Anyone else still following "Obie" the Dachshund?

Saeleofu

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#2
HOLY CRAP! He's almost normal sized! I may not agree with 100% of what they do, but you can't deny that what they're doing is working.
 
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#3
I'd like to know who owns/owned that dog and why the owner or former owner isn't being hauled in for animal cruelty in the same way that someone would be if the dog had been emaciated.
 

Saeleofu

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#4
I'd like to know who owns/owned that dog and why the owner or former owner isn't being hauled in for animal cruelty in the same way that someone would be if the dog had been emaciated.
I'm pretty sure the former owner is dead, I think it was an elderly person that passed away (have you noticed old people tend to have FAT dogs?)


ETA: Okay, maybe I was wrong, and they're not dead. Or maybe they are by now. But I agree with you that it's just as bad as starving a dog.

Our story began when a relative of this boys family stepped in and asked for help. Aging owners with failing health were simply loving him with food. They just couldn't say "no" to those big brown eyes. Through many tears, the owners relinquished him. It is very frustrating and sad but I am thrilled to be able to help him move on with his new life.
 

stardogs

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#5
If they relinquished him, the shelter/AC probably can't press charges. Often shelters/AC will offer to take the dog with no charges if the owners surrender the animal on their own.
 
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#7
I may be a softy but I wouldn't press charges on an old person who is "killing with kindness".
Same here, coming from the exact same situation, the problem is that charge them or not, they don't and more than likely can't understand the nature of the situation. For anyone else who has even been placed in the situation of trying to "take the keys away" from an elderly relative too, may know similarly (and in not being able to take the keys, we hired a neighbor to "disable" the van, only to then have another neighbor who didn't know fix it *head-desk*).

And LOOK! They put up a video this morning, he even wags his tail.
[YOUTUBE]UDk-AK92ZU4[/YOUTUBE]
 
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#8
Amazing! Does anyone have the number stats?

I may be a softy but I wouldn't press charges on an old person who is "killing with kindness".
Did this owner have demonstrable cognitive impairment or dementia? I don't see how simply being "old" exempts anyone with reasonably intact cognitive function from bring responsible for their own actions. Additionally, it can be argued that many situations involving cruelty or killing without premeditated or malicious intent, or even with altruistic intent, must be caused by cognitive impairment (and what a broad-sweeping term "impairment" is) but that doesn't necessarily make the person immune to prosecution.

Edit: For the record, I'm NOT advocating for throwing "grandma with Alzheimer's" in jail because she thought she was loving her dog, but saying "the owner was old" doesn't mean anything. Not all "old" people have dementia.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#9
I don't know, honestly, why all people do it but my own mother over feeds to show affection. Shamoo came from a person who loved her and overfed, it's sad but I still don't see it as a punishable offensive in the same way that not feeding is. I think the motives of not feeding go hand in hand with plain lack of empathy, forgetfulness, laziness, distain, or the like; while overfeeding never seems to come from anything but an unhealthy way of showing ones affection.

I guess I can move on more easily from fat dogs than I can from bone thin. In my experience being starved messes with the dogs behaviors as well, often sending them to a panicked and dangerous place, while being overfed merely dulls them.

I'm not trying to say its okay to have obese dogs, I just can't get my blood flowing with rage when I see one, usually I dance around it carefully and try to educate while understanding it is unlikely these people did this as a form of punishment.

I have a few at work now for weight loss. One is a pug whom the owner didn't know it was fat until she went to a pug play group and her dog couldn't keep up and looked like a blimp comparatively. She immediately went to the vet, got a special diet, and brought her to us twice a week at 30/day to start exercising her more than she can. She loves the dog very much, she just didn't understand the fat pugs you see in magazines are as unhealthy as the bone rail models you see in high fashion.

I truly haven't any people who starve dogs out of affection, so maybe that sways my judgement but it tells me that for the most part it's easier (ime) to help those with obese dogs because the owners truly do love them they're just severely uneducated on what constitutes health.
 

Airn

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#10
I don't know, honestly, why all people do it but my own mother over feeds to show affection. Shamoo came from a person who loved her and overfed, it's sad but I still don't see it as a punishable offensive in the same way that not feeding is. I think the motives of not feeding go hand in hand with plain lack of empathy, forgetfulness, laziness, distain, or the like; while overfeeding never seems to come from anything but an unhealthy way of showing ones affection.

