Obesity is a major health concern, and not just for humans. You might think that chubby cats and dogs look cute, but these animals experience much more pressure on their organs, which can lead to disease or early death.
An obese dog is more likely to deal with lifelong conditions like arthritis, diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease, and high blood pressure.
It’s usually obvious when a dog is obese from the outside, but some people cruelly ignore the signs and continue to overfeed their pups to the point of no return.
One dog that certainly seemed to have headed down that path is Faith the Chiweenie.
The 30-pound pup was so morbidly obese when she arrived at an animal shelter that she only ever wanted to sit down – and walking was a huge struggle for her.
Faith’s foster parent and rescuer, Nioaka, received a message from her friend showing a photograph of Faith, reading, “You have to save her”. And that’s exactly what she did.
When Faith arrived at her new home, it was clear that her size was affecting her quality of life. She wanted to keep up with her new doggo friends, but she could barely even walk.
Nioaka would have to pick Faith up and carry her around because she struggled so much to get about. She knew that she had to save Faith – and so her mission began.
After taking Faith to the vet, Nioaka learned that the pup needed to lose at least half her weight. It wasn’t going to be easy, but it was the only way Faith had any chance of survival.
Nioaka worked hard to adjust Faith to her new diet and lifestyle. She was fed food in a bowl that took a little longer to work all the biscuits out of, to prevent her from eating them all in one go.
She also started rehab training four times a week. This involved walking on a treadmill in water and climbing across inflatable objects to reach a treat.
Faith was enjoying her rehab so much that she began to look forward to her visits, bouncing and wagging her tail as she made her way up the steps to the entrance. She was truly motivated, perhaps not to lose weight, but to have fun – and lose weight in the process.
The change Nioaka saw in Faith was immense. No longer was Faith lagging behind, unable to do the things she wanted to. She could now play, pick up her favorite toys, and run after Nioaka’s other dogs with confidence.
Faith’s weight loss has seen her hit a lot of milestones, like climbing through the dog flap and getting up the stairs for the first time.
By the end of her weight loss journey, Faith had lost over half her body weight, going from just under 30 pounds to 13 pounds. She’s now a completely different dog to look at.
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It’s hard for Nioaka especially to link the active, confident dog of today with the same one that she brought in all those months ago.
Faith’s diet is now a lot more restrictive – she eats for a dog of her size, which enables her to maintain her weight. But that doesn’t mean she can’t have a treat from time to time, like the rest of us!
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She might be a dog, but Faith is a weight-loss inspiration to us all! Check out the video below for her full story.
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