Animal charity PDSA has helped six year-old Harley the Cocker Spaniel to shed over 15% of his bodyweight.
Bullmastiff Kayla (7) from Glasgow lost nearly a third of her body weight and beat off competition from 14 other super slimmers to be crowned Pet Fit Club Champ 2015!
Each year PDSA recruits the UK’s fattest pets to undertake a six-month diet and exercise competition. Supervised by the charity’s vets and nurses, Pet Fit Club helps them back into shape and creates awareness of the serious issue of pet obesity, which affects millions of household pets.
Six months ago Harley, from Edinburgh, weighed 4st 4lbs (27kg) – nearly 60% more than his ideal weight. He lost 9lb (4kg) during the competition but his battle with the bulge was hampered by some unfortunate twists of fate.
Owner Lisa (42) said: “Harley developed an ear infection and was on steroids for six weeks which made things really difficult. To make matters worse I became seriously ill and was in and out of hospital for about two-and-a-half months meaning we had to miss a few veterinary appointments.
“When I was in hospital my son and daughter were looking after Harley but due to work commitments he was being fed at different times and wasn’t getting as much exercise as normal.”
Despite the setbacks Harley is on the way to reaching his ideal weight and Lisa said she is determined to keep going with the diet.
She said: “He’s already much healthier and he looks better. He’s so alert and he loves running around and playing with my two cats.”
However, the family have to keep a close eye on Harley who has shown his crafty side on a few occasions during his diet. “To stop Harley getting our cats’ food we feed them on the worktop. The trouble is that now he’s fitter he can get his paw onto the worktop and knock the food off onto the floor. It doesn’t seem to matter how far I put it back he can still get it. On another occasion Harley stole an entire pepperoni pizza that my daughter had left on a table.”
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