Who's the biggest loser? Who's the biggest loser? Yes you are! Yes you are!
Ahem. Sorry. Being that we all find obscenely overweight pets to be obscenely cute, it can be hard to admit that it's really not that healthy for a cat to weigh as much as a toddler. One organization, however, is taking a stand to educate people on the risks to hefty pets and what you can do to help your furry friend stay fit. Ever heard of the show "Celebrity Fit Club"? Well, imagine if all those celebrities were dogs and cats. What do you get? Pet Fit Club, of course.
Pet Fit Club is the brainchild of The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a charity in the UK that provides free veterinary services to over 350,000 animals in need. The competition has been running for five years, Elaine Pendelbury, a Senior Veterinary Surgeon at PDSA, tells Paw Nation. "We usually take between eight to ten animals each year."
This year, the contestants are four corpulent cats and five dumpy dogs. Finding them was easy; the PDSA put out applications earlier this year, and it wasn't just restricted to PDSA members. "Anyone who had a pet that was overweight and they feel needed help could apply," Dr. Pendelbury says.
Pet Fit Club to Makeover Chubby Pets
Stop laughing. Ok you can laugh. Socrates, aka Socs, loves cheese and onion crisps, which is why he's 124 overweight! His target size is closer to 10 lbs. rather his 22 lbs. of chub.
PDSA
Oh lordy! Tara's owner was shocked when the PDSA vets told her Tara was twice as large and in charge as she should be. Tara weighs in at 91 lbs. -- 66 more than she should be.
PDSA
Sasha, the Staffordshire Bull terrier, is 22 lbs. overweight and it might have a little something to do with her love for ice cream, chocolate, and biscuits.
PDSA
Amber's mom, Penny, has tried to slim down this porker since she adopted her in March of this year. The tortie tips the scales at 16 lbs. She needs to shed 10 lbs.
PDSA
Sandy sure does hide his weight well. He's about 92 lbs. and needs to be closer to 66. No more meat dipped in jelly or chocolate (gasp!) chip cookies for big ol' Sandy.
PDSA
Bessie is the slimmest of the bunch, only 38 overweight, but her owner's sick of friends poking fun of her pooch. She'd like to get Bessie down to 44 lbs.
PDSA
Smoky's ten years old and and 9 lbs. overweight. To make sure this silver fox, er, hippo lasts another decade he needs to slim down from 20 lbs. to 11.
PDSA
Socrates isn't the only tuxedo who's having a hard time fitting in his suit. Chumlie Bear is 17.4 lbs. of cat. His owner is hoping to shed 8 lbs. off this big boy.
PDSA
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