Over Weight Dog Rescued...... Then Sheds Half Of His Body Weight

Jan 23, 2006
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Half the dog he was: Rusty is much healthier and happier now

An overweight Labrador whose owners were convicted of cruelty for allowing him to get so heavy has lost over five stone.

The dog Rusty was taken away from his owners, brothers Derek and David Benton, in March 2006 after RSPCA officers discovered the 11 1/2 stone (74.2kg) pooch was struggling to walk


The dog was also suffering from arthritis, which had been exacerbated by his obesity.
The Bentons, from Fordham, Cambridgeshire, were convicted of cruelty last January, ordered to pay £250 for the RSPCA's legal costs and were given a three year conditional discharge. After 10 months apart, authorities said the Bentons were allowed to resume custody of the dog on the condition he lost weight.


After regular diet consultations with a vet, 10-year-old Rusty now weighs 6.3 stone (40kg) - nearly half of his original weight.

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Owners: David and Derek Benton were convicted of cruelty last year.

Vet Alex Wylie, who has been helping Rusty slim down with a combination of a good diet and exercise, is delighted with his progress.


Miss Wylie said: "Rusty has made huge progress. We can now feel his ribs and he has a waistline at last.


"Prior to his treatment and weight loss Rusty was the most disabled dog I have ever seen in practice. However, he now has a proper life again.
"He did literally look like a walrus. There were times when he couldn't get up from his back legs at all. It was horrible to see. "He is a much happier and healthier dog now, his pain is well-controlled and he walks much better than he could before. He can stand for long periods of time and doesn't tire as easily."



Fat to thin: A healthy Rusty now (left) and obese Rusty as he was a year ago (right)
 
Wow, glad the authorities stepped in. When we got Casey our male doxie from rescue he was obese, he weighed 31 lbs! He is now down to 13 and is nice and lean.
 
Rusty looks happier now, bless him.

I don't understand what would possess those :censor: morons to allow him to get so fat? Ugh.

That's great for the dog!!
In response to the quote above.. I work in a vet clinic and I have seen so many people with overweight animals, ranging from just slightly overweight to the truly overweight like Rusty.

There are some people who think that giving food (lots of it, lol) to their dogs = LOVE. Their pet may be constantly greedy or begging for food and they feel guilty if they don't. Some people I have spoken to about weight loss programs for their dogs are beyond reason. They don't see that overfeeding = more harm than good.
 
OMGoodness! Trust me, if my dog had his way, he would be eating 24 hours a day. It is the owners responsibility when controlling what your animal eats. I am glad the dog is doing much better. He looks like such a sweetie.
 
Wow, what a difference! That's wonderful that he was helped, I bet he feels like a new dog!

Did anyone see that special on Animal Planet about fat pets? It was really interesting, actually. And very sad. Some people really think that what they are doing is okay, and some of them do it because of their own insecurities. Poor dogs...