Our Staff

• Dr. Dan E Parkinson , DVM, MS

  
  

  Dr Parkinson graduated with honors from the Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1982.  Riverview Animal Hospital was founded by Dr. Parkinson in 1998.  Previously, he operated the Mobile Veterinary Clinic, a small animal housecall practice in Durango and La Plata County, for fourteen years.  As a housecall veterinarian, Dr. Dan learned the importance of hands-on care and personal service.  He feels these are the cornerstones of a good practice.  Dr. Parkinson is married and has two children; Tommy, age 23, and Erin, age 22.  His wife, Laurie is the Office Manager at Riverview Animal Hospital.

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• Dr. Stacee Santi , DVM

  
  

  Stacee graduated with honors in 1996 from Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.  She practiced at a large 24 hour hospital in Portland, Oregon before joining Riverview Animal Hospital in March of 2002.  Stacee grew up in New Mexico and is happy to be closer to her family.

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• Dr. Randy Hays , DVM

  
  

  Dr. Hays joined the staff of Riverview in the spring of 2005.  He is a 2003 honors graduate of the Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine.  Dr. Hays is also certified in veterinary acupuncture.  He practiced for two years in Ft. Morgan, Colorado before moving to Durango.

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• Laurie Parkinson

  
  

  Laurie has been the office manager at Riverview since it was built in 1998.  Before that, she helped Dr. Parkinson with the Mobile Veterinary Clinic from 1984 until 1998. 

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• Bridget E Henderson , CVT

  
  

  Bridget graduated as a veterinary technician from Bel-Rea Institute in 1990.  Whe worked as a surgical tech for many years on the front range of Colorado before joining Riverview Animal Hospital in 2000 as head surgical technician.  Bridget enjoys hiking with her dogs, biking, skiing, gardening and spending time with her husband.

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• Rita M Lopez

  
  

  Rita has been a technician at Riverview Animal Hospital since 1999, and has been a veterinary technician for over 10 years.  She enjoys skiing and spending time on the river.  Her menagerie includes 3 dogs, 2 cats, 4 snakes, a scorpion and many fish.

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• Cynthia Van Der Leden

  
  

  Cynthia came to Riverview in the summer of 2005, moving here from the Houston area.  She worked for several years in an animal hospital in Houston.

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• Kassy Hahn

  
  

  Kassy relocated to the Durango area in 2006 and joined the staff at Riverview.  Her previous experience in veterinary medicine includes 17 years of working as a veterinary technician and 5 years of work in boarding facilities.  When not at work she loves to participate in outdoor activities, especially riding her horses.

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• Gail Gardner

  
  

  Gail has been with Riverview Animal Hospital since we moved into our new building in 1998.  She has been training dogs for over 30 years, and is the trainer for our Puppy Kindergarten, Basic Obedience, Canine Good Citizen and agility classes.  She shows her own dog "Oprah Win For Me", who is pursuing her titles in agility.

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• Emily LeMaire

  
  

  Emily began working at Riverview Animal Hospital in February of 2004; this has been her first experience working in an animal hospital.  She is learning very quickly and finds her job very rewarding.  Emily has 2 cats named Atlas and Monet, and she hopes to have a dog again someday.  She feels lucky to get her "dog fix" here at work.

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• Barbara Hjermstad

  
  

  Barbara's life aspiration came true when she finally started working with animals in the veterinary field in January, 2000, and she joined Riverview Animal Hospital in September, 2004.  She is happiest when she's interacting with her pets - - and yours!  She has 7 "children" - 2 dogs, 4 cats, and a tortoise.  Barbara always looks forward to helping and caring for your pets in any way she can.

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• Karyn Ekola

  
  

  Karyn worked part-time at Riverview while attending Ft. Lewis College.  After she graduated in January 2005 she joined our staff as a full-time receptionist and veterinary assistant.  Karyn is also an accomplished violinist, and enjoys the company of her husband and their two dogs and two cats.

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• Emily Spalding Byers

  
  

  Emily was born and raised in Chicago (go Bears!).  She did her undergraduate work at Fort Lewis College and earned her Masters in Animal Science at Colorado State University.  She was very happy to settle here in Durango with her husband, dog and 2 cats.

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• Andrew Kays

  
  

  Andrew is currently a student at Ft. Lewis College.  He was born in Washington, but moved to Colorado at the age of 2.  He has a strong desire to practice veterinary medicine later in his career, and has found Riverview Animal Hospital to be a great start.  He enjoys being exposed to many new elements of veterinary medicine each day.

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