Dr. David Thomson attended Harvard University, graduating in 1976. After spending a year as an assistant shepherd in Wales, he went south to attend the Tuskegee Institute School of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama, graduating in 1982. Following graduation, Dr. Thomson undertook a 14-month internship program at Rowley Memorial Animal Hospital/MSPCA in Springfield. He then stayed on as a staff doctor, taking care of a large caseload and being mentored in surgery by Dr. Joseph Stoyak.

In 1988, Dr. Thomson was accepted into the three-year residency program in surgery at the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Following successful completion of the program, Dr. Thomson returned to the MSPCA/Angell Memorial Animal Hospital West in Springfield, where he joined the staff as a surgeon.

In the fall of 1999, he and Ann McEwen opened Riverbend Animal Hospital. Initially Dr. Thomson handled all the wellness care, medicine and surgery cases. Since 2004, however, as the referral-surgery side of the practice grew, his work has been exclusively in surgery.

David lives in Northampton with his wife and a small gang of animals: Tiny Tim (pug), Jackson (golden retriever), and 2 cats (Louise and Clementine). They have two sons, Jamie and Mikey. In his free time David loves to run, hike (especially in the Grand Canyon), travel, read, ski, canoe, and putter on the Connecticut River in his little Boston Whaler.

Dr. Margaret (Peg) Burgess has over 30 years combined experience in large and small animal clinical practice. She graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in neurobiology and behavior in 1975. She went on to earn her DVM degree from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell in 1979.

While in college, Dr. Burgess was an instructor in a laboratory section of the introductory biology class as well as a swimming instructor. She also worked as a phlebotomist, blood bank, and medical lab technician for the regional hospital.

After graduating, Dr. Burgess worked the next seven years at the Nassau Veterinary Clinic where she treated dairy cattle, horses, and small animals. She next worked at several small-animal hospitals in Pennsylvania, including a stint as a house-call veterinarian.

Peg moved to western Massachusetts in 2007 and lives on a mountaintop farm in Southampton with her husband and an assortment of pets and 4H ponies left by her college aged children. Her interests include trail riding, snowboarding, and driving her favorite toy, a John Deere tractor.

Dr. Christina (Tina) White grew up in the Boston area. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Michigan and worked for two years as a research chemist in the bio-tech industry. She returned to her love for animals and earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1996 from the University of California, Davis. In 2017, she became certified in Veterinary Medical Acupuncture. Dr. White is a member of AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners) and IVAPM (International Veterinary Association of Pain Management).

Dr. White has worked at small-animal hospitals in the Bay area in California, suburban Philadelphia, and Massachusetts, as well as at feline practices in Chicago and in Maryland. In 2013, Dr. White led Riverbend through the certification process to become a Cat Friendly Practice through AAFP and is our designated cat advocate. She has special interests in geriatric medicine and pain management in small animals.

Tina lives in Florence, MA, with her husband of 25 years, two sons, and her animals: Misty and Ray (tabby cats), and Maki, her adorable Golden Retriever. Tina loves hiking, cross country skiing, kayaking, and spends free time watching her boys at baseball games, swim meets, and track meets. She is pleased to be back in Massachusetts and working with the fabulous team at Riverbend!

Growing up as one of five siblings on a Kansas farm, Dr. Blanton always knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up: a veterinarian, of course! “Who could imagine a better job than playing with animals all day?”, says Dr Blanton, who received her DVM degree from Washington State University in 1991.

Dr. Blanton is particularly interested in internal medicine, animal behavior and the human-animal bond. One of her most memorable veterinary experiences was setting the broken leg of a sweet and very pregnant rat. Dr. Blanton’s hard work was well rewarded when the rat’s ten year old owner brought her pet back to the hospital for a visit 1 month later, accompanied by a litter of eight, one of whom was named Harriet!

In her free time, Dr. Blanton enjoys hiking, knitting, reading, bird-watching and cooking. she shares her home with her geologist husband, Tim, Ollie (a terrier mix), Maddie (a St. Bernard mix), two aging “aristocats” named Jospehina and Naomi and a cockatiel named Walter.