I guess I can move on more easily from fat dogs than I can from bone thin. In my experience being starved messes with the dogs behaviors as well, often sending them to a panicked and dangerous place, while being overfed merely dulls them.

I'm not trying to say its okay to have obese dogs, I just can't get my blood flowing with rage when I see one, usually I dance around it carefully and try to educate while understanding it is unlikely these people did this as a form of punishment.

I have a few at work now for weight loss. One is a pug whom the owner didn't know it was fat until she went to a pug play group and her dog couldn't keep up and looked like a blimp comparatively. She immediately went to the vet, got a special diet, and brought her to us twice a week at 30/day to start exercising her more than she can. She loves the dog very much, she just didn't understand the fat pugs you see in magazines are as unhealthy as the bone rail models you see in high fashion.

I truly haven't any people who starve dogs out of affection, so maybe that sways my judgement but it tells me that for the most part it's easier (ime) to help those with obese dogs because the owners truly do love them they're just severely uneducated on what constitutes health.
I agree with this.

However.... THAT DOG WAS HUGE! They said it was like 50 lbs over weight? For a total of 75-80 lbs? It's one thing to have a fat pug or a chubby lab.. give or take... 20 lbs. But this dog was to the point where it couldn't even walk. If we compare that dog to a human child, the parents would most certainly be in trouble for having a 300 lb kid. (Didn't do the math, so I'm not sure of the actual comparison.)

My grandfather's dog is/was over weight by about 20 lbs. She has been losing weight, but even he KNEW she was fat. Although, I think I read that the people just 'couldn't resist', so I'm sure they knew Obie was fat too. I just think that amount of weight is a larger problem than the dog solely being overweight.
 
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#11
I truly haven't any people who starve dogs out of affection, so maybe that sways my judgement but it tells me that for the most part it's easier (ime) to help those with obese dogs because the owners truly do love them they're just severely uneducated on what constitutes health.
That kind of boils it down for me, too. If an owner is simply uneducated but willing to change, I'm not going to reach for my torch and pitchfork. And people are far more likely to fall into that category with obese pets than starved pets.

Although I've heard the local humane investigator say he's seen it happen where people just didn't understand how much food a dog/ cat/ horse needs and didn't understand why they weren't gaining weight; and in those cases the people do receive education and a follow up visit instead of immediately taking the animal.

IME in a LOT of these obese animals (or some other breakdown in care) with elderly owners are related to memory problems, if not outright dementia. It's very sad to see people want to do the right thing but not remember that they already fed the dog that day or whether or not they gave medication. You can try to help with chore charts, pill boxes, check off sheets, stuff like that but at the end of the day people still have to use them. :(
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#12
I'm pretty sure that is what happened to Shamoo, she weighed just over 75 lbs when we got her and at her optimal she was 40 lbs, she's now a bit overweight again at 42 lbs but largely it has to do with the fact she cannot handle much exercise and needs to subside on a sad 3/4 cup twice a day, to be honest i cant bring myself to be militant with her diet at this age anyway.

Her previous owner went into the hospital and left her with a petsitter, the story was slightly jumbled and either the owner died or went into hospice but no family wanted her nor did they want to continue her petsitting bills. The pet sitter placed her with me and my intentions of cutting some weight and seeing if I could find a retirement home for her. The home I found was my parents and they tend to free feed unless bothered by me when I lived there as well as give countless scraps and chewies because they can't resist the cute puppy eyes. As a result of my dad getting sick I took Shamoo back and she lost the rest.

My parents have three dogs and one is fat, like stupid fat, and I do harass them but in the end I know they're weak to his begging. The other two are very lean, one is even skinny, and they're free fed as well. This dichotomy makes it that much harder for the average dog owner to understand the two skinnies won't die on restricted diets while the fatty will blossom.

I'm not excusing what happened to this dachshund, not at all because its a tragedy, but I do empathize with the situation. I really don't think they set out to hurt their dog and I do worry that once he stopped walking they either didn't know what to do or they really are losing their minds and either scenario, IMO, is very sad.
 
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#13
I agree with this.

