Meet Our Veterinarians
Dr. Richard J. Howard
DVM, MS
Surgery
Dr. Howard graduated from Auburn University with his D.V.M. degree in 1977, and worked for two years in small animal practice before entering a small animal surgical residency program at Kansas State University. After completing his residency and earning a Master’s degree, he continued on at the KSU Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital as an assistant professor in small animal surgery.
In the summer of 1983, Dr. Howard moved to Oregon, living in Grant’s Pass briefly before coming to Portland to establish the Animal Surgical Practice of Portland in early 1984. Dr. Howard’s surgical interest, expertise include general soft tissue reconstruction, gastrointestinal, oncologic, thoracic and orthopedic surgery. Dr. Howard studied with the late Dr. Barclay Slocum and was the first licensed surgeon to perform the TPLO procedure (1994).
Dr. Howard is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, the Portland Veterinary Medical Association, and the Association for Veterinary Research and Education.
Dr. Howard has three grown children, two boys and a girl, as well as a dog. His personal interests include running with friends and his dog, and biking.
Dr. Michael Flynn
DVM, DAVCS
Surgery
Dr. Flynn attended veterinary school at Louisiana State University from 1984-88, where he graduated 1st in his class. He then completed a one year internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston, followed by a 3-year residency in small animal surgery at North Carolina State University. A surgical implant that he developed during his residency is currently in widespread use in the treatment of hip dislocations. Following completion of his residency in 1992, Dr. Flynn spent the next 4 years on faculty at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, initially as a clinical instructor the first year, and subsequently as an assistant professor.
He became board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1995. Dr. Flynn left the university to enter private referral practice in Michigan in 1996, and later moved to Portland in 1999. Dr. Flynn’s surgical expertise encompasses a wide range of soft-tissue surgery, orthopedics and neurosurgery. He has particular interest and experience in the areas of oncologic and reconstructive surgery.
Dr. Flynn is a member of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Veterinary Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Portland Veterinary Medical Association. He has lectured frequently at local and national meetings. Dr. Flynn enjoys all forms of outdoor activity, and pursues his passion for fly-fishing every opportunity he gets.
Dr. Benjamin Spall
DVM, MS
Surgery
Dr. Benjamin Spall graduated from Oklahoma State University with his D.V.M. degree in 2010 and completed a small animal rotating internship at Washington State University in 2011. He then moved to Miami, Florida for a one-year surgical internship and returned to Washington State University the following year for his surgical residency and Master’s degree. After completing his residency and earning a Master’s degree, he started work at Bluepearl Oklahoma City in 2015.
Dr. Spall attributes his career choice to two things: growing up with two Newfoundland’s in Michigan and his interest in science as an undergrad. He loves being a part of the progression of surgical cases that start as fractures or lameness and end with a pain-free pet. His clinical interests include orthopedic and neurologic procedures especially fracture repair, arthroscopy and IVDD treatment.
He has given lectures at multiple national conferences, including being a recipient of the Mark Bloomberg Research Award at the Veterinary Orthopedic Society conference in 2015. He has also published a recent research paper on supraspinatus tendinopathy in the Journal of Veterinary Surgery.
Dr. Spall moved back to the Pacific Northwest in the spring of 2017 after becoming engaged to Dr. Kelly Freese who practices veterinary medicine in Seaview, Washington.
Dr. Spall’s lifestyle is active and includes boating, hiking, skiing, biking and both playing and watching sports. He also enjoys listening to music and spending time with his family and golden retriever, Waldo.
Dr. Megan Nyboer
DVM
Emergency
Dr. Nyboer grew up in sunny Southern California before obtaining her biology undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Nyboer then moved to Upstate New York to attend the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. She received several awards during veterinary school, including Evan’s Comparative Anatomy Award and Robert E. Clark, DVM 1952 Scholarship. She also worked extensively with the Cornell Wildlife Health Clinic and several shelter and low-cost veterinary clinics in the area. Dr. Nyboer completed a rotating internship at Emergency and Critical Care department of Aspen Meadow Veterinary Specialists in Colorado. At that time, she moved back to California for 7 years, with employment as an emergency veterinarian in Oakland, at a VCA specialty and emergency hospital. She recently moved to Portland, Oregon, in order to become Emergency Director at Cascade Veterinary Referral Center. She is currently a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS), and the Cornell Feline Health Center.
Dr. Nyboer’s passion lies in emergency medicine, pain management, and caring for critically ill patients. However she also enjoys surgery, cardiology, shelter medicine and feline medicine. She is also interested in veterinary pharmacology, and she strives to integrate new and useful medications into the veterinary field. Dr. Nyboer loves to travel! During veterinary school, she worked in Sri Lanka at an elephant conservation, and in Namibia, Africa at a cheetah conservation. She has also been to Japan, Thailand, Central and South America, Fiji, and Europe. Dr. Nyboer recently bought a home in Portland, which she shares with her animal family members – 6 cats, a small Terrier, named Madison, and a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, named Freya. On her days off, she enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking and rock climbing, camping, yoga, and snowboarding.
Dr. Brad Johnson
DVM
Emergency & Surgery
Dr. Brad Johnson was born and raised in Georgia, earning his Bachelor and DVM degrees at the University of Georgia, in Athens. He has practiced almost exclusively in the emergency medicine and surgery arena, most recently at Dove Lewis in Portland and the Emergency Veterinary Hospital of Eugene/Springfield.
His areas of interest include soft tissue surgery, pain management, and any emergent veterinary problem. Dr. Johnson enjoys hiking, snowboarding and kayaking in his down time as well as hanging out with his son and daughter. Biscuit the Border Collie is his canine sidekick!
Dr. Jessie Barber
DVM
Emergency & Critical Care
Dr. Jessie Barber attended veterinary school at The University of Minnesota and went through an intensive emergency and critical
care internship at Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center. She started in the veterinary field as a kennel technician at the age of 15, and then became an RVT working at an emergency specialty clinic in Northern California prior to vet school.
Dr. Barber has an interest in emergency, critical care, geriatric, and feline medicine. Professional goals include becoming certified in ultrasound and endoscopy.
At home, she spends her free time with her 4 dogs, 3 black cats, her tabby cat Phoebe who she foster-failed as a kennel technician, and “entertains” her tolerant husband with her dry humor. Hobbies include drinking coffee, reading mystery novels, playing video and board games, and anything else introverted.
Dr. Katharine Tomalty
DVM
Emergency & Surgery
Dr. Tomalty grew up in Arizona before moving west for college at Stanford University. She attended veterinary school at the University of California, Davis and also completed a PhD in integrative genomics as part of their veterinary scientist training program. Following veterinary school she moved to Portland for a small animal rotating internship at Northwest Veterinary Specialists, where she stayed on as a member of their emergency and critical care team after completing her internship. Her interests center around emergency management and care for critically ill patients. She also has a strong interest in emergency surgery, non-domestic species and wildlife management. Dr. Tomalty lives in Portland with her husband, her dog, and two cats.