One golden retriever’s confidence is soaring like never before after the animal’s foster helped him lose 100 pounds.
When Pam Heggie started fostering her dog Kai, she was overwhelmed by his size: the pooch weighed a whopping 173 pounds — more than 100 pounds overweight for an adult golden retriever — and was apparently as big as a table.
Heggie didn’t know much about the dog’s past, aside from the fact that his previous family took him to the vet to be put down. The vet instead contacted the Misfits of Alberta Animal Rescue, which helped match Kai with her.
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Before Heggie met her new furry friend, the vet gave Kai an intimidating introduction, telling her:
“This is the most overweight animal I have ever seen.”
While Heggie didn’t know where to begin when she started fostering the table-sized animal, the vet reassured her she was just what the vet ordered.
He told her:
“Anything you do is gonna help that dog. Anything that he will let you do is good for him.”
As it turns out, the vet was right — but it wasn’t easy.
When she first got home with the dog, it took him 20 minutes to climb the stairs and get through the front door.
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But soon enough, they were making progress. Heggie started taking Kai for walks three times a day; before work, right when she got home, and in the evening.
It was a slow journey, at first. She explained to GMA:
“Literally, he went five to 10 steps, and then he would lay down and start panting. We went to the closest neighbor’s driveway and then the next neighbor over.”
Kai went further and further each day. Soon, Heggie added water therapy to the pooch’s training regimen, where he was able to strengthen his back legs and build up his stamina. She also put the canine on a strict diet.
The pup got stronger day by day and was eventually able to reach new goals, like walking to the end of the block, getting up on the bed, getting into the car on his own, climbing stairs, and even running in the dog park.
Now, Kai looks and feels 70 (dog) years younger — and his owner still can’t quite believe it. She mused:
“It’s crazy. It’s like raising your child and you look at them and they’re all grown up and you just wonder how that happened… I look at him and forget how broken he was. Now he’s just a regular dog doing regular dog things like everybody else.”
That’s all a parent can ask for, isn’t it?
Kai has shed a full 100 pounds nearly a year after Heggie took him in. Now, she can’t imagine her life without the fit animal and has moved to adopt the dog.
Ch-ch-check out the video (below) to see what Kai looks like today!
Golden retriever Kai has gone viral after losing 100 pounds in a year in an epic weight loss journey! We're so proud of him. READ HIS STORY: https://t.co/O11Cofb6cu pic.twitter.com/he4pZVOHrd
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 2, 2019
[Image via GMA]
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