Morbidly obese rescue dog loses half her body weight thanks to swimming and strict diet

A morbidly obese rescue dog in Cheshire has shed almost half her weight after going on a strict diet and taking up swimming.

Eight-year-old Staffie cross Roxanne arrived at the RSPCA’s Crewe, Nantwich & District branch, in Cheshire, in October 2021 when her owner could no longer take care of her.

She weighed 38.5kg and could barely walk without getting out of breath. 

The team put Roxanne on a restricted diet and started an exercise plan to gently improve her mobility and help her get healthier again.

Now Roxanne has lost a staggering 17kg and has found a new home.

It comes as the RSPCA celebrates Adoptober, a month-long rehoming drive to highlight fostering, adoption and how wonderful rescue pets can be.

Angela Chan, dog rehoming coordinator at the branch, said: “Roxanne was clearly well-loved but had been over-indulged over the years with lots of unhealthy treats and was morbidly obese. She could barely move due to her weight. 

“We put Roxanne onto a sensible diet immediately and, although her progress was slow, she started to shed the weight.

She now weighs 21.1kg and the vet, who has been monitoring her closely over the last 10 months, is happy for her to officially be discharged as pet slimming super star of the year!

“Exercise was difficult for Roxanne; she couldn’t walk far without getting out of breath and her weight put a huge strain on her little legs.

She started hydrotherapy as swimming allows her to move freely, use her muscles but avoid putting pressure on her joints and although she doesn’t need to lose any further weight, she’ll continue swimming to help manage her arthritis. 

“We slowly increased her walks and it’s so lovely now that she’s able to enjoy exercise, running and even playing with her ball!”

Roxanne has also landed on her paws by getting a new home with her fosterers, Hazel and Mike Ducker, from Shropshire, who fell in love with her.

Angela added: “As well as being fitter and healthier, Roxanne is now having lots of fun with her new family. They go on lots of holidays in their motorhome, visiting the seaside, lakes, farms and even castles!

“Roxanne is such a sweetheart. She’s a lovely, easy-going girl who loves a fuss and a play, and is always pleased to see everyone.

Her favourite thing in the world is her squeaky blue ball. We hope that now she’s fitter and healthier she’ll be able to play and play until her heart’s content!”

RSPCA chief veterinary officer Caroline Allen said: "Pet obesity is a serious welfare issue and recent studies have suggested that around half of all pet dogs are overweight. We are, quite literally, killing our pets with kindness. 

“Obesity can affect all types of pets and the main causes are from eating too much or not exercising enough.

As a rough guide (for cats and dogs), you should be able to see and feel the outline of their ribs without excess fat covering them. You should also be able to see and feel their waist and it should clearly ‘pinch in’ when you look down at them from above. 

“Overweight pets can suffer from serious health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Carrying more body weight can also increase the chances of pets suffering from conditions such as arthritis and can even shorten their life expectancy.

“If you’re worried about your pet’s weight, we’d recommend speaking to your vet before making any significant diet or lifestyle changes and ruling out any health conditions that may be affecting their weight.”

The RSPCA say the number of animals being rehomed has dropped by 8% while intake of animals has increased. 

The charity fears that the cost of living crisis means more animals are coming into its care while less people are considering taking on a new pet highlighting a potential animal rescue crisis as more animals come into care, stay in rescue centres for longer, with fewer people coming forward to adopt. 

If you could offer a rescue pet a loving new home visit Find A Pet to see all of the animals currently in RSPCA care.

To help the RSPCA Crewe, Nantwich and District Branch continue to help animals like Roxanne, please donate online.