Fat Dog

[erica]

I have just seen on the BBC website that two brothers have been found guilty of causing their retriever dog unneccessary suffering by allowing its weight to top 11 stone!! I'm 6ft tall and I'm 12 stone!
Apparently the vet said that it resembled a 'walrus'.
However, now that the dog has lost 3 stone after being taken into care by the RSPCA, the brothers are allowed to have it back.
What does everyone make of this? I'm inclined to view it the same way as I would if they had starved the dog. That they have proved themselves to be incompetent and negligent owners and therefore should not be allowed to keep animals.

 

[JustKickOn]

just seen it on the news. found it sickening and felt deep sympathy for the dog. the dog looks so sad and can barely walk. how cruel can people get

the borthers let the dog get in that state, why are they letting them take care of him again!! he should be taken to people who have the knowledge on how to feed a dog properly!!

 

[Sooty]

It is incredibly easy to overfeed a Lab! It is far more constructive to actually do something to help the brothers become responsible owners than to prosecute them and deprive them of their dog. I do not see overfeeding in the same class as starving at all. It was probably down to ignorance, or maybe lack of ability to exercise.

 

[Onyxia]

It is still detrimental for the dog but IMO this sort of case is better tackled by educatig the owners.
If its being given back to them they must want it back and care about it, so teach them how to take care of it properly.

I know, ignorance is no excuse, but we all started off clueless- a shove in the right diraction is better if possable then taking the animal away.

 

[haybales]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/12012007/344/row-fat-dog-pair-convicted.html

i dont understand why they're being criticised?!

 

[pootler]

I listened to the brothers talking on Radio 4 and spent most of the time cringing as I listened. How can I put it without sounding like a snob, they weren't particularly eloquent nor did they come across as particularly well endowed on the IQ front.

The dog had lost something like 3 stone in the time it had been with the RSPCA yet the brothers swear that they had tried to give the dog a diet and it hadn't worked. My best friend has an 8 year chocolate lab bitch, she gets fat on fresh air (dog not my friend!). She will also raid the horses nuts, carrots and anything else she can get her teeth into. She has loads of exercise and still tends to be on the large side.

Labs can be hard to keep slim but they can be if they are given the correct exercise and diet, however, it isn't easy. Nevertheless, I am on the RSPCA's side in this case. They absolutely did the right thing, they will need to monitor the dog closely once it goes back to the brothers.

If the brothers genuinely love their dog they would be delighted at how well the RSPCA have done in re-habilitating their dog. It didn't sound like it to me 'though.........

 

[RobinHood]

I think the RSPCA have done exactly the right thing here. Overfeeding a dog is just as bad as underfeeding a dog in my opinion. Why don't people understand that they are killing their dogs by letting them be so fat. And yes they do "let" them, it is perfectly possible to prevent a dog getting any food other than what you give it. Living in a house with a thief (aka oscar the foxhound from a rescue centre) means I know all about theft of food. He even climbed out of our garden, opened next door's backdoor and ate all their cat food once.

I also have a black lab that is very prone to weight gain if we don't keep an eye on him. In the last 2 weeks I have had 4 different people comment on how nice it is to see a lab that isn't overweight. He has 2 small meals a day and runs round the yard every evening. It is possible to manage a dog's weight and if someone isn't capable then they shouldn't have responsibility of the animal.

 

[Acolyte]

I completely agree with this - overfeeding a dog and letting it get obesely fat is as cruel as starving it, and causes as many health problems.

Same as the article that the ILPH guy (I think) wrote in H&H about obese horses/ponies

 

[Onyxia]

[ QUOTE ]
Earlier the brothers' lawyer, Ann-Marie Gregory, had told the court in Ely, Cambridgeshire, that the case had left the owners of overweight animals living in fear of prosecution.

[/ QUOTE ]
So they should be!
Maybe that will help prevent any more cases like this.

 

[JGKJ]

I think its absolutely ludricrous (sp) that the dogs owners have been alowed to have it back. What is the point of succesfully prosecuting them, only for them to have the poor dog back! To me it makes a mockery of the whole thing, being prosecuted surely means you caused un necessary pain/suffering and shouldnt be able to have animals again???

 

[hairycob]

Agree it's very easy for a lab to get overweight, but did you see the "before" picture - it could hardly stand! This was more like the American guy who was so fat he cpuldn't leave his room & his mother was still buying him family buckets of KFC as a snack.
I hope the brothers realise what the dog really needs, but from the interview on Radio 4 they still seemed in complete denial so I expect the dog will be grossly fat again soon.
If the case has made people sit up & take notice of their pets weight it will be a good thing. Though if anyone can give me tips on how to put my cat Habibi on a diet without it resulting in wholesale slaughter of the local wildlife I would be grateful.

 

[MagicMelon]

I think its awful. The blokes weren't bothered about it at all, all they can do is moan about how they cant believe they've been taken to court over their fat dog. I really think the RSPCA should sit them down and actually shock them by seeing the effects of being that overweight. They clearly dont understand its a problem so now they have their dog back, whats to stop them not making any changes to its diet?

I HATE the fact that animals are often given back to owners, what a joke. Its like "right, we're fining you for cruelty / not looking after your animal, but here have it back".

Too many people dont realise they can cause trauma and pain to an animal through what they think is kindness (ie. over-feeding) as well.

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

It is very cruel, i dont see it as completely the same as starving tbh, but i dont think its less detrimental to the dog per say as the poor thing could drop dead, its a shame that there seem to be some very ignorant people out there who cant seem to give their animal basic care such as flee treatments,worming, regular exercise etc. Well the dog has been rescued, and thats what i donate my £4 a month for.

 

[tiggersdad]

I watched the news and the owners did not think they had done anything wrong and compared it to parents having fat children. However I could not agree and thought parents with over weight children were even more irresponsible than owners with over weight pets.

 

[samsaccount]

I cannot believe they could cause such suffering to an animal and were allowed to have the poor thing back!!!

 

[Rachel_M]

I cannot justify, after all the trouble in helping the dog lose weight, that they are going to give the dog back!!! WTF?


I will lose my marbles if I hear more stupid antics like this.

 

[annaellie]

It is awful that they can have it back there is no excuse for the weight of that animal, me and my OH have just got our 1st dog know nothing about keeping them so we spoke to the vet about diet exersise etc they were very helpful its as easy as that to get the help and advice which them two clearly needed but did not bother.

 

[PaddyMonty]

The report says they were giveen vetinary advice but chose to ignore it. You can not educate someone who refuses to learn. If they admitted what they did was wrong then fine, let them have their dog back. However, they don't see they have done anything wrong despite all the advice they have received thus the dog is no better off when returned to them.

Only thing that has changed is the RSPCA bank balance by a £12,000 reduction unless costs were awarded.

 

[annaellie]

I did not know that in that case what on earth are they thinking giving the dog back to them.

 

[Vicster1]

In the interview I heard, not only did they not appear to know what they've done wrong, but one of the brothers said that if you have the RSPCA knocking on your door "I advise you not to answer it"..!!! Poor dog.....

 

[Rachel_M]

I heard him say that aswell, twirp!!

It just stinks, the whole situation. I am starting to get really angry for the poor dog.

 

[Breezesbenefactor]

Disgraceful a pair of inbred brothers who are as thick as s***e, gradually the law is changing which, shall remove the legal owners being given the dog back. Sadly though the law doesn't quite recognise the moral side here, but give it time it'll happen.

 

[bellgave]

poor old dog. Surely you get to a point where you think "dogs lookinng more than a bit podgy, best put it on a diet" after all dog cant open the fridge or biscuit tin on his own, so its the owners fault 100%