Out in Phoenix, Arizona, a Beagle by the name of Wolfgang, is giving all of our human weight-loss goals a run for their money. One of his humans, Erin McManis, spoke with FOX10 about how she and her husband rescued Wolfgang and potentially added years to his life.
When McManis and her husband first rescued Wolfgang, he was a whopping 90 pounds. For a Beagle, this is considered morbidly obese.
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“Because excess weight can reduce your pet’s life expectancy by more than two years, keeping your pet trim gives them the best chance of a longer, healthier, and pain-free life,” says The American Veterinary Medical Association.
Getting Wolfgang Into Shape
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First as foster parents, then as adoptive ones, McManis and her husband decided to whip Wolfgang into shape. In doing so, they potentially saved the poor pup from what might have been an unnecessarily painful life.
To do this, they started with streamlining his diet and then focused on exercise.
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McManis told FOX10 that “there is no perfect solution” because “every dog is different” when it comes to the right way to course-correct obesity.
“They are not out there running a 5k with you every morning when it starts,” said McManis. “So I think, at least initially, the diet is important because I don’t see any way that they are going to exercise… at an intensity… that is really going to let them burn a lot of calories.”
After a bit of boot camp with his new companions, Wolfgang is down to 32 pounds. Amazing!
Spreading The Message To All Pet Parents
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Starting on October 9th, McManis began posting to Instagram for Pet Obesity Awareness Day. Her hope was that she might inspire the humans of other pups to take their health seriously.
McManis believes that allowing a dog to reach this level of obesity is neglect, which she stated within the caption of one of her posts.
“October 13th is Pet Obesity Awareness Day, but we want to highlight this starting now and going through next week. As a family, we firmly believe that allowing a dog to become morbidly obese is at minimum neglect.
“Please know we are talking about dogs that are grossly over a healthy weight, and having medical problems as a result of the obesity (or in Wolfgang’s case three times a healthy weight).
“That being said, we advocate for keeping your dog at a healthy weight, even if your dog is not obese. Even if your dog is just a little overweight, losing the few extra pounds will do wonders for your dog’s joints and likely will increase the quality of your dog’s life,” she wrote.
Have you ever heard of a dog having this kind of weight-loss success? What do you do with your pup to keep them healthy and fit? Let us know in the comments below.
