* Thomas found his forever home with amazing people and another dog to be friends with! Yay! *

We rescued Thomas from Hamilton Animal Services. Thomas was surrendered to HAS because of allergies in the family. This poor boy had the runs and a serious urinary infection when he arrived at the shelter. He was also suffering from soft palate issues, and his breathing was very laboured/noisy. Anytime Thomas would get excited or did any kind of exercise he had difficulty breathing. This is a condition called brachycephalic airway syndrome, and it is very common in French Bulldogs and other flat faced breeds.
Our vets got Thomas on medication and it cleared up the urinary infection. He was started on a special diet that has helped with the runs. To address his breathing issues, a specialist was brought in to scope Thomas’ laryngeal/pharyngeal structure. Turns out, Thomas has a hypoplastic trachea and a very enlarged palate. His epiglottis was also very swollen.
Thomas was referred to the Ontario Veterinary College where he had major surgery. He had soft palate resection, a nares wedge resection and a laryngeal sacculectomy. All fancy words to mean the vets opened up his passageways to allow him to breathe easier. At the same time, they repaired a hernia, which was causing his stomach to push up into his diaphragm and into his chest. We’re thankful the vets noticed the hernia and could repair it at the same time as his palate surgery.
Thank you to the vets at Glanbrook Animal Hospital and Ontario Veterinary College for helping Thomas feel better! And thank you to everyone who donated towards Thomas’ care so we could get him these surgeries!
Thomas healed up perfectly in his foster home, and now he’s ready to find his forever home!

Here’s a note from Thomas’ foster family:
“Little cutie patootie Thomas is ready to find his forever home. Thomas is a very affectionate little guy. He can be leery of strangers but he bonds quickly to his people. He will lay for VERY long periods of time for petting and snuggles. Now that Thomas has had surgery to help him breathe better he would be a good partner for someone who likes slow-moderate walks. He gets SO excited when he knows he is going somewhere and will become quite bouncy. Some obedience lessons might be a good idea and will also help him bond with his new family. Thomas is currently in a foster home with 2 other dogs and gets along fairly well but can be dominant at times. Thomas has been diagnosed with irritable bowel and is being kept on a strict diet. He is doing very well but it is something that will need to be monitored for life. Now that summer is here Thomas has been having some itchy paws. He is currently on medication to keep his itchies under control.”

To settle the “French Bulldog vs. Boston Terrier” debate started on Thomas’ initial post on Facebook, we had a DNA test done. Turns out, Thomas is a French Bulldog after all! (and also part St. Bernard) 🙂