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Andrew Matchett, DVM

Dr. Andrew Matchett is a special veterinarian. He is board certified and therefore brings a special amount of knowledge and experience to every client he sees. To become board certified a student must first receive the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, usually 8 years of study, then enter a residency and internship program (usually another 4 to 6 years of study). After this, the doctor may sit for a certifying exam and earn the title of a Diplomate of their selected college. Among all 120,000 veterinarians in the US, only about 8.5% have chosen this level of training.

Dr. Matchett’s long course of study took him from the University of Maryland to Tufts in Boston, to Emory University School of Medicine and the Yerkes Research Center. He was then a research veterinarian at the Mannheimer Foundation, and at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute. He has experience in infectious disease research (particularly respiratory), surgical models, and non-invasive imaging. Dr. Matchett has published numerous scholarly articles and books.

During all this work, he has developed a strong passion for animal welfare and teaching. Whether developing vaccines and interventions for disease or providing care to patients in need, he loves his work. His desire to apply this wide range of experience to daily practice, brought him to Colorado Springs where he served as a clinician for four years.

In a daily clinical practice setting he saw how hard it was for families to express their emotions surrounding the loss of their pets. This encouraged him to find a way to deliver compassionate care in a more private setting and he found Home With Dignity. Experience has worked in him the real warmth and compassion that is essential for any veterinarian in a practice like ours. We are incredibly lucky to have Dr. Andy on our team.

In a recent interview he said, “It is already hard enough to learn your pet has a life ending disease, but when we have the opportunity to meet people in their homes and take the time needed to understand the depth of their loss… that is extremely valuable – you just can’t do that in clinical practice.” He went on to explain; “The relationships that are formed in a practice like this are of real importance to me. I’m reminded everyday how valuable this special service truly is.” Everyone that meets Dr. Andy, loves his kind manner and his compassion that comes from his lifetime of experience.

Personally, Dr. Andy is a father of four and a husband who values family and serving his community. He enjoys skiing, hiking, astronomy, and camping. His wife, Christine holds a master’s degree in Wildlife Science. Together, they love spending time with their family which includes their dogs: Flash, Heidi, Arya, and Ginger. Dr. Andy is truly a special doctor, and we are all honored to have him a part of our team and to send him to your home when you need this special kind of care.

Audrey Washburn, DVM

Dr. Audrey Washburn grew up in rural North Carolina and Virginia. In 1992 she came to love the west while working at Glacier National Park. However, her love of animals and her education was calling, and she headed to Cornell University to earn a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources. This led to a job with the South Carolina Department Of Natural Resources.

Here she worked as a Field Biologist to locate and monitor raptors, woodpeckers, and sea turtle nests. With this experience she then enrolled for the master’s program at the University of Florida and five years later graduated with her Master’s Degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.

Now as a Supervisor Biologist at the Avian Research and Conservation Institute in Gainesville FL, Audrey’s fascinating work took her to Central and South America where she tracked raptors of all kinds and contributed to various research programs and even organized international meetings on raptor conservation. For six years she traveled around the world following migrating hawks as a professional wildlife biologist. During this work she learned conversational Portuguese and Spanish.

By now, Audrey had developed a tremendous background in wildlife science and research, so it seemed logical for her to put these years of experience towards a veterinary medical degree. She found herself at Massey University in New Zealand. Here she underwent yet another rigorous five-year course of study and graduated from Massey University School of Veterinary Medicine and Biosecurity and became a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Washburn returned to the states and practiced veterinary medicine in Fredericksburg, VA and later moved to Colorado Springs. After all she had not forgotten “the west”.

Another thing she has not forgotten is her love for both people and animals. However, during her years in practice she realized there was a serious unmet need. She had met so many pet lovers who had struggled with a life-ending disease but who had no private place where they can say good-bye. She knew the clinic was not the best place for this most intimate and difficult thing we pet lovers must face. She knew that euthanasia at home was the answer.

Luckily, she found us, and we found her, and a great professional relationship was born. Dr. Washburn now takes her many years of experience and puts these valuable skills to work helping our clients say good-bye to their pets in the comfort of their own home.

Dr. Washburn has long had an interest in geriatrics, endocrine disease and nutrition. It was her interest in our aging pets and the diseases they struggle with, that allowed her to match her experience and talents to providing care for these wonderful pets and their families. Today, Dr. Audrey is one of our very special doctors who has that unique ability to attend to these families and help them through this challenging process of saying good-bye.

Since her first childhood dog Labby (a Lab of course) and her cat named Pretinho, she has known the joys and sorrows of having pets. Chiara was the first dog she adopted on her own. They traveled everywhere together including to New Zealand and back again. And of course, the day came when she had to make the tough decision to let her go.

Dr. Audrey says, “…being a veterinary practitioner, you can’t help but feel the deep sense of attachment we have with companion animals. We all know it, but we don’t want to say it; we will outlive our wonderful pet friends. When that day comes, we want the kindest and most compassionate care given to them. They deserve it.”

In discussing her life of experience helping animals, wild or domestic she says; “My experience has shown me the joys that these little guys give us so freely, but unfortunately that also comes with the deep sense of loss and sorrow when we have to lose them.”

She also said, “With every case I see, I am acutely aware of this emotional bond, and I do everything I can, as a veterinarian, to ease both the pets pain, and the family’s grief. This practice has given me that opportunity. I see it as a high calling!”

Dr. Audrey is now so happy to be living in this beautiful place with her husband Bryan, dog Max, and cat Floki. We are very proud to have her join our practice and we are proud to dispatch her to your home with you call.