Dr. Scott Sims, the barefoot veterinarian from Kauai whose love of animals was showcased on the reality show “Aloha Vet,” died Saturday after a two-month fight with bladder cancer. He was 59.
“Aloha Vet” aired this spring on Nat Geo WILD, and Sims was in talks for a second season when he was diagnosed June 1.
Nat Geo WILD announced Sims’ death, saying he was “a great guy who truly loved caring for animals.”
“Famous for answering calls day and night to care for his patients, he truly embodied the spirit of our network by always putting animals first, and for that he will be greatly missed,” the network said in an emailed statement. “Our only consolation is that we got to share his incredible talent and humanity with the world, if just for one season.”
Sims was popular on Kauai, but he treated animals across the state, flying to other islands in a small plane he built himself. People loved his passion for saving stricken animals — a guinea pig with a tumor, a goat with a hernia, an unconscious horse in a rocky streambed.
There’s even a pig out there that can see again, thanks to Sims.
Sims said in June that his illness was a reality check with a silver lining.
“Would I wish this on anybody?” he said. “Of course not. But is it all bad? No, it isn’t all bad. I get to tell people I care about that I care about them. And they can tell that to me. And those are good things.”
Sims was an animal lover his whole life. An only child, he grew up on an acre of land in Danville, Calif., surrounded by horses, dogs, cats and birds. He was barefoot more often than not — a habit he retained in adulthood, whether driving or flying.
“My mom and dad always had trouble keeping shoes on me,” he said during an interview in March. “It drove my dad crazy.”
Sims graduated in 1984 from the University of California, Davis, with a degree in veterinary medicine. He practiced in California until about 14 years ago, when he moved from Novato to Kauai.
The move surprised friends but not as much as Sims. For most of his life he had never been interested in coming to Hawaii, but at the urging of a woman he knew, Sims visited Maui. It was more rural than he expected and definitely prettier.
“I had seen all the pictures of hotels in Waikiki, and I’m a country guy, not a city person,” he said. “I went home and started closing doors.”
He settled on Kauai, however, and brought his parents with him when they were in their 80s. Both have since died.
When he moved to Hawaii, Sims figured he would work part time. Instead, he wound up working 70 hours a week.
“I have real trouble saying no when someone comes in and needs some help,” he said in March.
Sims has no survivors. A Nat Geo WILD spokeswoman said that Sims was never married and had no children.
