Obese Dog Who Couldn’t Even Walk Loses Over 30 Pounds

In the past 10 years, one Alabama dog rescuer has been saving and rehabilitating dogs from heartbreaking situations. Yet even she was left speechless when she laid eyes on a seven-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel.

The seven-year-old dog named Abby, who should ideally weigh about 13-20 pounds, weighed a staggering 50 pounds and was so overweight that her legs couldn’t support her and needed to be carted around. “The neighbors at Abby’s original home had noticed for quite some time that she was getting heavier and heavier, then was less active too,” rescuer Brittney Wilk. “They needed someone to take over her care so they contacted us and we talked with the family, who selflessly entrusted us so that Abby could get the care she needed.”

Photo by Facebook/Abby’s Extreme Makeover

“I’ve been in rescue for nearly a decade and have seen some of the worst things you imagine, but I was so shocked when I first saw Abby that I was left speechless,” Wilk said. “It was like looking at an oversized bulldog, like she was blown up and inflated. She had no quality of life whatsoever, after walking one step she’d have to sit down and catch her breath, she was in respiratory distress.”

“Watching her struggle to breathe and get comfortable was heartbreaking. We started her on hydrotherapy, which is an underwater treadmill. The water took some of the weight off her, which allowed her to exercise more. She was swimming six out of seven days a week. Then when she was fit enough over summer she started going for daily walks and it was easier from there,” Wilk said.

Abby has now reached her goal weight of 18 pounds and is a completely new dog. “Abby worked really, really hard for each and every pound to come off. Now she’s a new dog, both physically and psychologically.”