His original dreams were to either be an NBA professional basketball player or a fearless ecologist engrossed in the depths of the Amazon rainforest or across the African savanna. However, chance encounters with three veterinarians while traveling in his mid-twenties in locales far from where he grew up changed the course of his career choices.

 

A Northern Californian, he was born in Berkeley. Later, the family moved to the other side of the Berkely hills to the community of Moraga. He attended Santa Clara University where he was a collegiate basketball player and received a bachelor’s degree in biology. After graduation he moved to Melbourne, Australia to pursue his passion for the sport of basketball where he played the sport in the land down under for five years. He also coached basketball and taught biology for five years at Haileybury College. Additionally, he researched kangaroo parasites at James Cook University.

At an expatriate Thanksgiving dinner in Melbourne, Doug was introduced to Nancy, a pretty blonde, blue-eyed Southern California girl who was getting ready to embark on an epic trip. Melbourne. At the same expat Thanksgiving gathering, he was introduced to a wildlife veterinarian from the State of Victoria. He was intrigued by the Australian vet’s captivating  stories of treating injured kangaroos, cockatoos, giant emus and wombats.

He and Nancy reconnected after her travels and then spent one year traveling together, studying wildlife in their natural habitat in places such as New Guinea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Africa. Along the way they met two individuals working with animals in the wild - one that worked with tigers in Chitwan National Park in Nepal and the other a French veterinarian who worked in Thailand rehabilitating elephants.

Those three seemingly unrelated experiences with veterinarians overseas unexpectedly shaped Coward’s path at UC Davis, redirecting his plans from pursuing a PhD in ecology to studying veterinary science at the renowned UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. So, after earning  Masters in Ecology in 1981, he continued his studies earning his Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine.

Thus, this is the story of the man who became an accidental veterinarian though various encounters and life’s twists and turns. 

 Doug Coward was the only student in his class of 120 who was determined and committed to becoming a wildlife veterinarian. But upon graduation Doug had a disheartening reality check. He needed a real job … he had no desire to be just a pet vet, however, there were no jobs posted for a wildlife veterinarian anywhere. He had high hopes of working and taking care of the needs of California’s sea otters, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats and deer. His desire was to be California State’s wildlife vet. Unfortunately that one position available was already filled by another veterinarian.

His alternative plan was to return to one of the more exotic, wildlife-rich places he had visited before attending UC Davis. His keen observations had revealed that animals living in the wild in their natural habitats appeared much healthier than family pets. Luckily, during his extensive search for a wildlife veterinary clinic where he could begin his career, his wife, Nancy found a clinic in Long Beach that was offering an internship at Long Beach Animal Hospital, a teaching hospital. It was a Mixed Animal practice treating wildlife, reptiles, birds, rabbits, rats, dogs and cats. Doug was familiar with the writings of Dr. Thorson the man who ran the clinic. He had often referenced Dr. Thorson’s writings about dermatologic diseases of wildlife and exotic animals several times when he was doing his fourth-year rotations in primate medicine, zoological medicine and laboratory animal care. He had used the thoroughly researched information when treating animals' skin conditions.

So, there he was, a Northern Californian settling into life in the SoCal beach town of Seal Beach working alongside an unconventional vet, who said to him on the first day of his veterinary career, “There’s the right way, the wrong way, the UC Davis way, and then there’s my way. We do things my way.” His first patient was a pet skunk.

Doug and Nancy soon had two young daughters and by 1988 had made their way to San Clemente falling in love with the quieter pace of the sleepy surf town. Doug was waiting to take over a practice in Monterey from a vet who was retiring. However, once again life intervened and the original plan and partnership did not materialize as originally planned instead, after working as a relief vet for several clinics in south Orange County he was able to acquire the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo in 1991.

   While Coward was unfamiliar with running the business side of a busy veterinary clinic, Nancy willingly set up a home office and handled all the nitty, gritty tasks, including payroll, supply orders, employee benefits, and insurance. Working remotely allowed her to stay home with their young girls. 

Doug and his staff took a holistic approach to treating all the various pets that came through the door of the clinic. He advised minimal treatment and surgery only if essential. His holistic training had started with Dr. Thorson - treating “the cause, not the symptoms.” However, his biggest aha moment came when he and his family stopped at a winery in Paso Robles. He saw the healthiest dog he had ever seen running happily about the property. The Labrador was lively, energetic, and had a glossy coat. He was so curious about this vibrant dog that he decided to speak to the dog’s owner. She said he had severe hip dysplasia as a puppy. The breeder said she could return the puppy, he would be euthanized, and she would be given a replacement puppy. Well, the woman refused that option instead finding a holistic chiropractor in Monterey who said feed the puppy human food, meat and veggies, gave him vitamin C and a human multivitamin … completely cured. 

Doug knew this went against everything he had been taught in vet school. He checked out a book from the San Clemente library about good nutrition for dogs and cats and was introduced through the book to the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHMA.) This organization promotes whole food diets and minimal vaccines. So, Dr. Coward joined the association immediately. Meanwhile he had five dogs waiting for hip surgeries. He contacted each dog owner to inquire whether they would consider alternative care options while waiting for their dog's surgery. All five dogs recovered on whole food and a few supplements, no drugs, no surgery. This was 40 years ago when alternative, holistic care of pets was not widely practiced.

With his more conservative approach, limiting surgery and minimal vaccines he and his great staff began treating pets with a more holistic approach including whole food, some supplements and daily exercise. With Nancy working the business side remotely and his girls growing up in an idyllic surf town, Doug fell into a rhythm of life - surfing at dawn, working long hours and saving pets as his life and practice continued to thrive. 

During his career, he observed that some pet owners in his practice began adopting similar self-care practices as their pets, such as consuming whole foods and engaging in outdoor exercise, to improve their health. Twenty-five years ago, he became aware that his personal health was in jeopardy. He was diagnosed with autoimmune Celiac disease and crippling rheumatoid arthritis most likely brought on by toxic jobs as a youngster, long hours, lack of sleep, massive amounts of coffee and joint strain from his basketball days. He too had to make significant changes to his diet and lifestyle - including more sleep. Both conditions were completely cured by the right gluten free food and the elimination of processed food.

Over the years his patient’s families asked Doug to write about ‘the miraculous healing miracles of whole food and the deadly damaging effects of processed food for people and pets!’ He had kept copious journals and notebooks beginning in 1975 documenting his life in Australia and travels to various locales around the world. He had treated so many pets that other vets were ready to euthanize. His passion for taking care of pets was infectious, so he had painstakingly chronicled seven years, filling 17 notebooks with his true stories of healing pets and their owners. The result is an encouraging and inspiring book filled with heartwarming anecdotes about healing and extending the life of numerous pets through conscientious care. 

An old Ayurvedic Proverb says - “When diet is wrong medicine is of no use, When diet is correct, medicine is of no need” -  it serves as the foundation of how Dr. Doug Coward has run his practice of healing at the Animal and Bird Clinic of Mission Viejo.