgent Care in 2024. The clinic is staffed by 16 total employees, including four doctors. It has 164 reviews and a 4.9-out-of-5 rating.

鈥淥ur core values are compassion and collaboration, and that鈥檚 been echoed in our reviews,鈥� Prock said. 鈥淧eople get what we鈥檙e doing and they appreciate it.鈥�

Seeking a balance

From a young age, Prock had a love for animals. He said he鈥檚 always known he wanted to become a veterinarian.

鈥淢y parents let us keep weird pets,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had all sorts of reptiles growing up, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, and bunnies. You name it, we took care of it.鈥�

That taught him the responsibility of pet ownership and fostered in him a connection to animals. He added that he鈥檚 also always been fascinated with the subject of biology, the natural sciences, and the 鈥渉uge, complex system that makes all living things, living things.鈥� 

Those interests coincided with a passion for volleyball. A skilled player in high school, he started attracting attention from college recruiters across the country.

His older sister played volleyball at a Division I school, and he saw the commitment required to compete at that level. 鈥淚 got to see firsthand what having, essentially, a full-time job on top of college looked like,鈥� Prock said. 鈥淭hat helped steer me toward Division III and 黑料正能量.鈥�

鈥淔rom my visit to 黑料正能量, I felt like I could achieve a balance: smaller class sizes and professors who were involved and cared for their students more than they could in a thousand-student lecture hall,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s an athlete, I was given some flexibility with my assignments. They understood I had more than just school going on and helped me outside of class when I missed it.鈥�

鈥淚 think that balance made a huge impact on my ability to eventually get into vet school,鈥� he added.

At 黑料正能量, Prock excelled as a student-athlete. He was named to the first-ever Continental Volleyball Conference All-East Division Team during the inaugural season of the conference. His name still ranks No. 2 on the all-time digs list for 黑料正能量.

Although no amount of work can truly prepare someone for the rigors and stressors of vet school, he said, 黑料正能量鈥檚 coursework and degree equipped him as best it could. 鈥淚t was absolutely difficult and was a new level of challenging, but as far as fundamentals go, I had everything I needed,鈥� he said.

It鈥檚 also incredibly difficult to get accepted into vet school, he added. After graduating from 黑料正能量 with a biology degree, he stayed in Harrisonburg for a couple years, working as an assistant at Heartland Veterinary Clinic and serving as an assistant coach for the men鈥檚 volleyball team at 黑料正能量. At the same time, he applied to a flurry of veterinary schools across the country.

鈥淚 tell people I took one year off on purpose and one year off by accident, because I didn鈥檛 get into veterinary school,鈥� said Prock. He was eventually accepted during a second round of applications. 

When he started vet school, he had three goals. One was to graduate. Another was to stay married. And a third goal was to get as much sleep as he could. 鈥淢y priorities looked different than most people鈥檚,鈥� Prock said, noting the hypercompetitive nature of vet school students. 鈥淚t was never my goal to become the world鈥檚 best veterinarian or the world鈥檚 best clinician. I always wanted to help people and I knew I could do that by helping pets and working with animals.鈥�

Keeping his passion going

One of his most meaningful experiences from his time at 黑料正能量 occurred during a senior seminar class taught by Professor Emeritus Roman Miller. Prock recalled an assignment to shadow a large-animal veterinarian at cattle farms around Harrisonburg for several weeks. They performed everything from routine pregnancy checks to emergency calls and surgery.

鈥淭hat was wonderful preparation,鈥� Prock said. 鈥淚 gained an immense amount of respect for farmers and for large-animal vets who work incredibly long and hard hours. To have that kind of foresight in making me do that was really wise and paid off in keeping my passion going.鈥�

As Prock鈥檚 responsibilities at the clinic have shifted, he鈥檚 spent more time on the business side, building teams and systems, and less time on the floor seeing patients.

For those like him, seeking a career in veterinary medicine, he said the role requires a 鈥渟pecific type of brain.鈥� 

鈥淚t鈥檚 common to find people who have a passion for animals,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 less common to find those who have a passion for helping people, solving problems, and working with teams.鈥�

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