I left the retail world a year and a half ago but have continued on my own personal endeavours. Over the past few months I have been helping friends of mine with their dog, a white female Boxer named Patience.
Patience is four years old and extremely overweight. We estimate that Patience should weigh between 60 and 70lbs, but at her last weigh-in she topped out at 102lbs! When her person found this out, she was absolutely horrified. Something I learned early on in my journey of helping people with their pets is, people make mistakes, they get the wrong information or are overwhelmed by all the things life throws at them. But that doesn't mean they don't love their pets. So, before any judgement is passed, let me give a little background.
Patience: August 6, 2013. 102lbs
In January 2013, Patience lost her best friend, Preston, who was a male Boxer, to kidney disease; Preston was only four years old when he passed away. The owners of these dogs are friends of mine, good friends, and they are really good people. However, anyone with multiple pets who has had one of those animals become ill, especially terminally ill, knows how hard it is to take the focus off the sick animal. Add a baby into the mix, full time jobs and financial difficulties, and we have a situation. All obstacles aside, Preston's people did everything they needed to, to keep him as healthy and comfortable as possible. They didn't have the money for all the tests the vet needed to do to keep track of his levels, but they found it every single time. Unfortunately, after a nine month struggle, Preston's life was cut far too short and his people had to make the heart breaking decision to let him go.
When my friends found out about Preston's illness, she called me and asked for my advice. She immediately changed Preston onto a homemade diet., some herbs, and supplements. Patience however, remained on a kibble diet for a few months and she was being over fed. Because of their busy life and the stress of Preston's illness, Patience was not getting the exercise she required and she continued to gain weight.
Patience has been on a raw diet for about a year now, but for quite a while one of her people continued to over feed her. In July I started walking Patience twice a week for a half hour each day. We started off slowly so as not to overwork her heart, to prepare her body for more exercise (Patience also has trouble with her hind legs ), we got her feeding situation under control and started her on a weight loss supplement about three weeks ago. Within the first month of her walks Patience started going upstairs at night to sleep in the bedroom with her people; something she hadn't done for a very long time!!
Patience. August 13, 2013
I have now been walking Patience for about two months and although I won't know until Wednesday this week how much weight she has lost, we can see it! The best part is, I now have to keep up with HER on her walks!! Starting this week, since the weather is cooler, we are increasing her walks to three days a week and next week I will be starting massage sessions with Patience, which will also help with her weight loss, and her well being.
Being able to visibly observe Patience's weight coming off, her energy levels changing and too see how happy she is every time I come over, and to see her well being shinning through, is the best reward I could ever ask for.
Today was an excellent day in the business of making a dog feel better and helping a family. I hope I see many, many more of these days in the weeks, months and years to come!
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