However.... THAT DOG WAS HUGE! They said it was like 50 lbs over weight? For a total of 75-80 lbs? It's one thing to have a fat pug or a chubby lab.. give or take... 20 lbs. But this dog was to the point where it couldn't even walk. If we compare that dog to a human child, the parents would most certainly be in trouble for having a 300 lb kid. (Didn't do the math, so I'm not sure of the actual comparison.)

My grandfather's dog is/was over weight by about 20 lbs. She has been losing weight, but even he KNEW she was fat. Although, I think I read that the people just 'couldn't resist', so I'm sure they knew Obie was fat too. I just think that amount of weight is a larger problem than the dog solely being overweight.
He started at 77, the foster thought she was getting a Basset hound or mix of one, until he arrived at her house.

That kind of boils it down for me, too. If an owner is simply uneducated but willing to change, I'm not going to reach for my torch and pitchfork. And people are far more likely to fall into that category with obese pets than starved pets.

Although I've heard the local humane investigator say he's seen it happen where people just didn't understand how much food a dog/ cat/ horse needs and didn't understand why they weren't gaining weight; and in those cases the people do receive education and a follow up visit instead of immediately taking the animal.

IME in a LOT of these obese animals (or some other breakdown in care) with elderly owners are related to memory problems, if not outright dementia. It's very sad to see people want to do the right thing but not remember that they already fed the dog that day or whether or not they gave medication. You can try to help with chore charts, pill boxes, check off sheets, stuff like that but at the end of the day people still have to use them. :(
Erm, can't say that was the case with Noodle, my step-grandfather was just plain ignorant. 12oz of soda poured into his dish almost every day, 1/3 or possibly more of a subway sandwich, cat food, raisin cookies :wall:! That was on top of his once or twice a day of little Cesar's (or who knew how many, they probably "forgot" too). Once he went into a nursing home (many months not soon enough! heck, years) my Grandmother papered the kitchen and never took him outside, approx 3 months of that.

People just don't understand till they've walked the same road themselves, let me say how difficult it can be to try and reason and just work with an elderly relative. We tried our best, but they got the dog anyway, there was nothing more we could do until they both "went away", he came to them a perfect weight of 8lbs, he was nearly 20. Over a month ago during his Rabies vacc booster he was 13.5, still looks too fat to me but he's in much better condition today.

I'm pretty sure that is what happened to Shamoo, she weighed just over 75 lbs when we got her and at her optimal she was 40 lbs, she's now a bit overweight again at 42 lbs but largely it has to do with the fact she cannot handle much exercise and needs to subside on a sad 3/4 cup twice a day, to be honest i cant bring myself to be militant with her diet at this age anyway.

Her previous owner went into the hospital and left her with a petsitter, the story was slightly jumbled and either the owner died or went into hospice but no family wanted her nor did they want to continue her petsitting bills. The pet sitter placed her with me and my intentions of cutting some weight and seeing if I could find a retirement home for her. The home I found was my parents and they tend to free feed unless bothered by me when I lived there as well as give countless scraps and chewies because they can't resist the cute puppy eyes. As a result of my dad getting sick I took Shamoo back and she lost the rest.

My parents have three dogs and one is fat, like stupid fat, and I do harass them but in the end I know they're weak to his begging. The other two are very lean, one is even skinny, and they're free fed as well. This dichotomy makes it that much harder for the average dog owner to understand the two skinnies won't die on restricted diets while the fatty will blossom.

I'm not excusing what happened to this dachshund, not at all because its a tragedy, but I do empathize with the situation. I really don't think they set out to hurt their dog and I do worry that once he stopped walking they either didn't know what to do or they really are losing their minds and either scenario, IMO, is very sad.
It's hard, it's hard to watch personally more than anything. But I know about cutting back the food, I finally had it and gave up on Jinj, I couldn't starve him like that, he has a very wrong undiagnosed problem that just makes him gain and loose weight at random for no known reason, and it's not like this dog has never seen a vet (he was just there in the last 3 months, heck knows we're there often enough). I personally don't like looking at fat dogs, I find it more uncomfortable than out of disgust, like someone with claustrophobia watching a TV show about tunnels.
 

Sit Stay

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#14
I unliked her page after she started posting ridiculous pictures saying how by buying a breeder dog you were "killing" a shelter dog.

