Gretchen is an Animal Medical Center of Seattle veterinary assistant who had been looking to adopt a French bulldog for about a year. She came across a picture of Matcha, whose name was Menchie the Frenchie prior to her renaming him, on Petfinder where he was being held at a Bulldog Haven NW foster home in Bellevue, WA. Gretchen instantly fell in love with him and began to follow Matcha’s story, starting with Bulldog Haven NW plucking him out of a shelter in Puyallup. Matcha had been a stray and was emaciated when he was brought in to the Puyallup shelter. He also had a severe upper respiratory infection and brachycephalic airway syndrome. This was causing him to frequently hyperventilate as he was unable to adequately breathe. Matcha was rescued by Bulldog Haven NW and placed in a foster home, and a dedicated team of volunteers worked hard to help him recover from his upper respiratory infection and get him ready for surgery.
In July 2017 Bulldog Haven NW brought Matcha to Lien Animal Clinic in Seattle. Here he was provided with a surgical procedure to correct his stenotic nares and reduce his severely elongated soft palate, correcting his brachycephalic airway syndrome and allowing him to breathe easier. Matcha was also neutered while under anesthesia to prepare him for adoption to his forever home.
Matcha remained at his Bulldog Haven foster family while recovering. Prior to his surgery, his foster parents didn’t notice much of a personality. He was frequently hyperventilating and unable to move around a lot. Now, after the surgery, his personality began to blossom as he was able to breathe normally. Matcha was now ready for his forever home and became available for adoption in October 2017.
Gretchen had applied for numerous other Frenchies to adopt, but in her heart, she knew she wanted Matcha. After putting in an application for adoption, Gretchen was approved to be his new mommy. Matcha is thriving in his new forever home with Gretchen, her husband and their fire-belly toad, Agnes. Matcha’s favorite things to do are snuggling, car rides, suckling on his favorite toy Monty the Moose and coming to work every day with his mommy. Here he supervises all of his “co-workers” in the ICU at Animal Medical Center of Seattle.
Bulldog Haven NW is an amazing group of volunteers who simply love bulldogs of any kind. They take in Bulldog surrenders from owners, along with neglect and abuse cases and place them in foster families. They also provide them with medical care and do a lot of community outreach work. Gretchen is now a volunteer and foster parent for them!
To learn more about Bulldog Haven NW and how you can help please visit their website at http://www.bulldoghavennw.org/