A ‘MORBIDLY obese’ rescue dog from Cheshire has been on a strict diet and learned how to swim to help her shed almost half her body weight.
Eight-year-old Staffie-cross Roxanne arrived at the RSPCA’s Crewe, Nantwich and District branch in October 2021 when her owner could no longer take care of her.
She weighed 38.5kg and could barely walk without getting out of breath.
The team put Roxanne on a restricted diet and started an exercise plan to gently improve her mobility.
Now - as the RSPCA celebrates Adoptober, a month-long rehoming drive to highlight fostering, adoption and how wonderful rescue pets can be - she’s lost a staggering 17kg and has bagged herself her forever home.
Angela Chan, dog rehoming coordinator at the Cheshire-based branch, said: “Roxanne was clearly well-loved but had been over-indulged with lots of unhealthy treats and was morbidly obese.
“She could barely move due to her weight.
“We put Roxanne onto a sensible diet immediately and, although her progress was slow, she started to shed the weight.
“She now weighs 21.1kg and the vet, who has been monitoring her closely over the last 10 months, is happy for her to officially be discharged as pet slimming supaw star of the year!
“Exercise was difficult for Roxanne; she couldn’t walk far without getting out of breath and her weight put a huge strain on her little legs.
“She started hydrotherapy as swimming allows her to move freely and use her muscles but avoid putting pressure on her joints, and although she doesn’t need to lose any further weight, she’ll continue swimming to help manage her arthritis.
“We slowly increased her walks and it’s so lovely now that she’s able to enjoy exercise, running and even playing with her ball!”
Roxanne has landed on her paws by bagging herself a cracking new home with her fosterers, Hazel and Mike Ducker, from Shropshire, who fell in love with her and take her on lots of holidays in their motorhome.
Could you offer a rescue pet a loving new home? Visit Find A Pet.
To help the RSPCA Crewe, Nantwich and District Branch, please donate online.
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