Glad Obie is doing well though! What a transformation
 

Laurelin

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#15
Erm, can't say that was the case with Noodle, my step-grandfather was just plain ignorant. 12oz of soda poured into his dish almost every day, 1/3 or possibly more of a subway sandwich, cat food, raisin cookies :wall:! That was on top of his once or twice a day of little Cesar's (or who knew how many, they probably "forgot" too). Once he went into a nursing home (many months not soon enough! heck, years) my Grandmother papered the kitchen and never took him outside, approx 3 months of that.
:yikes::yikes::yikes:
 

Shai

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#16
My parents have three dogs and one is fat, like stupid fat, and I do harass them but in the end I know they're weak to his begging. The other two are very lean, one is even skinny, and they're free fed as well. This dichotomy makes it that much harder for the average dog owner to understand the two skinnies won't die on restricted diets while the fatty will blossom.
This sounds like what happened with my parents. They only have one dog, and she's fed a good food in appropriate amounts, but she turns those spaniel eyes on and they just can't help but give her bits of this and that...usually bacon. And she's a little dog so it doesn't take much bacon to get fat. I'm pretty sure she has ribs somewhere in there but I haven't felt them in a long time. She gets a 2 mile walk at least 4 nights a week, usually more, plus runs around the house and yard. But she's a super low-key dog and puts on weight easily. Plus, like I said...the bacon.

I try to talk them into giving her smaller treats, just a nibble of bacon, and she is a bit thinner now (more likely due to the spring and an extra night or two of walking rather than any advice from me ;)) but I do have a hard time giving them too much grief about it. However, I can see how, if they were less mentally present, it could get out of hand. Fortunately that is not the case.

Slightly chubby Mags (I don't have any full body heavier pics of her)


"Don't you dare take away my bacon."
 

BostonBanker

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#17
Slightly chubby Mags (I don't have any full body heavier pics of her)
That is one incredibly pretty, sweet looking dog. I'm not sure I would be able to resist giving her bacon either!

I agree that, while we all know that obese dogs (and this has to be one of the most extreme cases - except maybe that Border Collie that got frozen to the sidewalk) is a kind of abuse, I have never seen it happen from someone being intentionally cruel. And I do think that intentions play a role in how these things should be handled. Plus, these people did finally see the light, know they couldn't do what they needed to, and surrendered the dog. If we started prosecuting people who willingly surrendered animals after admitting they couldn't care for them, nobody would ever surrender them.
 

*blackrose

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#19
This was Gracie when we first got her:


This is Gracie now:


And that was just a five pound difference. I can't imagine anything heavier. o_O Just from those five pounds she has a LOT of loose skin. Larry didn't know she was overweight (she was free fed and given tons of treats) and when Mike's Grandma was still living at home, she would share all of her meals with the dogs (pancakes with syrup and eggs was her favorite thing to give them). The only reason Cooper wasn't a balloon, too, was because he still had his testicles!
 

JacksonsMom

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#20
Wow, what a difference! I thought I had read the owner DID have dementia or something? Has that story changed?

Anyway, either way, I'm so happy he's doing better.

I would agree that I do not look at over-feeding like I do under-feeding. I mean, yeah, it's horrible. I'm on my dads case all the time for his long haired Dachshund mix. He got very fat with us (he was in perfect shape at the shelter) but it was out of love. And they sort of try, but unfortunately not enough. He doesn't really eat a lot (they give him 1/4 cup per day with a bit of wet food, and chicken sometimes) but he practically gets NO exercise. He weighs 22lbs and probably should be less than 15.

We just started him on Natural Balance 'Fat Dogs' formula and I've noticed a difference, actually, in the last month since he's been on it. But we haven't weighed him.

And even though I know he'd be SO much happier being at a healthy weight, he's well loved, he's taken care of, he sees the vet when needed, he gets groomed, he sleeps in their bed every night, has a big backyard, etc... I mean he's certainly not an abused dog. And my dad and stepmom clearly know he's overweight but it doesn't stop my dad from sharing ice cream with him and everything else he eats. :rolleyes: He also thinks because Jackson is always begging and seemingly hungry that I'm 'starving' him. :rolleyes:

Obviously, in Obie's case, it's very extreme. And I can't imagine ever letting a dog get to THAT point. But then we say that about people all the time too. 600lb woman and it's like everyone says 'HOW could you let yourself get like that?!?' and usually they just... don't even know themselves.
 

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