Dr. Richard William Pyne

Dr. Richard William Pyne, M.V.B., M.R.C.V.S., of Fallbrook, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 at the age of 66 following his valiant fight against cancer. He was a loving husband to his wife Patricia and proud father to Brett, Tiffany and Nicole.

He was born in Dublin, Ireland on Nov. 10, 1945, the son of Michael and Catherine Pyne. He grew up in Kildare Town in the County of Kildare, Ireland and graduated from high school from St. Joseph’s Academy in Kildare. He was immediately accepted into the Royal Veterinary College of Ireland at University College Dublin in the fall of 1963, graduating in 1968 as a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

From 1968 to 1972, he practiced veterinary medicine in Ireland. In 1972, he passed the California State Board examinations in veterinary medicine at U.C. Davis. He moved to California from Ireland later that year and began practicing in the city of Monrovia. He was the first graduate from University College Dublin Veterinary College to practice in California.

Dr. Pyne began practicing at the Fallbrook Veterinary Hospital, and built up a successful practice, attracting a loyal client base from across the San Diego region over the past 19 years. He made Fallbrook Veterinary Hospital widely known due to his exceptional diagnostic and surgical skills, Irish accent, humor, charm, and compassion for sick animals. He always said he wanted to be a country doctor and that is what he became. He was known simply as “The Doc” to most of his clients. He was “Liam” to his friends and family.

He excelled in taking care of badly injured animals. He was humble and generous, and he treated everybody with dignity, never turning away a sick animal whose owner lacked the ability to pay. Back in the late 1980s he was featured on Los Angeles television stations for his treatment of an injured dog that had been tied to a railway track and hit by a train. The dog was found by locals and taken to him for emergency care. Lacking the resources to pay the care, the rescuers turned to local television stations for help. Thousands of dollars poured in. The dog survived and Dr. Pyne donated all of the contributions.

Dr. Pyne was preceded in death by his parents, Michael and Catherine Pyne. He is survived by his wife Patricia and children Brett and Tiffany of Fallbrook and Nicole of Portland, Ore.; his three siblings, Tom (Monica) of Brookfield, Wis.; Paraic, of Blarney Village, Ireland; sister Ita McGill (Garan) and three nieces, Grainne, Fionnuala and Orla, of Letchworth, Herfordshire, England.

He leaves behind a very loyal staff at Fallbrook Veterinary Hospital: Nicole, Denise, Jill, Mike, Ubaldo, Alexis, and longtime business colleague and friend, Dr. Nabil Nasre, and an especially close personal friend, Nancy Makowski. He will be particularly missed by his many “two-legged” and “four-legged” friends.

The family would like to thank his doctors, nurses and other caregivers at The Moores Cancer Center at UCSD’s Thornton Hospital in La Jolla for their expert and compassionate care over the past year.

Dr. Pyne’s funeral services will be held at St. Peter’s Community Catholic Church, 450 South Stage Coach Lane, Fallbrook, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 with the celebration of the Funeral Mass at 1 p.m. followed by the Rite of Committal and interment at the Fallbrook Masonic Cemetery. Donations may be made to the Fallbrook Animal Sanctuary, P.O. Box 159, Fallbrook, CA 92088.