The adorable pup Obie has always been incredibly cute and lovable. Although the dachshund never lost his smile, he was severely obese which in turn affected his health. However, Obie has gone through a very remarkable transformation which proves that hard work always is worth it, even for dogs.
The five-year-old pup was significantly overfed by his owners, an elderly well-meaning couple. They didn’t know that Obie was being overfed, and in addition also wasn’t having enough exercise. At one point, the pup weighed a whopping 77 pounds, which is considered to be at alarming obesity levels for pups. A dachshund with a normal weight only weighs about half of that.
Luckily, one of the couple’s family members realized that Obie needed help to get better. A local animal rescue group was welcome Obie and take care of him. Nora Vanatta took her in, a respected vet technician with an animal sciences degree.
Nora adopted him in 2012 and wanted to make sure that Obie would adopt to a new and much healthier lifestyle while shedding those extra pounds. She gave Obie balanced foods that weren’t high in calories. Her degree in animal sciences also allowed her to set up a healthy diet for Obie with low-fat and high-protein meals.
Slowly but surely, Obie lost weight. It only took seven days to lose an amazing seven pounds. Of course, Obie still had a long way to go. While Obie was getting in better physical shape, it also allowed him to do more physical activities. Obie was regularly taken out for a walk and also enjoyed his time with other dogs.
It took six months, but thanks to the determination of Nora and his perseverance, Obie only weighed 45 pounds.
His remarkable weight loss, unfortunately, caused a lot of skin hanging from his belly. It was starting to bother his new and active lifestyle, but a surgery removed the excessive skin so he could jump and run around again.
After six months, you wouldn’t even recognize Obie. The transformation is truly amazing, and it allows Obie to run around and take a walk in the woods, for example.
As Nora so beautifully words it: “Obie could spend all day lollygagging along,”
After a year of adopting a healthy lifestyle, the loveable dachshund achieved his target weight of 25 pounds.
“Obie is doing great and holding steady between 22 and 23lbs for over a year now,” Nora wrote. “He has some residual fat pockets on his sides and lacks normal muscle tone but is healthy overall.”
Nora even gave Obie his own Facebook page detailing his brave journey, gathering hundreds of thousands of followers. Obie’s weight loss is truly an incredible feat.
To celebrate his inspirational journey, Nora created a calendar with pictures of Obie.
“I was thrilled to be able to help [him] with his new life,” Nora said to The Telegraph. “Now I want his journey to inspire other big animals and maybe even their owners to get healthy in the new year.”
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Source: Obie Dog Journey, The Dodo, The Telegraph
