I always knew I wanted to be a veterinarian. While growing up in San Diego and Orange County, I was the guy who fed and took care of the family pets, the one who volunteered at shelters, and took care of injured seabirds. My professional ambition has always been to relieve pain and suffering, while at the same time educating and activating others in order to improve the quality of lives of dogs and their families wherever they may live. In 2010, after 24 years of owning and operating veterinary hospitals and boarding kennels, I finally had my ah-ha moment…and that’s where this story really begins.
After coming home a little late from a surf trip one Saturday night, I realized I didn’t have one of the new keys to my veterinary hospital. I didn’t want to bother my hospital manager because she was off that weekend, so my dogs spent the next two nights in lock-up, in my own hospital! It was then and there, that I finally realized we were doing “it” wrong. “It,” simply put, was how the pet care industry was caring for dogs.
Dogs are not possessions, dogs are our family members. Dogs are one of the most social animals on earth and for the most part, they have a desperate desire to be with other dogs and people who want to give them positive attention. Dogs are curious, playful, and of course, loving. Dogs simply don’t care about stone finishes, flat screen TV’s, or themed “luxury” suites, they just want to have play and have fun!
So, I sold everything and started over. I set out to create a new kind of pet care facility: one built to nurture the nature of dogs in a loving, compassionate, and safe manner where we honored their instincts and nurtured their desires. The entire facility, from the materials used to build our space, to operating systems and staffing was created in harmony to provide the ideal “day in the life” for each and every one of our guests.
I’m incredibly proud of what we have created at Dr. Boyd’s Veterinary Resort and couldn’t be happier. Now, no matter what day I get home from a surf trip, I can go straight to Dr. Boyd’s Veterinary Resort and pick up my dogs from their own playcation. I love that!