We all adore our dogs, and occasionally, we adore them a little too much. It’s possible that we’ll cave in and feed them every time they ask for something. That being said, the former owner of one golden retriever committed a heinous crime. They attempted to put him down due of his weight.
Kai, the golden retriever, was brought to the veterinarian by his previous owner. The vet immediately contacted the Misfits of Alberta Animal Rescue, and Pam Heggie was reunited with the dog shortly after. They wanted to assist Kai in finding a home and losing the dangerous weight he was carrying.
Heggie spoke with Good Morning America in an interview. Kai’s new foster mother had no idea who he was or what had happened to him in the past, but she knew he needed some serious TLC. “Anything you do is going to assist that dog,” the veterinarian stated, referring to Kai, who was the most overweight animal he had ever seen.
Kai weighed 172 pounds when he first arrived at his new foster home. He has lost more than half his body weight since then, according to blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com.
It took Kai 20 minutes to climb the small set of stairs outside of his new foster home when he first arrived.
Heggie began taking Kai for three daily walks: in the morning, when she returned home from work, and before bed. He struggled at first, but things gradually became simpler for him.
“Literally, he took five to ten steps, then he would lay down and start panting,” Heggie told GMA. But they persisted, and he pushed a little harder each day. We walked to the next-door neighbor’s driveway, then the next-door neighbor’s driveway.”
Kai began aquatic therapy to strengthen his back legs and increase his stamina.
Kai was put on a strict diet, and despite being a chowhound, he trusted his foster mother to look after him.
“He realized I was going to help him, and we were going to be fine,” she explained.
Kai continued to gain strength and achieve various milestones, including as getting into bed, going around the block, climbing the stairs, and running at the dog park.
“I forget how broken he was when I look at him,” Heggie remarked. “Now he’s just a regular dog doing normal dog things like the rest of them.”
Kai continued to gain strength and to reach some goals, including getting onto the bed, walking around the block, climbing the stairs and enjoying some run time at the dog park.
“I look at him and forget how broken he was,” Heggie said. “Now he’s just a regular dog doing regular dog things like everybody else.”
Heggie enjoyed being a foster mom so much that she decided to adopt Kai.
He was highlighted on Good Morning America because his change was so impressive.
“He shows you how to do a really big task literally one day at a time,” said Heggie.
“He doesn’t think about yesterday or tomorrow; instead, he concentrates on what needs to be done today and completes it. Dogs have a lot to teach us.”
You did a wonderful job, Peggy!