Corrine Rowbotham, 56, Hamersley, WA
Spotting my 11-year-old kelpie cross Spud slumped in his kennel, I wondered what was wrong. Instead of play-fighting with his doggy mate Doza, he refused to come out.
He'd heaved his heavy body to the back of his kennel and growled every time Doza stuck her half-chewed stick in. 'Come on Spud, come out and play,' Bill, 57, my husband, coaxed.
But not even Spud's favourite teddy could coax him out of the kennel and he spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping. 'What's wrong, darling?' I asked Spud as he waddled into the house later that evening.
Spud just looked up at me with his big, sad eyes. Then, wolfing down his dinner he retreated back to his mattress to sleep again.
'There can't be too much wrong with him. He's not off his food,' Bill soothed, seeing my concern. But despite Bill's reassurances I knew something wasn't right. And over the next few weeks, Spud's strange behaviour continued.
He no longer fetched the newspaper in the morning and became agitated whenever I took him for long walks.
One evening as I got ready for bed I heard Spud crying. Going to investigate, I found him thrashing about and whimpering loudly.
'I wish you could tell me what's wrong,' I soothed, stroking his shaggy coat.
Determined to get to the bottom of Spud's problems, I took him to the vet the next day. 'Spud seems to be in pain,' I explained to the nurse, Yvette.
'We'll give him a full-body examination,' she said.
A few hours later Yvette arrived with an array of test results. 'I'm afraid at 36.2 kilos Spud is grossly overweight,' Yvette said. 'His joints can no longer sustain his weight and he has bad arthritis. We'll need to give him cortisone injections for his arthritis and put him on a strict diet.'
I felt winded.
'This is my fault?' I gaped.
The nurse nodded. 'What do you feed him?'
'He went off dog food about two years ago,' I said. 'So he eats what we're eating - pasta, sausages, vegies, the lot.'
She shook her head. 'He'll need special diet pet food,' she explained. 'I'll help you devise a slimming plan.'
It sounded crazy to put Spud on a diet but I agreed to do anything to make him happy and healthy again.
I can't believe I didn't see him getting so big, I thought.
Scribbling down what Yvette told me, I realised some big changes to Spud's lifestyle were needed. 'He'll need just a cup and a half of diet pet food in the morning and evening and you should take him for at least three short walks a week,' Yvette explained.
She also mentioned a new pet-slimming competition Spud could enter. 'If Spud loses his target weight of eight kilos, he could win a year's supply of calorie-controlled maintenance dog food.'
Spurred on by Yvette's enthusiasm, I signed Spud up for the competition and organised for him to be weighed every two weeks to monitor his progress.
That evening I told Bill about Spud's new weight-loss plan. 'You're not to give him any of our scraps,' I warned.
And instead of Spud's usual big bowl of home-cooked food for dinner, I put the diet pet food in front of him. Spud sniffed the new meal then walked away turning his nose up. 'I feel so guilty,' I groaned.
But I needn't have worried. A few hours later I noticed the contents of Spud's bowl had been demolished! Clearly diet dog food was better than nothing!
Over the next few months, Spud and I embraced his new healthy lifestyle. Before long I noticed Spud's spare kilos dropping off. 'He's looking much younger and happier,' Yvette commented at one weigh in.
He had heaps more energy too and it wasn't long before the old Spud was back. 'Look what Spud's brought us,' Bill said proudly, dangling the morning newspaper in front of me.
Over eight months Spud shed an amazing 7.4 kilos. Then Yvette rang with some fantastic news. 'Spud's beaten nine other animals to win the state title in the 2008 Hill's Pet Slimmer of the year,' she said. 'All that hard work's paid off,' I laughed, ruffling my champion pet's furry coat.
I was proud as punch when his story was put on the vet's website as an inspirational pet weight-loss story.
Today, nine months since winning the competition, I'm pleased to say Spud has kept the weight off and is happier than ever. He's still partial to an occasional baked treat but he understands his trim waistline is the key to keeping him the hottest dog on the block!
Got a podgy pooch, or a chubby cat? Share your pet's weight-loss solutions by leaving a comment below. |
