Doug Herthel, DVM, passed away July 11 at the age of 71. | Photo: Courtesy UC Davis/Alamo Pintado

Doug Herthel, DVM, passed away July 11 at the age of 71.

Herthel earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and was a member of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) Class of 1971. It was at UC Davis where he met his wife, Sue. Shortly after completing his DVM studies, the pair founded what would become the Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center, in Los Olivos, California.

Over the years, the Herthels grew Alamo Pintado into one of the most well-known private practice equine referral hospitals in the nation. Their internship program routinely hosted UC Davis SVM students, and the facility attracted clients from around the country, most notably President Ronald Reagan, whose ranch was located nearby. Under Herthel’s leadership, Alamo Pintado was at the leading edge of adopting new technologies and offering them to clients, sometimes even before academic hospitals