Nothing is more fun than a full-figured, roly-poly, little kid.  But that’s baby fat, hopefully.  And how cute is a pudgy little Bassett or Beagle mix who appears to have super short legs because his belly droops so low and his shoulder mass sags?  Or, better yet, that tubby tabby who can perch on her plump derrier and lick her belly? (If you’re eager to witness this sight, inquire about Helena at our center.)  But just because we live in the most obese nation on the planet doesn’t mean our animals should have to suffer.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying send all the obese cats and dogs to a four-legged fat camp. Even if there is such a place, I’m sure there are more obese pets in America than any one facility could handle.  And by no means do animals sit around and measure themselves against a lean, trim, healthy canine or feline standard. If Clearly I have nothing against pudgy Poodles or a super-sized Siamese, nor do any of us at the Richmond SPCA. We love them all!

We promote all cats and dogs – large and small, mutt and purebred, black, white, brown, calico, blue-merle, gray, three legged or four, tailless or not.  However, when an animal finds a home after being worked with for so long to lose those “precious pounds” we do encourage the new family to, for the animals’ sake, help him continue to lose weight.  Consider this when you come to visit our shelter and decide to adopt a dog like Morris – a long-time resident and large-bellied Lab – animals, like people, are affected by obesity.  It affects them internally and externally, and in the end, it can be a big problem for the owner and the animal (and who wants problems?).  So when you visit us, adopt a pudgy pet, and go home to snuggle and love her, take a picture, then take away the snacks, and get that overweight pooch or kitty on a fit-n-trim diet mixed with exercise.  It’ll do you both some good.  Thanks for adopting!

Today’s blog author is Patrick Hawkins. Pat is the adoption center coordinator at the Richmond SPCA.

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